Anyone been to a stadium that was just awful in terms of seat visibility?

As a Sox fan, I'll go ahead and say that the 500/upper deck level of US Cellular Field in Chicago is pretty damn awful, though you can at least watch the game.

Wrigley Field sells lower level tickets that are underneath the shadows of the upper deck. Of course, Wrigley can't exactly move outward as they are wholly contained within a city block, but that's a raw deal if you're trying to go to a day game.

There are a lot of bad designs out there, I'm just wondering if anyone else had anyone good examples.

8/18/2008 12:05:04 AM

As much as i hate to admit it Reynolds has some bad sight lines in the upper corners. And you had to stand on the seats in the student section to get a good view but the atmosphere made up for it!

8/18/2008 12:30:38 AM

With the way Clemson Memorial Stadium is designed, you will feel pretty far removed from the action if you are in the upper decks. Well if you are on the first 10 rows you might be ok, but after that it's kind of crappy. The lower stands are so large (about the size of FSU's stands), then you have two levels of press box/private suites that push the upper deck even farther up, and then the upper deck doesn't hang over as much as the ones at a lot of other stadiums. Also it sucks walking up all of the ramps. Plus the concourses aren't connected, so say you have a friend on the other side of the stadium, well you can't go meet up with them. Pretty terrible design in reality, even though the stadium looks nice.

I really appreciate Carter-Finley's setup. The ramps for the upper decks are like what 50 feet long. Also the upper decks over hang a good bit.

When I went to Lane Stadium I sat in the second to last row of the upper deck in that double decked structure in at one endzone. To be honest it wasn't all that bad. I actually enjoyed sitting there b/c you could see all of the holes and appreciate the line play by both teams. It was especially enjoyable watching our players rack up 10 sacks and make Bryan Randall run for his life the entire time.

8/18/2008 12:35:58 AM

Cameron Indoor has some pretty shitty tight sitting in the upper corners, you're pretty much in the rafters

8/18/2008 12:37:19 AM

ummm RBC center section 334- Row- All Seat - every

8/18/2008 7:42:39 AM

Haha yeah I was gonna say RBC anywhere behind the two goals....on the sides aren't great but I guess are not bad for a huge ass arena.

8/18/2008 11:03:38 AM

Upper deck at Kauffman Stadium (royals) sucks balls. Upper deck at Miller Park (brewers) was surprisingly good. Upper deck at RBC is horrible especially for hockey.

8/18/2008 1:45:21 PM

eh, I don't think the corners and sidelines in the upper deck at RBC are that bad for Basketball OR Hockey. Endzones suck, but its a big stadium.

8/18/2008 1:51:50 PM

the old Boston Garden had some terrible seats for hockey. i remember one time sitting in the last couple of rows in the lower level and only being able to see 1/2 of the ice.

8/18/2008 2:38:40 PM

I've heard the fourth deck and a few rows in the 2nd and third decks at Oregon's MacArthur Court has some terrible views.

8/18/2008 3:11:42 PM

It doesn't matter, no one goes to a Duck's game sober anyways so it's all good.

8/18/2008 3:16:10 PM

Method Road Soccer Stadium. You can only see half the field if you sit next to the announcers box. It got packed in there a few times too when we used to go to the NCAA Tournament.

8/19/2008 5:36:26 PM

bad view at a soccer tournament huh?


sometimes when you lose... you really win

8/19/2008 5:40:02 PM

zing!

8/19/2008 5:56:25 PM

philips arena doesnt really have any bad seats but i thought that i was going to fall over the railing walking down to my seat

8/19/2008 6:29:17 PM

8/19/2008 6:31:44 PM

The lower seats at Kenan absolutely suck. Not in terms of visibility, but you barely have room for your own legs. If you walk down an aisle, everyone has to stand on their seat.

8/19/2008 7:27:16 PM

^The same goes for the dean dome.

8/19/2008 7:37:15 PM

All of the seats are like that at Kenan. I will never go to a game there again. My legs literally don't fit in those seats.

8/19/2008 8:43:28 PM

Quote :

"Upper deck at RBC is horrible especially for hockey."

So that's why the play-by-play announcers and all the NHL scouts sit up there, because the view of the game sucks.

Wait...

8/19/2008 9:18:41 PM

I don't really have anything against the RBC's top level, but it's not like announcers and production staff always have the best seats in the house; Cameron is a good example.

8/19/2008 9:22:20 PM

Quote :

"Upper deck at RBC is horrible especially for hockey. "

wtf no? unless you're in the north/south ends, it's great, especially the atmosphere in alot of sections, you have a great view of the ice. The hardcore fans get the cheap seats year round, so I always have a great time up there. Especially with the boys that taunt the goalie

8/20/2008 1:46:33 AM

I love the atmosphere but the "behind the pole" seats at Fenway are the worst... High upper deck outfield at Yankee Stadium are terrible. Steep as shit and you can't see half of the outfield.

The BEST cheap seats in any arena are the blue seats at MSG. The diehards are there and you aren't that high either... I've never seen a Rangers game from a different location but the mid-90's Knicks teams were a BLAST to watch from there...

[Edited on August 20, 2008 at 2:13 AM. Reason : x]

8/20/2008 2:12:59 AM

the upper deck at any final four is probably pretty shitty

RBC upper deck isn't bad. I sat in arguably the worst seat in the house (upper deck, top row, behind the north goal) for game 7 of the cup finals and still had a decent view.

8/20/2008 2:16:19 AM

Quote :

"I don't really have anything against the RBC's top level, but it's not like announcers and production staff always have the best seats in the house; Cameron is a good example."

This is true, but the fact remains that the view from even the top row of the UD at the RBC is just fine for hockey. I know I'm biased because I've watched thousands of hockey games from up close, but I much prefer the view from upstairs because you have a clear view of everything that's going on. Anything below the top ten rows of the LD you have to deal with visual obstruction caused by the glass either in the corners or at the far end, plus being screened on power plays by one point man or the other, etc.

8/20/2008 11:46:02 AM

Agreed about Kenan. I've never been more uncomfortable during a game than in 2002 when I sat in the Kenan upperdeck. It's like they designed all the seats for 10 years olds. Pretty stadium (I guess) but the comfort level is abysmal. I've also heard that if you're on the front few rows, you can't see a damn thing. I'm sure there's been some poor suckers on Ebay that have paid a shitload for front row seats at kenan, only to be once they get there.

As far as the best nosebleed seats, the Panthers stadium is hard to beat. I've sat so high up in that stadium that I've rested my head on the wall. But you can see everything just fine. Now climbing up to the seat is another story -- I HIGHLY recommend doing it sober.

8/20/2008 3:25:58 PM

^ I sat three rows from the top at a preseason panthers game once, and I practically needed binoculars to see the players.

8/20/2008 3:54:15 PM

Quote :

"Upper deck at RBC is horrible especially for hockey."

Are you fucking kidding me?!?!? Go to Nassau Coliseum and try to watch hockey from their upper deck and get back to me.

8/20/2008 4:09:27 PM

^^That's pretty much the case with any big-league stadium -- you're not going to find great views from 200 feet above the field. BOA is better than most I've seen though.

8/20/2008 4:26:05 PM

8/20/2008 6:06:43 PM

^ dude no way....i sat in the top row on the 1st base line at wrigley and it was still a good seat...well, it was a blast anyways. everyone is piss drunk and you can see the chicago skyline behind you, and lake michigan beyond the wall.

its pretty cool

8/20/2008 6:09:00 PM

Wrigley and Fenway were both built when people were on average about ~4 inches shorter and a lot less fatter than they are now. The seats at both are tight and cramped.

8/20/2008 6:21:33 PM