72 replies to this topic

[dgreen]

Clemson probably in reagrds to atmpsophere.

Orange Bowl has the most tradtion.

[Fruit Cove]

groves stadium is my fav but im biased.

[teshadoh]

Nicest environment - UVA, at least when I went there 20 years ago.

Most intimidating environment - I have to go with Clemson, partial of course since I went to many of their games during the Ford era.

[twincity]

My vote is for kenan and carter-finley. I like wake's too i just wish it had more seating, and a bigger field house. it also would be nice if it was closer to the school.

view from Deacon Blvd.

Edited by twincity, 12 July 2005 - 11:18 PM.

[Exile]

afh, on Jul 4 2005, 12:02 PM, said:

The other interesting thing about Clemson and GT's stadium is that the fields tend to slope down from one endzone to the other.  Also the upper deck of both stadiums appear to be almost at street level while the lower portions of the stadiums appear to have been built by digging out a hole in the earth and building the lower portions of the stadium in the hole.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Frank Howard field used to have a crown in the middle--a big one. You could see it from the stands. They fixed that a couple of years ago, though, and my understanding is that the field's as flat as a board--with no significant slopes in any direction.

I don't think they had to do any digging to build the stadium. It was built in a natural valley. Notice that the field is essentially level with the big parking lot and most of the practice fields and the track. If it weren't for the levees on Lake Hartwell, Frank Howard Field would be Frank Howard cove.

When I was a student there--in the Danny Ford era--they had a model in the lobby of the Clemson House that showed the lower decks being connected in the west end zone to form a U. There was no plan to connect the upper decks. They're pretty different and it might not be structurally possible--I'm no engineer though. Anyway, that model, if it had been built, would likely have sat well over 90K. The West Zone, which doesn't significantly increase capacity, will no doubt increase revenue a great deal more than ordinary seating.

[krazeeboi]

teshadoh, on Jul 12 2005, 12:40 PM, said:

Nicest environment - UVA, at least when I went there 20 years ago.

Most intimidating environment - I have to go with Clemson, partial of course since I went to many of their games during the Ford era.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Until I read Exile's post, I thought you were referring to the Gerald Ford era...

[btoy]

I am biased as well, but I have been to a few other the other stadiums and still think that Clemson has the best. The atmosphere is awsome.

BTW, Maryland has the rudest fans ever. You know it is bad when the opposing team's fans have to have police protection.

Here is a photo I took last week of the work being done at Clemson.

[Exile]

About 10 or so years ago, Clemson and Auburn were #'s 1 and 2, respectively, in both number of skyboxes and in skybox revenue. Has this changed?

BTW, those of you who are unfamiliar with Clemson's stadium can see some of the skyboxes in the picture Brad Toy recently uploaded--double-decker skyboxes for the entire length of both the south and north stands. The West Zone (under construction) will add significantly to Clemson's inventory of skyboxes.

[cooperdawg]

Virginia Tech is completing it's second expansion of the decade and will push attendance close to 70K. May not be as picturesque as some other stadiums in the conference, but I'd say it's definitely one of the top three toughest places to play/gameday atmospheres along with Clemson and FSU.

Lane Stadium Expansion

[afh]

cooperdawg, on Jul 28 2005, 12:58 PM, said:

Virginia Tech is completing it's second expansion of the decade and will push attendance close to 70K.  May not be as picturesque as some other stadiums in the conference, but I'd say it's definitely one of the top three toughest places to play/gameday atmospheres along with Clemson and FSU.

Lane Stadium Expansion

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NC State, GT and North Carolina can get loud.

[RiversideGator]

I dont know if it was mentioned before, but how did y'all like how we (the Gators) broke in the new Bobby Bowden Field last year??

[csmurphy8885]

I think we Broke it... you were just the team we were playing. But how about the Ugly Stain Glass Bobby Bowden on the west side of the stadium (icky).

[cooperdawg]

afh, on Jul 28 2005, 03:12 PM, said:

NC State, GT and North Carolina can get loud.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I haven't been to State yet, will be in about a month. Went to GT and UNC last year, neither holds a candle to the other three in my opinion. Both nice venues, I enjoyed both and will go back, but not even close.

[derrickskugler]

Anyone who chooses Doak Campbell Stadium is a Seminole homer, plain and simple. Underneath the TAXPAYER-FUNDED brick exterior renovations is the nastiest stadium on the planet this side of Legion Field in Birmingham. Rusted metal, dirty, dark, lack of bathrooms (even for an old stadium), etc.

Disgusting. I mean, no one expects it to be Alltel or the Georgia Dome, but come on... a pit if there ever was one. It would be the 8th nicest stadium in the SEC, behind UF, UT, UGA, USC, LSU, AU & UA, and it isn't far ahead of Arkansas or Kentucky, to be honest... only in capacity. I would know, I've been to every stadium listed, most of them multiple times.

In the ACC, for tradition and athmosphere, it's Death Valley (Clemson) by far, but for overall appearance, it's got to be UVA. Their stadium is beautiful with all the columns and such. Now that the ACC is a real conference (no longer F$U and the seven dwarfs), it should be interesting to see the money that gets funnelled into these stadiums... maybe one day they will be somewhere near on par with their SEC counterparts. Out of all the ACC stadiums, only Death Valley & Doak Campbell would even pass in the SEC... maybe VT, though... it's under-rated, and Blacksburg is a great college town.

IS COLLEGE FOOTBALL HERE YET!??!?!!? AHHH!!!

[RiversideGator]

Quote

Anyone who chooses Doak Campbell Stadium is a Seminole homer, plain and simple. Underneath the TAXPAYER-FUNDED brick exterior renovations is the nastiest stadium on the planet this side of Legion Field in Birmingham. Rusted metal, dirty, dark, lack of bathrooms (even for an old stadium), etc.

Spoken like a true Gator fan. We are almost to football season.

[csmurphy8885]

Doak Cambell is Beautiful. It is the stadium for FSU and as such, it fits into the architecture of the school. As a nole fan, i see "death valley" as a great stadium to go into and play. I have seen alot of stadiums also, and SEC stadiums are NOT the penicle of college arenas. FSU has struck gold with the design of Doak. When i go to a game, i want to walk through the skeleton, i want to step outta the belly and watch the game. It is dirty because people litter, the lack of bathrooms is unfair, there are plenty. I would enjoy something other than a sink to pee in, but if i wanted to be comfortable, i could just watch from home, because every game is on TV. Every game has a blimp. And thankfully, football season is beggining soon. I cant wait to see if we have our... stuff... together this year. Its been one heck of an offseason for us, and it has nothing to do with Doak

[Arkansawyer]

derrickskugler, on Aug 2 2005, 09:27 PM, said:

Disgusting.  I mean, no one expects it to be Alltel or the Georgia Dome, but come on...  a pit if there ever was one.  It would be the 8th nicest stadium in the SEC, behind UF, UT, UGA, USC, LSU, AU & UA, and it isn't far ahead of Arkansas or Kentucky, to be honest...  only in capacity.  I would know, I've been to every stadium listed, most of them multiple times.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Doak Campbell may be the 8th nicest in the SEC, but it sure as heck isn't nicer than Arkansas' stadium. Razorback stadium is widely considered the nicest, most modern stadium in the nation, and certainly the SEC. It recently underwent a $110 million renovation, giving it 132 luxury suites, the most in the country, as well as 8,950 club seats. The renovation also added the largest video board, which has approximately the same square footage as a basketball court, in the world. On top of that, UA recently completed the construction of the largest weight room in the country; it dwarfs the second largest, which is at the University of Texas. The exterior of the stadium is encased in an attractive glass and brick facade, giving it the look of an NFL stadium. To no surprise, visiting fans leave saying that Razorback Stadium is the nicest college facility they have seen. It is also a major selling point to recruits, who are almost all quoted as saying it is the nicest facility they have toured; and these kids have toured mostly big-time, SEC places. To place us as 8th best in the SEC is to speak from the arse, and frankly, it would be an injustice to rank us as 8th best in the country.

Empty Razorback Stadium at night:


Night game against archrival Texas:


Notice the mountains in the background:

Edited by Arkansawyer, 04 August 2005 - 12:30 AM.

[afh]

derrickskugler, on Aug 2 2005, 10:27 PM, said:

Anyone who chooses Doak Campbell Stadium is a Seminole homer, plain and simple.  Underneath the TAXPAYER-FUNDED brick exterior renovations is the nastiest stadium on the planet this side of Legion Field in Birmingham.  Rusted metal, dirty, dark, lack of bathrooms (even for an old stadium), etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess you haven't been to the Orange Bowl. Doak Campbell isn't as bad as you describe. Sure the bathrooms are small and few but other than that, everything is good. I think you're trying to get at the FSU people. Funny never the less! Try using the bathrooms in the OB.

[Go Gators]

Are you kidding? Doak is a beautiful stadium. And the tax payer funding was quite genious, just build classrooms and what not around the stadium and let the people pay for it! I agree the fans there suck and dont get into the games like many other venues though. IM a student there, and an AVID die heard gator fan, but am going to have to disagree with you, even though Ben Hill tops Doak anytime!

[derrickskugler]

I never said the Orange Bowl was better than Doak. At least you won't get mugged and/or propositioned on your way into Doak (unless it's by a drunken student). The Orange Bowl is in very, very bad need of either a major face life or the wrecking ball. I would be sad to see it go for history and tradition purposes, though... but only because of the Dolphins.

And yeah, The Swamp is clearly the class of the state of Florida's college stadiums, I don't think anyone would dispute that... even logical non-Gator fans. It's just a superior venue.