Ranking the Pac-10 College Football Stadiums

Ranking the Pac-10 Stadiums

Pac-10 Stadiums are a true thing of beauty and this list provides some insight into each one as well as a ranking according to my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

#10 California Memorial Stadium

#10 California Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 71,799

Now the first thing you need to know about going to a game here is that you will have to park 3 miles away from the stadium and then walk uphill to get in. Then you will watch the teams’ play on a field that looks like painted concrete. Although it is undergoing a renovation so it has the chance to improve greatly.

History: Opened in 1921.Probably the first thing that comes to mind is the Cal-Stanford “The Play” game.

Game Day Scene: Not much unless playing hacky sack and discussing the evils of capitalism is your idea of fun.

#9 Arizona Stadium

#9 Arizona stadium

Capacity: 57,803

When you approach the stadium you will notice a chain link fence around it just like in high school. When you are watching the game its feels like you are sitting in high school bleachers and when you leave you’ll wonder why the Wildcats choose to play their games at a high school stadium.

History: Not much to write about although the team has used the stadium since 1929....so there's that.

Game Day Scene: Tucson is 2 hours from Phoenix and 90 minutes from Mexico…so not much. There also seems to be a staggeringly larger amount of drunk frat boys here than at other games.

#8 Husky Stadium

#8 Husky stadium

Capacity: 72,000

I feel bad for having Husky Stadium in this spot. I really do but the field has a track around it…. seriously guys, a track around the field? The views are outstanding though. You can see the water from most seats and I have no doubt than when or if (from what the Seattle newspapers have been reporting) Husky Stadium ever gets its much needed renovation it will most certainly jump up in the rankings.

History: Opened in 1920. In 1981 Husky stadium claims to have invented the wave. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

Game Day Scene: Very unique in that it’s the only Pac-10 stadium right next to a big body of water. You can take a boat to the game and many people stay out in their boats the whole time. That is just cool. But Seattle is a cloudy town that has a constant "Monday morning" feeling to it.

#7 Martin Stadium

#7 Martin stadium

Capacity: 35,117

Martin Stadium is small. It doesn’t bring much to the table. It’s almost cute and quaint in a way; content in its size and desirability. The fans are great and very nice. The team leaves a lot to be desired.

History: The stadium has never had natural grass since it opened in 1972.

Game Day Scene: It cool enough outside that you will seeing a good amount of grilling and the fans are more than friendly so feel free to chat it up.

#6 Stanford Stadium

#6 Stanford Stadium

Capacity: 50,000

Stanford Stadium is hard to see even if you are looking right at it. It is built in a hill and covered with trees. It’s not a stadium you can spot from the road. It has a small-enclosed feeling to it. It does fit right in with the Stanford area very well.

History: It opened in 1927 and was renovated in 2006 to bring the capacity down from 85,000 to 50,00. Quite a change.

Game Day Scene: Talk a walk around the beautiful campus. The area itself lends to more of an evening of fine dining and wine than to a football atmosphere.

#5 Reser Stadium

#6 Reser stadium

Capacity: 45,674

Reser Stadium feels bigger than it is and has a tendency to produce upsets. It feels right out of the box brand new, which is interesting especially since the stadium is over 50 years old. 

History: Opened in 1953; Reser Stadium capacity has changed seven official times since then and in fact was held 40,593 in the 1980’s, then to 35,362 in the 1990’s, then it rose to 43,300 in 2006 and it 2007 it changed again to 45,674

Game Day Scene: Corvallis is a city with a population of around 50,000 and 21,000 of those are OSU students so the city doesn’t provide much but you can find entertainment if you know where to look.

# 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

#4 The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Capacity: 93,607

The Coliseum is a quandary. It is massive. It has great football tradition. Tommy the Trojan is just awesome to watch ride around the field. But the stadium is never full even though it sells out. A third of the fans leave at halftime and another third show up at halftime and another third don’t show up at all. For the product that’s on the field you would expect this place to be full at all times.

History: This place is full of it. The Dodgers playing here when they moved from Brooklyn, the Olympics, National Championships,Heismans and Superbowls etc.

Game Day Scene: North of the stadium is a cool place where there is a lot of grilling going on but beware the stadium is in a absolutely horrible neighborhood and when it's late when the game ends fans tend to walk in packs. I  would suggest staying in the pack.

And only in Los Angeles can they expect you to pay $60 for parking and then expect you to be happy about parking your car next to a guy who took up three spaces to park his BMW.

#3 Sun Devil Stadium

#3 Sun Devil Stadium

Capacity: 76,000

Many people might be surprised to find it so high on the list. The bathrooms and benches are in need of a good renovation. But if you want to be close to the action this is the place to be. You can not get closer to the field in any other Pac-10 stadium. You are almost right on top of the action. Go ahead and yell out how ugly a visiting players mother is. He can hear you and will turn around and respond.

History: Built in 1958; the stadium itself has a very interesting history and not all of it relating to football. Super Bowl XXX, the Arizona Cardinals and Barack Obama have all held stage here as well as Pope John Paul II who demanded that all the devil references,art and photos be covered up before he entered the stadium.

Game Day Scene: There isn’t much in terms of tailgating but what do you expect when most kickoff temps hover around 100 degrees? Tempe is in the heart of the valley so feel free to enjoy some golf or fine dining before the game or my personal favorite take a walk down to Mill Avenue and just appreciate the beautiful women and all that goes with it.

#2 Autzen Stadium

#2 Autzen stadium

Capacity: 54,000

It's loud it's rowdy and everything is in pretty good condition. Going to a game here is just good fun. And guessing what uniforms and helmets Oregon will be wearing when they run out onto the field is just part of the fun.

History: Built in 1967 it is the youngest of all the stadiums in the PAC-10. It has also exceeded official capacity for every game since 2002.

Game Day Scene: There are a ton of bars and eateries around the stadium but just don’t expect them to be full of people until the game starts.

#1 Rose Bowl

#1 Rose bowl

Capacity: 92,542

Come on. You knew this was going to happen but there is just something about this place that screams college football.

Some say it’s the Notre Dame Stadium of the West. All I know is it’s a good place to be on Saturday. The only real downside is that you do feel like you are far from the action thanks to the bowl design.

History: Where to begin? It was build in 1921 and has hosted 5 Super Bowls, the Olympics and The Rose Bowl game every year as well as a plethora of other events.

Game Day Scene: There is energy in the air when you come here even when UCLA is losing 8 games a year.