Sometimes as a student or fan, you never want your behind to touch the seat–you'd much rather stand up and go crazy from the moment your team hits the field, to the moment the clocks hit 0s. From special color games, to the “Jump Around” at Camp Randall Stadium, the college football atmosphere has the ability to never be dull. On the other hand, you might be a different type of fan–one that wants to sit in their seat, watch some football, and also enjoy the diverse landscape that our country has to offer. If you are that kind of fan, these stadiums with a view are for you!
1. Kidd Brewer Stadium: Boone, North Carolina
Home to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the Sun Belt Conference, Kidd Brewer Stadium is beautiful. Although the stadium is arguably undersized, the surrounding views make its size excusable, especially for a mid-major school. The key to why this stadium works so well is that the two level decks for stands go north and south on both ends of the sidelines, and these decks go the entire length of the field. This means that most spectators would have beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains that surround App State, and the city of Boone itself as well.
Kidd Brewer Stadium offers fans views that aren't your typical college football scenery. A small forest leads to the range on side towards the southern end zone, and the northern end zone hails the range high up in the distance as well. The other amazing aspect about the Blue Ridge Mountains, is that when the season begins in late August, all the trees are a very solid green, but once the fall months hit, the entire forest and mountain range is a beautiful array of orange, red, and yellow that is almost out of a storybook. For any college football fan, I would recommend visiting Kidd Brewer Stadium in October, and the football isn't bad either–Appalachian State and conference foe Coastal Carolina, have both found themselves in the top 25 in recent years. This stadium is a must visit!
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2. Husky Stadium: Seattle, Washington
Found right at the center of the extensive athletic complex at the University of Washington, is Husky Stadium. Compared to Kidd Brewer, it is a much larger and nicer project, which fits the bill for a Power 5 facility. If sitting in the upper deck on both sidelines and the western end zone, you could have the potential of having a great view of Union Bay, and the maritime Seattle neighborhood of Laurelhurst.
Unfortunately, the confusing part is that Husky Stadium is just short of the water thanks to a poorly-placed practice facility that could obstruct views for a few fans looking east towards the water. But Husky Stadium is also really cool because it is one on a short list of stadiums that have docks on bodies of water for boats to park at the stadium. Husky stadium has Husky Harbor for those who want to park or what they call “boatgate,” which is basically tailgating on a boat instead of on dry land.
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However, having this cool feature isn't just a tourist trap for the Huskies as last year they were very good, and not just by Pac-12 standards. Washington ended the 2022 season ranked 8th in the country. Led by the former Indiana Quarterback: Michael Penix Jr (who was 2nd in the nation in passing yards with 4,641), they amassed 11 wins, including a non conference ranked win over #11 Michigan State in the early season, a home win against #23 Oregon State, a #6 scalp in Eugene, and a #20 win against the Texas Longhorns in their bowl game. With that in mind, Husky stadium is not just a place to snatch a water view, but a place to watch quality football as well.
3. Acrisure Stadium: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Let's take a break from nature for a second and head to the concrete jungle! Acrisure Stadium (formerly known as Heinz Field) is located right in the heart of the city of bridges. In fact, Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park (Where the Pirates play) are located right next to the Fort Duquesne Bridge (which goes over the Allegheny River) that is one of the main bridges leading to downtown Pittsburgh. Another cool aspect of Acrisure Stadium, is that it not only serves the Steelers in the National Football League, but also plays host to American Athletic Conference (ACC) Football games, as the Pittsburgh Panthers play their home games here as well.
If you are a die-hard Pittsuburg football fan at all levels, you may have gotten used to seeing great quarterbacks in the 21st century. Of course at the pro level, there is Ben Reothlisberger who will arguably go down as one of the best quarterbacks ever, and if not an NFL Hall of Famer at the very least. Ben spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, and earned himself six Pro Bowls, and two Super Bowl rings in his tenure. To add to the resume, he owns NFL records such as most completions in a game (regular or postseason) with 47. He also holds the record for the most career games with 500 passing yards (4).
Nevertheless, there is another great quarterback in the city–Kenny Pickett, the new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback hasn't done anything spectacular in his few years in the league, but interestingly enough he had a standout career for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. In his spectacular senior season (redshirt/5th year) in 2021, he threw for 4,319 yards (6th in country), 334 completions (5th in country), and 42 touchdowns (4th in country). These numbers, which lit up ACC defenses earned him the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was the first quarterback taken in the draft, which is actually unusual as many desperate teams get a QB with their 1st-5th overall picks. Pittsburgh fans should be pleased to have their college standout on the field to relieve the retired Roethlisberger.
Pittsburgh football fans should also be happy that they have another type of show when they sit in the crowd: an overhead view of the stadium indicates that fans with seats on the western sideline have southern exposure of views of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the Allegheny River, and Downtown Pitt. On the eastern sideline, fans have views of the Fort Pitt Bridge, which is another means of infrastructure leading downtown. Acrisure Stadium is a great place to see both great quarterback play and downtown vistas.
4. Folsom Field: Boulder, Colorado
Back to nature! We now head out west to the Rockies where the University of Colorado Boulder plays their games. The Colorado Football team was atrocious last year, so I can't sugarcoat and say that this is a place to kill two birds with one stone and see great views and great football here. Statistically speaking, and honestly through the eye test, the Buffaloes were the worst Power 5 conference team in FBS football, and bottom 5 overall in FBS rankings. Now, in terms of last season, the fans got a great view when sitting on the club suit side. The Mountain vistas are stunning for an entire sideline and can also be seen from one end zone side as well (the other only has floor level seating).
One can argue that the views could make up for the football, but that may not have to be the case anymore–after the 2022 season, Deion Sanders has been hired and has hit the media by storm. Mass transfers in terms of players leaving and coming in, and trying to establish his brand of football to a struggling program. So far the fanbase has taken to his liking, as they had over 45,000 people pack into Folsom for their spring game last month. We may see if Folsom Field can become a two for one deal like the rest of the stadiums on this list.
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* Originally published on May 19, 2023, by AJ Rosenberg
