Fox Sports NFL recently released their poll results of the best stadiums in the NFL by division. By no surprise, US Bank Stadium took the crown for the NFC North. 277 miles to the east of US Bank Stadium is one of the most iconic stadiums pertinent to the 100+ year history of the NFL. Lambeau Field is a lot of things. Historic? Yes. Iconic? Yes. But, is it comparable to the most modern stadiums being built across the league? No. That may be hard to hear for many, but history and nostalgia don’t make bleachers comfortable.
Bleachers
Let’s face it, the NFL is made for TV in a lot of ways. As far as TV productions have advanced over the years, the stadium experience needs to equally innovate. No NFL stadium should have bleachers in 2022. They are uncomfortable and your “seat” isn’t really yours in a packed stadium. Imagine boarding a plane and instead of a seat, you have a bench for three people to struggle to distribute the space themselves. The “owners” can fund all the renovations they want but the evolution of the modern stadiums has completely outclassed what Green Bay can offer. In my opinion, Adam Thielen said it best.
Home Field Advantage
The Packers’ last two seasons have ended with home losses in the playoffs at the hands of teams from Florida and California. Cold weather affects both teams on the field and lately, it hasn’t mattered if the teams typically don’t play in cold weather. On game day both teams have the same resources to combat the cold. If anything, the advantage lies in the preparation for the game which is commonly one to two practices out of the four practices that make up a full week.
The Rest of the NFC North
Among the NFC North stadiums, the Packers are not in last place by any stretch. Soldier Field in Chicago is a nightmare of a stadium that is also one of the smallest in the league. The Bears recently signed a purchase agreement for land in Arlington Heights to build a new stadium. In response to that, Chicago’s Mayor Lightfoot has drafted up some outrageous renovations to Soldier Field to prevent the stadium from sitting empty. But for now, we’ll keep them in the cellar. Ford Field is one of the first next-generation stadiums in the NFL, which was built in 2002 and is still a very good NFL venue. The newest of the bunch, US Bank Stadium, sets the bar very high for the NFC North teams.
Final NFC North Stadium Rankings (not up for discussion)
- US Bank Stadium (Minneapolis, MN)
- Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
- Lambeau Field (Green Bay, WI)
- Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
P.S. Packer fans don’t like it when you talk about Lambeau Field:
Parlay engineer with Twitter fingers.