How do fans view the NFL’s stadiums? Here’s how they stack up based on Foursquare ratings, with the very best mean Yelp feedback featured. We left out Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles because they have yet to open.
1. Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — 9.5
She’s young, beautiful, state-of-the-art, cheap, and perfectly located. The atmosphere isn’t always top-notch, but that will come with time.
Mean Yelp review: “This stadium is much less fan friendly than the one it replaced. Seating is further from the field, by a lot. Long lines for food and the bathrooms. Rude, dirty concession staff. Greasy food and not a napkin to be found anywhere. Long lines at the drink stations, and spilled liquids everywhere. You are herded like cattle to get in and out. Egress is extremely poor, and in an emergency would be a real problem. The oculus roof is a waste, as they are afraid to use it. Parking is non-existent. The old Dome was a much better football fan experience. They have screwed this up, and spent all the money on things that don’t matter. What a waste. Won’t be going back.”
T-2. Lambeau Field (Green Bay) — 9.3
The mecca of American football trumps anything high-tech. How can you not love Lambeau?
Mean Yelp review: “Worst experience ever!!! They say respect other fans but you couldn’t even stand up and cheer without getting yelled at. Packers fans are the worst, so rude and disrespectful to other fans even other packers fans. Suggest others to not go!”
T-2. Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) — 9.3
It’s pretty but unremarkable. Hard to believe it is celebrating its 25th birthday.
Mean Yelp review: “One smaller but significant complaint are the cupholders, which do not fully hold drinks in due to a design flaw. This became apparent when people walked by us, knocking both of our waters our of the cupholders (which would be less of a problem if we weren’t served them without caps). When we got beers, we did like everybody else and just held onto them or kept them under our seats so they wouldn’t be spilled.”
4. CenturyLink Field (Seattle) — 9.2
Unique design, extremely loud, and well-located. This is worth a trip to the Pacific Northwest.
Mean Yelp review: “The amount of trash, vomit, smashed glass in the surrounding area is disgusting not to mention hazardous. Why can’t they hire a firm to help with clean up in the immediate areas around the stadium. The constant barrage of fireworks going off, even before a game starts, is terrifying to local pets. Why can’t they offer to re-fit windows on the surrounding buildings to make them more sound proof or offer vouchers for people to do something outside that area for the day, or just quit it with the battery of cannons they let off.”
T-5. Gillette Stadium (New England) — 9.1
It has a nice blend of character/history and modern technology and architecture. But while they have built up the surrounding area, it’s still kind of in the middle of nowhere.
Mean Yelp review: “Drunks were everywhere and the more they we’re forced to wait the more obnoxious they became. Pushing and shoving and I’m taking about Pats fans going after Pats here ridiculous. No TVS in men’s room really. At least pipe in sound what could that cost.”
T-5. AT&T Stadium (Dallas) — 9.1
It’s massive and uniquely laid out with a famous video screen, but the atmosphere has taken a lot of criticism.
Mean Yelp review: “What a Sh**t hole. Fast food & sh*ty beer and nothing but obnoxious Cowboys fans. It was really fun getting the afternoon sun blazing in our faces. Like WTF who set up this place, some nose picking idiot of mediocre…..”
T-7. Empower Field at Mile High (Denver) — 9.0
Wish it would stop changing its damn name, but the atmosphere is solid and it’s a pretty venue.
Mean Yelp review: “Mediocre facility as compared to others. Lack of status or stature and poorly built. Entertainment held during the fall on Sundays a true let down and never worth the price of the ticket.”
T-7. Heinz Field (Pittsburgh) — 9.0
Not a lot to dislike about a spot with a tremendous look and feel, and an awesome location.
Mean Yelp review: “My recent visit sucked. The Steelers lost, and they lost stupidly. We need a real coach.”
T-7. NRG Stadium (Houston) — 9.0
This place set the new trend with the bright ceiling and the retractable roof. It’s big and beautiful.
Mean Yelp review: “NRG Stadium is straight up awful. The food sucks and is overpriced (as expected for a sports arena). Basically your standard hot dogs, crappy Papa John’s, and chicken tenders. They do have some barbecue which is decent. But still not great. The beer is pretty pathetic. Anheuser-Busch has the whole place bought out. And again, as expected, it’s way overpriced. But the traffic is the worst. Plan an extra 45 minutes to get out the area. It’s atrocious. They have a designated Ride Share pickup area which is a 15 min walk from the stadium. And then there is awful traffic just for the drivers to get to the lot. Once they arrive, the employees harass the drivers, yelling at them to go to a certain area, just to get trapped by the hoards of people waiting for their ride.”
T-10. Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) — 8.9
It’s not pretty in its old age, but this thing has more character than almost any building in football.
Mean Yelp review: “The seats were the smallest I have ever encountered in a stadium… Legs turned numb because you cannot move an inch. The stairs to the upper levels are dangerously steep, but the seats were totally ridiculous. I am not a big or tall person and my knees hit the seat in front of me and I got a Backache from compressing myself as much as I could- terrible experience- did I say how crappy the seats are, oh yeah… I did. And by the way, far too many sloppy drunks.”
T-10. Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City) — 8.9
Always in a battle with Seattle’s stadium for who’s the loudest in open air. Top-notch tailgating scene, too.
Mean Yelp review: “A must see stadium. But, Terrible beer selection. They are anti craft beer. They think 312 is craft. You might as well call this a dry stadium.”
T-10. Ford Field (Detroit) — 8.9
It’s like the Taj Mahal compared to the Silverdome, and is located in a primo spot. This venue just takes a hit because the Lions never win.
Mean Yelp review: “Looks dated already, doesn’t have a retractable roof, is an embarrassment compared to newer stadiums built after 2006. Lions fans deserve to have the chance to watch games with an open roof. I think it’s time for a change and for us to get a new stadium. I like what they’ve done in Atlanta and Dallas.”
T-10. Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) — 8.9
Right downtown, retractable roof, and a decent atmosphere. This isn’t getting enough credit. Really expensive, though.
Mean Yelp review: “Talk about poor value for the money. If this was a high school stadium, I would have a different rating. But it’s an NFL stadium. The cost for the food was simply outrageous, and not in a good way. You have to pay too much for things like bottled soft drinks and then you can’t even get the cap to keep it from spilling when you put it down. It is bad enough we have to pay an extra 1% sales tax in the Indy 9 county area to pay for this billion dollar alter to football players, but we have to pay extra for this food when we go to games. I have only gone once and that was good enough for me. Never again!”
T-10. TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville) — 8.9
Far too focused on gimmicks. What’s with the pool?
Mean Yelp review: “Not from here but this is a blah of a stadium.”
T-15. U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota) — 8.8
Shocked this has fared so poorly. It’s state-of-the-art and picturesque, and it’s in a good location. All that glass gives it a sick view of the skyline.
Mean Yelp review: “I’m 70 years old and this is the worst, most expensive and chaotic venue I have ever been to. I pity anyone who has to come here for any reason.”
T-15. Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) — 8.8
Good food, good atmosphere, and a hell of an upgrade over Veterans Stadium. But it’s not particularly unique.
Mean Yelp review: “Come here if you want terrible food, inept staff, and groping by security staff.”
T-15. Soldier Field (Chicago) — 8.8
It doesn’t have the same feel post-renovation, but the atmosphere still isn’t bad, and it has a nice blend of history and modern tech.
Mean Yelp review: “Love the Bears but absolutely deplore Soldier Field. Have watched numerous games at the field and it is always the same. Concessions are overpriced and they simply have no idea on how to streamline their food service . Waited almost the entire 2nd quarter to get a couple of sandwiches and mind you, this was preseason with the stadium less the half full. Complained at a “Fan Stand” (where they look for feedback) and clearly my complaint fell on deaf ears. My recommendation – watch the Bears bit do it at a local bar!”
T-15. Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati) — 8.8
It’s a nice, fairly new stadium, but it just looks a lot like so many others and has given fans almost no good memories. Solid location, at least.
Mean Yelp review: “I have to say…meh. The fan experience at Paul Brown is pretty mediocre. Despite the Bengals celebrating their 50th anniversary, the stadium remains barren of any real character. Outside of a few banners of past Bengal greats, and representation of a *couple* of local restaurants, there is nothing to distinguish this stadium. It’s completely generic.”
T-15. Raymond James Stadium (Tampa) — 8.8
It definitely has some unique characteristics, and offers great tailgating.
Mean Yelp review: “The stadium is looking a little outdated and is in need of a upgrade. Very slow beverage and food service. Bathrooms are dirty and all the water spouts are too short and are the cheap push on ones. Workers don’t care and it shows. The jumbo screen needs to be replaced.”
T-20. M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore) — 8.7
How? This is a superb, state-of-the-art venue with cheap food and a fantastic atmosphere.
Mean (sort of) Yelp review: “Sold expired food (cracker jacks). Then when we returned it, they said all they have is expired and reshelved the expired food. Just the topper to the staff’s attitude.”
T-20. Metlife Stadium (New York/New Jersey) — 8.7
Way out in the middle of nowhere in a separate freakin’ state, it’s too big, antiseptic, and dull. Good for tailgating, at least.
Mean Yelp review: “I’m still trying to figure out why they knocked down the original stadium. The new stadium is more costlier to the consumer and they did not improve parking or any other amenities.. The prices are ridiculous if you try and take your family here.. It amazes me that they host 2 losing NFL teams & the prices of the seats are out of this world .Someone please tell me why they did not put a roof on the stadium? No matter if you’re going to a sporting event or a stadium if it rains, you are doomed. I have been to some of the best stadiums in the country and they are so more inexpensive, friendlier and cleaner.. stay home and watch the game on TV!!”
T-20. Nissan Stadium (Tennessee) — 8.7
I think this is underrated. It’s not glamorous, but it has a lot of character and is well-located.
Mean Yelp review: “All around awful stadium experience. No bike racks anywhere near the entrances. Do not lock your bike to a light pole (even if it’s well out of the way of pedestrian traffic). There are no signs that indicate they will cut your lock and throw your bike in a pile behind the stadium, bending the wheel completely out of shape and knocking the shifter out of place. Also, if you want anything from the stadium concessions it takes approximately 3-4 minutes to serve each customer in line ahead of you. Budget your time accordingly.”
T-23. New Era Field (Buffalo) — 8.5
No matter how bad the Bills are, there’s a great atmosphere and great tailgating here. Still, it’s an outdated piece of crap.
Mean Yelp review: “If orchard park wanted to install a dump they should have saved about 300 million dollars and just put they’re garbage in a pile, it’s nice for the Patriots to have a place outside foxboro for a promised win every year but the product brought forward by this decrepit team is lacking and sad, might as well tell your children there is no Santa then have then witness there is no God (except Tom Brady) in Buffalo.”
T-23. FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland) — 8.5
The Browns don’t give this decent venue a chance. It’s the freakin’ Factory of Sadness! Still a pretty good atmosphere, though.
Mean Yelp review: “Another shrine to mediocrity built on the backs of the taxpayer. Concrete cracking, sewage backflow….and that’s just the structural foundation.”
T-23. Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) — 8.5
This rating is probably misleading because it was a piece of crap before some awesome recent renovations.
Mean Yelp review: “The stadium is the worst stadium I have ever been to. In the stadium it is safe but outside of the stadium it is not safe at all. The cops are not helpful at all and are just standing there were all these people that are trying to go home. There is no organization. It’s very difficult even find where the drop off places and where you can pick up a taxi or Uber. Everything is shut down for the event that they have. This creates a lot of confusion and a lot of problems. Don’t get me started on the parking! It will take you two hours just to get in to get parking and they charge you more than a regular stating would.”
26. State Farm Stadium (Arizona) — 8.4
It’s actually a beaut, but is far out and lacking in atmosphere.
Mean Yelp review: “State Farm Stadium is so anti-football, I am not even sure why it exists.”
27. Levi’s Stadium (Bay Area) — 8.2
It’s embarrassing that a six-year-old stadium is so poorly rated. But this venue is overpriced, wildly far from the city, a nightmare when it comes to shade, traffic, and the airport, and is generally disliked by the fanbase.
Mean Yelp review: “This seems more like a Costco, and I was expecting a whole foods. The stadium itself is architecturally devoid, hard to believe this is a brand new stadium. The food was a basic and bland, and no local wine options, which is surprising being in one of the wine and culinary capitals of the world. The layout is broken up and awkward. We try to connect with friends of ours at half time in another section and simply could notThe parking was also bad. It shares the same lot with six flags and although there are plenty of organization getting in, there is literally none leaving. There needs to be dedicated pedestrian walkways to stop at the congestion of the cars exiting the lot. I miss candlestick Park. I wish they would’ve taken the money and renovated it. The location and public transportation was far superior and it just seemed to have more soul.”
28. FedEx Field (Washington) — 7.8
The horrendous shape of this organization probably contributes to this horrendous rating. But it’s too big and is in a terrible location.
Mean Yelp review: “FedEx is a uniquely bad place. Easily the worst optional, non-work related experience I’ve ever paid for. I thought it’d be bad in all the regular ways–inconvenient location, expensive, mediocre food. On these, it does not disappoint! Walking through the massive, near endless parking lots is reminiscent of the Soviet Union, so that’s not great. The stadium itself is somehow worse than the baseball/football mega stadiums of the 60s and 70s. I couldn’t see the game, despite sitting in the third row, because of the seats are barely elevated [insert lazy joke about being better off not seeing this team]. Why are the bathroom lines so long? The stadium was 50% full. The food is very bad! Everything is expensive and awful.”