Lambeau Field reigns supreme as best NFL stadium

By Ed Graney

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

Lambeau Field is seen an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Red ... — Lambeau Field is seen an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Socially distanced fans watch the Kansas City Chiefs during an NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs opened the stadium to 2,000 season ticket holders to watch practice as the team plans to open the regular season with a reduced capacity of approximately 22 percent or normal. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

In this Sept. 8, 2019, file photo, fans cheer in U.S. Bank Stadium during the second half of an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)

Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys mascot is displayed on the large video screen at AT&T Stadium at the start of a NFL football game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman)

In this Oct. 2, 2011, file photo, taken with a fisheyelens, the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons play during an NFL football game at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

FILE – In this Dec. 28, 2019, file photo, the Mercedes-Benz stadium is shown prior to the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff game between LSU and Oklahoma in Atlanta. Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan is considering multiple contingency plans for three kickoff games planned in Atlanta, but there is one bottom line: If it’s not safe for fans, the three games, Florida State-West Virginia, Georgia-Virginia and North Carolina-Auburn, won’t be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, File)

Arizona Cardinals play the San Francisco 49ers inside of State Farm Stadium during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

The Pittsburgh skyline raise above Heinz Field as fans watch the second half of an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

1. Lambeau Field (Packers)

Fans don’t just visit. They make pilgrimages to this virtual museum of football history and tradition, all enhanced by a $295 million renovation.

2. CenturyLink Field (Seahawks)

The league’s loudest fans make sense of the city’s our-coffee-is-the-best mantra. There is nothing like the roar of the 12s.

3. Arrowhead Stadium (Chiefs)

A sea of red inside and one of the league’s best tailgates outside. Think a college football atmosphere.

4. AT&T Stadium (Cowboys)

Jerry Jones spent $1.15 billion and yet still kept the ‘ol Texas Stadium hole in the roof. There is a video screen the size of Dallas.

5. U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings)

Opened in 2016 and has already hosted a Super Bowl and Final Four. Largest pivoting glass doors in the world.

6. Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons)

Name another stadium — no matter the sport — where you exist in first-class luxury and can buy two hot dogs and a beer for under $10.

7. State Farm Stadium (Cardinals)

If only the team could be as special as the venue, having opened in 2006 and already made two major renovations.

8. Heinz Field (Steelers)

Located across the Ohio River from downtown Pittsburgh, the views are amazing. Five gold stars are awarded for it being used in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

9. Mercedes-Benz Superdome (Saints)

The party inside (like outside) is epic and you can’t have the Super Bowl without this structure in the regular rotation, power outage and all.

10. Soldier Field (Bears)

History steals the final placement. The pillars. The colonnades. The statues. Payton. Butkus. Nagurski. Sayers. Even all that fog.

Where Allegiant Stadium would rank

At first glance, the 65,000-seat jewel of Las Vegas would likely fit somewhere in the 5-7 range. Spectacular won’t be a problem. But history is a developed trait. That it’s an NFL stadium a few post patterns from the famed Strip certainly equals a strong beginning.

Bottom 3 NFL stadiums

Note: Not considered are three stadiums — Oakland Coliseum, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Dignity Health Sports Park — in which the Raiders, Rams and Chargers this season will leave to locate to new venues. And yet, mice in the soda machines up in Oakland screamed of that facility being included.

1. New Era Field (Bills)

When the most memorable vision is a guy outside cooking cheeseburgers on the hood of a Pinto and using a latrine as a cooler, you’re the worst of the worst.

2. FedEx Field (Washington Football Team)

The nickname. The logo. The sexual harassment allegations. This dump and its high prices some 45 minutes from D.C. fall right in line.

3. TIAA Field (Jaguars)

It’s one thing to watch a team lose. It’s another to do so in a sweltering sauna — no matter the cabanas and swimming pools. Bring a bottle (case) of SPF50.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.