WHICH CAA FOOTBALL STADIUM IS THE BEST? We at the W&M Sports Blog have created the DEFINITIVE (read: subjective) RANKINGS here!

Let us know what you think of the rankings & which stadiums you think should be ranked higher / lower.

We think Dukes fans will like their stadium's rank

Good luck this year, Dukes!

Article: https://wmsportsblog.com/2021/08/18/2021...-rankings/

(08-18-2021 06:05 PM)WMSportsBlog Wrote:  WHICH CAA FOOTBALL STADIUM IS THE BEST? We at the W&M Sports Blog have created the DEFINITIVE (read: subjective) RANKINGS here!

Let us know what you think of the rankings & which stadiums you think should be ranked higher / lower.

We think Dukes fans will like their stadium's rank

Good luck this year, Dukes!

Article: https://wmsportsblog.com/2021/08/18/2021...-rankings/

Nice. Thanks for the post, and likewise, good luck to the Tribe this season!

Doesn’t mention UD stadium renovations completed recently. Fun article though. Albany’s one sided stadium is really nice. If it had two sides just like the one, it would be pretty special.

You might as well have two list because it's basically 12th - 7th are the stadiums with a track and 6th - 1st are those without the tacks.

I've never actually been to Elon's, but don't see how that is worse than UR. Looks like basically the same construction quality (i.e. brick), minus the track, plus natural hillsides and sunken field = clear winner.

Have been to Elon a couple of times. It is a nice basic stadium but does lose points because of the track. But otherwise good seats and good concessions. Would recommend a trip there if you can swing it. haven't been able to make a trip to Albany or Stony Brook yet but hope to when the Dukes next play there. Also haven't hit Maine yet but have been to all the other CAA places. Heading to the Delaware game this year , last trip there was 10 about years ago so looking forward to seeing what they have done to the place.

Edit: Incorrect on the track, get my stadiums mixed up sometimes particularly as I haven't been to an away game in a long while!! BDK thanks for pointing out my boo boo!! Getting old ain't for the faint of heart!!

Brian

(08-19-2021 06:40 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  Have been to Elon a couple of times. It is a nice basic stadium but does lose points because of the track. But otherwise good seats and good concessions. Would recommend a trip there if you can swing it. haven't been able to make a trip to Albany or Stony Brook yet but hope to when the Dukes next play there. Also haven't hit Maine yet but have been to all the other CAA places. Heading to the Delaware game this year , last trip there was 10 about years ago so looking forward to seeing what they have done to the place.

Brian

How does it lose point for a track outside the stadium?
Can barely make it out in the lower right corner.

Elon will sell beer this season for the first time. They also say they will have a raw bar with shrimp and oysters.

I have bought enough tickets to see JMU and W&M play at Elon that they send me invites to all sorts of Greet the coaches events. They even mail me their alumni magazine, the really need to manage their mailing lists better than that.

BDK

You are correct get my stadiums mixed up sometimes, particularly since I haven't been to any away games in a while!!! But as I noted the Elon place is a nice facility definitely worth attending a game there.

Brian

Everytime I see that photo of BFS it makes me sad. Its like a car with a Ferrari on the front half and a Civic hatchback on the trunk. I can't wait for them to finish at least the lower bowl (it doesn't need to be symmetrical but at least have a single concourse that runs the whole horseshoe and better student seating, restrooms and concessions).

I haven't been to Maine or Albany, yet. They will complete my travels to all CAA stadiums. There are some very nice stadiums in the conference. Delaware is my least favorite. Climbing those stairs is a killer. Towson has the best away team parking. Tailgaiting at Richmond is nice. In the shade. Elon has a beautiful facility. There is always plenty of good seating at places like New Hampshire, Stony Brook. Not a lot of visiting team fans there so you can sit most anywhere you want. I would rank Nova as the worst facility.

The only stadium that is terrible is Maine. The others are decent or better at the fcs level

(08-19-2021 01:59 PM)Purplehazed Wrote:  The only stadium that is terrible is Maine. The others are decent or better at the fcs level

10 years ago Maine allowed you to leave during halftime and come back in. That was nice when you have painted your chest and it's late November. The fact you only parked about 25 yards from where you sat in that high school looking stadium was nice too. I have to bump it up from dead last just because the guy next to us gave us Moose.

Can't disagree with much of the rankings. JMU is far and away the premier stadium in the CAA. It is already better than several FBS stadiums even without the away side being renovated yet.
It is hard to believe it has been in place for a decade already and JMU still is FCS.

In the rest of the CAA, I'm partial to Zable stadium because it has nice architecture plus it was the site of my first college football game as a kid. I've lots of excellent and memorable games there over the years.
One anachronism - how do you have artificial turf on a colonial campus? Surely that can't sit well with some alums.

(08-18-2021 08:06 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  You might as well have two list because it's basically 12th - 7th are the stadiums with a track and 6th - 1st are those without the tacks.

I've never actually been to Elon's, but don't see how that is worse than UR. Looks like basically the same construction quality (i.e. brick), minus the track, plus natural hillsides and sunken field = clear winner.

Elon has a far better environment if using the bathroom and getting to the concession stand are important to you.

The visitor's section at Villanova's stadium was built in the late 1920's and looks to me to have the same bathrooms. Recent construction did away with surface parking . Last time I had to park in a new garage making tailgating difficult.

Speaking of restrooms, Unfortunately Delaware doesn’t have the piss wall to joke on anymore. That was a right of passage for visiting fans.

(08-20-2021 02:32 PM)HMK Wrote:  

(08-18-2021 08:06 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  You might as well have two list because it's basically 12th - 7th are the stadiums with a track and 6th - 1st are those without the tacks.

I've never actually been to Elon's, but don't see how that is worse than UR. Looks like basically the same construction quality (i.e. brick), minus the track, plus natural hillsides and sunken field = clear winner.

Elon has a far better environment if using the bathroom and getting to the concession stand are important to you.

The visitor's section at Villanova's stadium was built in the late 1920's and looks to me to have the same bathrooms. Recent construction did away with surface parking . Last time I had to park in a new garage making tailgating difficult.

I've been to some pretty sh*tty stadium/ arena bathrooms. Delaware pee wall, Cole Field House pee trough and ODU porta-potties come to mind. But the worst probably was at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium. You had to travel down what seemed like 25-30 steps below the stands into deep darkness to a bathroom w/ original fixtures. I honestly think the whole bathroom and stairs were illuminated by 2 bare, old style light bulbs. Not sure if there was actual flooring either. They have renovated the stadium since my 2008 visit and "modernized" it.

olddawg

You have mentioned the worst bathrooms I have been to also. Still have nightmares about Delawares wall.

Another worst time was at UMD a few years back. They were having water issues and the bathrooms on the visitor end stopped working by the end of the 1st quarter and by halftime they were all closed on that side of the stadium. The stench was unbelievable. Plus the whole stadium was a dump. Garbage and trash everywhere at the start of the game and grass and weeds growing through the concrete under the seats. Horrible place.

When we went to Duke in I think 2008 the bathroom situation was pretty sketchy. I seem to recall they were doing renovations on them so that had a whole bunch of these trailer borne restrooms everywhere which were extremely rickety and every time you used one you thought it was going to fall over!! Real bush league.

And I do recall the long line of portaheads at ODU when the Dukes played there. It was also fun watching the people climbing out the windows of the pressbox to get in and out. Think the place is better now.

People sometimes complain about BFS not being completed and looking lopsided and while it may be the amenities and facilities are far superior to many other stadiums I have been to including some of the FBS places the Dukes have played at. I for one am extremely grateful that the Dukes have such a wonderful place to call home!!

Brian

W&M #2? Hahahahahahaha. There is a damned track around the field. Albany’s field looks tons better.

All no track stadiums automatically ahead of tracked stadiums. Having a track around a stadium is one thing. Doing an 8 figure renovation, and leaving the damn track, so your fans are still way further away, is just dumb.

No track
1.JMU
2.UD (recent renovation) Losing the piss wall almost drops them to 3rd.
3.Elon (real grass, the last holdout)
4.SBU (recent renovation)
5.Albany (recent renovation)
6.URI (recent reovation)
Track
7. W&M (recent renovation). Plus: stands in the endzone go over the track so their fans are up close. Without the track they would be 4th. Minus: because of that stupid midfield gap on 1 side.
8. UNH (recent renovation, go from dead last to 8th. Without the track they would be 4th. Only of the 6 most northern CAA teams that gets good fam support.
9. RU (recent renovation)
10. TU:
11. VU: stadium is about as old as UD’s fan base.
12. Maine: Visitor side Junior HS level. Bathroom is a port-potty. I rather just have woods to piss in like at UNH behind their visitor side before their recent renovation.

(08-21-2021 01:40 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  W&M #2? Hahahahahahaha. There is a damned track around the field. Albany’s field looks tons better.

Yeah even if they’d gotten rid of the track (moved the sideline stands closer) & gotten rid of that stupid huge gap at midfield on one side, they’re not 2nd. 3rd or 4th..Author is clearly the biggest homer.