Good morning and Happy Hump Day, Cougs! It’s time to make another Pac 12 ranking using vague criteria that consists of only one man’s opinion. This week I’ll be ranking the stadiums of the Conference of Champions. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit all the stadiums of our conference brethren, but hey, I do watch a lot of television and I have internet access so I’m pretty confident I’m qualified. As my main man Sean highlighted a while back, a number of the Pac 12 programs are in the midst of, or have recently completed, a stadium remodel (especially in the North Division). Wherever possible, I’ll try to assess a stadium based on what it figures to be when the remodel is complete in the near future. Is this a thinly veiled excuse to try to get Martin Stadium to rate higher? Maybe. Will it work? We’ll see…..after the jump.
1. The Rose Bowl – UCLA
In and of itself, the Rose Bowl isn’t the most aesthetically beautiful stadium and it certainly doesn’t come with all the modern bells and whistles that people come to expect. That said, it’s the freaking Rose Bowl. I don’t consider myself to be someone who gets overly hung up on nostalgia, but in this case, the Rose Bowl is college football and college football is the Rose Bowl. It’s likely I’m applying to much credit due to its role as The Grand Daddy of Them All as opposed to UCLA’s home stadium, but the place is most likely the number one spot that the average football fan would name when they think about the Pac 12. It helps that when the sun starts to drop there, that it becomes an absolutely gorgeous place to sit and watch a game.
2. Husky Stadium – UW
This one hurts to say, but I couldn’t put UW in last place on all these lists and certainly not when it comes to its stadium. Do I like it better when it looks like this or this? Of course I do. Do I give the place the finger every time I’m passing through Seattle on I-5? Well yes, that’s been known to happen. I’ve got to be objective with this thing, though. It’s perch on the water creates one of the most unique “tailgating” experiences in college football and it does make for quite a scenic location. What’s worse is that it figures to get even better when the shiny new Husky Stadium is completed for the 2013 season. Let’s just move on.
3. Autzen Stadium – Oregon
Why am I pissing myself off with this post?! This is another begrudging ranking, but the facts are the facts. Another key factor in Oregon’s rise to the elite has been their progress with facilities. Autzen Stadium is now among the more intimidating and loud venues in the country.
4. The Coliseum – USC
I had to make another nod to the history of the conference here. The arched end of the stadium with its Olympic Torch and statues guarding outside make it an instantly recognizable locale that is almost more landmark than it is football stadium.
5. Memorial Stadium – Cal
In the absence of the planned remodel, ol’ Memorial Stadium likely would not have fared too well on this list. Now that a beautiful setting (I’m a sucker for the Bay Area) is being combined with a modern stadium, it gets a big jump up.
6. Folsom Field – Colorado
Just so we’re clear, you saw that picture, right? I mean, what else do you need? I’ve also always like the “Colorado” that wraps behind the one endzone. I don’t know why. We’d have to go back and ask 12 year old me what is interesting about it.
7. Rice-Eccles Stadium – Utah
Just another big stadium plopped in a beautiful part of the country. That’s just how we do it out here, folks. Throw in the rowdy “MUSS” student section and you’ve got yourself a pretty darn cool place. Yep, pretty darn cool.
8. Reser Stadium – Oregon State
Now THAT is how you remodel a stadium. I was legitimately surprised the first time I saw the transformation of Reser with the addition of the new grandstand on the northeast sideline. 10,000 seats have already been added with another 10K planned in the final phase of the Raising Reser project. You’ve gotta sell a crapload of frozen burritos for an undertaking like that.
9. Arizona Stadium – Arizona
Correct me if I’m wrong, ‘Zona fans, but I just don’t get much out of Arizona Stadium. It’s kinda big, has some fairly recently built suites and the most on-the-nose stadium name in the history of stadium names. I guess the Bear Down Field thing is its signature feature?
10. Stanford Stadium – Well….Stanford
OK, so maybe Arizona is tied with Stanford for the most on-the-nose stadium name. The stadium was demolished and rebuilt in 2005, but the net result was a place devoid of both history and modernity. Other than that, though, it’s pretty great.
11. Sun Devil Stadium
It’s pretty huge so there’s that. To me, it’s just not a good fit for a college program to make its home in a big cavernous stadium that never quite seems to fill up. Both the NFL and Fiesta Bowl have bolted for the state-of-the art University of Phoenix Stadium.
12. Martin Stadium – WSU
Look, I don’t feel good about this. I love Pullman and I love Martin Stadium so let’s not make it about that. It’s really about comparing ourselves against the rest of the conference. Our stadium is the smallest in the conference and at present features row upon row of nothing more than metal bleachers. The Cougar Football Project will go a long way toward legitimizing our little place on the Palouse, but will still likely leave us behind our conference brethren. It’s important to note, though, that even we won’t have a stadium as big or fancy as some of our competitors, we will have a place that is perfect for its surroundings and will provide more than enough for an excellent game day experience and making a positive impression on recruits.
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