http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=103654

Quote :

"Ranking the ACC football stadiums June 26, 2006 From the nation's best conference on the field (SEC), to this year's sleeper conference (Pac-10), to the burgeoning giant (ACC), we continue ranking the most intimidating stadiums in the BCS nation. The little hoops conference has turned into a mighty fine football league, standing up to big brother SEC in the south (look, it's a Southern league, not an Atlantic league) and winning some head-to-head battles. That said, the ACC can't touch the SEC when it comes to stadium inhospitality. Some nice places, yes. Less than half are intimidating. The list: 1. Florida State: Doak Campbell Stadium has come a long way from its erector set days of the early 1990s. Just another in a long line of reasons to love Bobby. The bowled structure keeps the noise in, and -- I never thought I'd say this -- its fans are just as obnoxious and overbearing and overwhelming as rival Florida's. And that's a compliment. 2. Clemson: The best part about Memorial Stadium? Other than the deafening and disturbing atmosphere, it's the only thing in that beautiful college town. One road in, one road out -- and the stadium is a beacon standing tall in the middle of it all. The top three stadiums in the ACC are as good as any top three in any other league. 3. Virginia Tech: The Hokies run on the field to Metallica's "Enter Sandman", and I swear, even the 70-year-olds are jumping up and down in unison with the students (think Cameron Crazies). It also helps that Tech has been pretty darn good the last 15 years. 4. Miami: There's no better place for a big game at night. There's just something special about the fans, the atmosphere, the idea that something big is going to happen, the reality that you may not make it home alive after the game. The problem: too many times, the OB is half full -- which is a shame considering the success of the program. 5. Georgia Tech: One of the more underrated places in the nation. This is what makes Bobby Dodd Stadium special: it's sunk in the middle of downtown Atlanta, and the noise is trapped with nowhere to go but around and around and around. The place is good for at least one upset a year. 6. North Carolina: When Mack Brown had it going in the mid 1990s, Kenan Stadium was hopping. Thanks to Mack, UNC has some of the best facilities in the nation. Thanks to Mack bolting for Texas, UNC hasn't been the same since. 7. Virginia: It's a beautiful place, isn't it? I said, it's a beautiful place, isn't it? 8. NC State: The transformation from where this place used to be (a dump), to where it is now (a mini palace) is amazing. The problem, like many ACC venues, is keeping it full. 9. Maryland: I like Byrd Stadium, I really do. But it's a wide-open facility (no real bowl structure) and the noise escapes. 10. Boston College: Picturesque Chesnut Hill is a fabulous place to visit, and Alumni Stadium fits perfectly. But it's far from intimidating. 11. Wake Forest: Thank God for Duke. Jim Grobe deserves better. 12. Duke: Like there was any doubt which stadium was last on this list. "

how they have Kenan Stadium over Carter-Finley is beyond me, and the thing about us not being able to keep the stands full couldnt be any more wrong

6/29/2006 2:04:31 PM

I wonder if Arnie Spaniard's dumb ass had any part of that

that fool picked the damn Manning-Manning (NYG IND) Superbowl last year

fucking annoying ass moron

6/29/2006 2:07:38 PM

I'll go with that list... state should be a little higher though

6/29/2006 2:08:53 PM

State and Carolina should swap places

6/29/2006 2:13:24 PM

Quote :

"The problem, like many ACC venues, is keeping it full. "

Come again?

6/29/2006 2:14:38 PM

Has he been to games in these stadiums? He has 1-4 basically right, but after that, he just mouths off jibberish. WTF? Naming Virginia and Kenan over CF is insane.

Sure, both are beautiful stadiums, but neither one can rival CF's newer facilities or it's gameday atmosphere. And we can't keep it full? Why are they adding seats then? And why can't I get tickets?

6/29/2006 2:15:11 PM

said twice ... I'l just say i agree with the three above me

[Edited on June 29, 2006 at 2:16 PM. Reason : sdfg]

6/29/2006 2:15:53 PM

email him and let him know
Matt Hayes
mhayes@sportingnews.com

6/29/2006 2:26:52 PM

Lane Stadium at VT is the loudest stadium I've ever been to a game in. Clemson would be second and I think FSU would be third. FSU has more people but the set up of the stadium and the noise on the field just isn't what Death Valley has.

Also, the Orange bowl in Miami doesn't usually fill up unless it's the FSU game or they are playing the Gators....

As for us not filling our stadium, then why the heck are we expanding and adding more seats......

6/29/2006 2:31:05 PM

anybody have that link that shows we have like 110% attendance? we should send that to the dumbass

6/29/2006 2:31:36 PM

i was looking for that....but then i saw that last years attendance averaged out to about 5000 poeple below selling out, so im confused

6/29/2006 2:32:44 PM

http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/2005/Internet/attendance/IA_CAPACITY.pdf 7th, 103%
http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/2004/Internet/attendance/IA_CAPACITY.pdf 1st, 109%
http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/2003/Internet/attendance/IA_CAPACITY.pdf 5th, 103%

6/29/2006 2:38:19 PM

what is CFs capacity?

im seeing 56500 online...i know it used to be 51something, but then we added more seats.

^those numbers are saying that our capacity is 51500.....i dont think thats correct anymore.

[Edited on June 29, 2006 at 2:44 PM. Reason : df]

6/29/2006 2:40:06 PM

Quote :

"That said, the ACC can't touch the SEC when it comes to stadium inhospitality. Some nice places, yes. Less than half are intimidating."

...maybe if their rankings took into account fan support/atmosphere. Then again, if he thinks we can't keep CF full and ranks UNC ahead, its hard to figure out what he is thinking.

Carter-Finley should be ahead of Kenan and probably Dodd.

6/29/2006 3:12:45 PM

Our stadium isn't that great...we are kinda new age which not many people like.

Bobby Dodd, although never full unless UGA is playing there, has good history and is a 1 of a kind design. Add to that it is in campus and its easily better than The Carter.

Scott Stadium's renovation not only updated facilities but made it look very very nice. I can easily see it ranked ahead of CF.

Some also say Kenan is a beautiful setting...I don't but can see how some do if they like the sun glaring off of empty aluminum bleachers.

FSU and Clemson are clearly the top.

I think VT is extremely overrated...Lane is much better looking with the recent renovations but it used to be a pit. Miami (Orange Bowl) is a dump. It has history but with each passing Hurricane more of it falls apart and they can't fill the seats unless FSU is in town. I believe they do sell alcohol somehow at games which might make the atmosphere a bit better.

Maryland, Wake, and Duke are all quiet and terrible...I've never been to BC so I can't comment but I've heard it isn't a good atmosphere.

6/29/2006 3:59:24 PM

I have only been to VT's stadium in the last 2 years.... That being said, it was the noisiest most unfriendly stadium I've ever been in. Clemson is the same way, but Clemson's stadium is a little more open than Tech's.

For as much build up as FSU's stadium got, when I was at a game their I was not impressed. The game was a close game, very exciting, and the crowd was dead...

Bobby Dodd is terrible. It's quiet most of the time, it doesn't sell out, and it has a wall on one side instead of more rows of seats. (yes I know it's in the middle of the city).

Orange Bowl is a dump.... I agree.

6/29/2006 4:11:24 PM

thats probably the first time in 20 years someone has called CF "New Age"

6/29/2006 4:16:31 PM

ive been to a carolina game, it was against florida state... (i was cheering for fsu) and carolina cannot compare to us and our fans at a football game. the top rankings i agree with but i put us easy up near 4 or 5. the guy writing this must have come out of the journalism school at queer hill.

6/29/2006 4:21:38 PM

i saw this yesterday, and came close to throwing something. i considered posting it, but didn't, b/c i knew what reactions would have taken place. it's funny to see some of the shit though that was spewed by those commenting. take what the guy named tigerwillie said for example:

Quote :

"By the way Memorial Stadium, a.k.a. "Death Valley", is the oldest stadium in the ACC."

WTF. I'm sure GT's Bobby Dodd Stadium owns the title of Oldest Stadium in the College Football (opened in 1913). Death Valley was built in 1942. UVA's Scott Stadium was built in 1931, UM's OB built in 1937, Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium was built in 1929, and UNC's Kenan Stadium was built in 1927.

6/29/2006 4:41:58 PM

Quote :

"^those numbers are saying that our capacity is 51500.....i dont think thats correct anymore."

Our "official" capacity has been 51500 for several years. The temporary bleachers are what put us over 100%. With the NEZ completed, our official capacity will be around 60,000. No more 100+% for us. If we can stick above 95% for the season (100% on several games and then one game of 70% for some crappy team over thanksgiving or something), we will be doing pretty good.


Historically speaking, the dude has a point. Recently we've erased that, but go back 10 years and look at the attendance.

1995: 45292 (no data on sellouts for 1995-1998)
1996: 41328
1997: 45939
1998: 39941
1999: 45048 (1 sellout in 5 games)
2000: 46787 (2 sellouts in 6 games)
2001: 49254 (5 sellouts in 6 games, and the 6th game at 38025)
2002: 49477 (3 sellouts in 7 games, 2 more within 500 of a sellout)
2003: 53274 (6 sellouts in 7 games)
2004: 56200 (6 sellouts in 6 games)
2005: 52925 (3 sellouts in 7 games, 1 more within 500 of a sellout)

but compare that shit to UNC, who is ranked above us:
5 sellouts + 3 more within 1000 since 1999 (42 total games) (not to mention UNC's method of "estimating" attendance)
vs
26 sellouts + 3 more within 1000 since 1999 (44 total games)

must be the pine trees...

[Edited on June 29, 2006 at 5:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/29/2006 5:08:04 PM

when carolina played miami and beat them 2 years ago...i heard from some of my buddies that went to the game...everybody basically left at halftime to watch them lose from a bar or elsewhere...then they came back and won...boy they sure are true fans

6/29/2006 5:14:08 PM

who cares about rankings? usa was ranked 5th in soccer.

6/29/2006 5:16:57 PM

I really don't understand this after rereading the rankings...if he is ranking by intimidation factor, I retract my above statements. I thought he was ranking the actual structure.

Here is how I would rank by intimidation:

1. VT - very intimidating seeing 70,000 turkey leg eating, camo wearing, rednecks making gooble noises.
2. Clemson - the place is just huge...I'm sure its amazing when they play SC
3. NCSU - So intimidating that out own players can't hear the snap and jump offsides!
4. Maryland - always on the verge of a roit - win or lose
5. FSU - huge and tradition is sometimes intimidating...although very quiet when I was there and the game clinched the ACC title!?!?
6. UVA - can be kinda loud for big night games but they are still sissy
7. Miami - drunk hispanics can be intimidating sometimes.
8. UNC - aluminum is slightly intimidating
9. GT - very quiet and the students are almost as preppy as UVA and UNC
10. BC - guess
11. Wake - having more fans than them isn't intimidating
12. Duke - "

6/29/2006 5:22:46 PM

the sporting news has some very poor writers... that was poorly written

looks like something someone would do for a high school assignment

6/29/2006 5:47:53 PM

DON'T HAVE ANY REAL STORY IDEAS? RANK SOMETHING!

6/29/2006 5:48:04 PM

Quote :

"the thing about us not being able to keep the stands full couldnt be any more wrong"

i call bullshit on this

at any given time half the people are out of their seats - in the parking lot drinking instead of raising hell in the stands making it miserable for the opponent

6/29/2006 6:14:32 PM

so who actually wrote a comment or emailed the guy?

6/29/2006 11:11:47 PM

Top Ten Column Ideas Better Than This One. GO:

1. Top ten democrats who betrayed America.
2. Top ten edomite jews who made them do it


[Edited on June 29, 2006 at 11:17 PM. Reason : sdfsdf]

6/29/2006 11:17:25 PM

man really there are more things to care about than this. this guy obviously got excited about this column when he wrote 1-4 and then realized he had to fill out the rest and kind of scribbled out random tidbits. still, carolina is a shithole and unc fans have to walk 2 miles away to tailgate. HA

6/29/2006 11:22:58 PM

Never been to Tally or Blacksburg, But I've been to UVA, Clemson, Maryland, and obviously Duke, UNC, and Wake. Clemson is better, but only because they have 82K, and they're currently making it bigger. The Horseshoe was by far the loudest stadium I've ever been in. I'd say if we got a deecent team and expanded to 75K, We'd be solid at 4 behind Va tech, Clemson, and FSU. Of course, you have to be winning for anyone to care. It's interesting that besides Vandy and Kentucky, SEC stadiums are averaging like 80K

6/29/2006 11:28:21 PM

Is there a Basketball area ranking anywhere...I looked but couldn't find one

6/29/2006 11:43:07 PM

I'm not arguing that we have a great stadium, although I love watching football games at CF and have heard great compliments from opposing friendly fans.


but...

Quote :

"i was looking for that....but then i saw that last years attendance averaged out to about 5000 poeple below selling out, so im conf"

We added a game against MTSU that wasnt included in the season ticket package, and we were on a 2-4 tear when we played Southern Miss. Exclude the MTSU game and we sellout or come damn close to it for the season.

Quote :

""the thing about us not being able to keep the stands full couldnt be any more wrong""

then the

Quote :

"i call bullshit on this at any given time half the people are out of their seats - in the parking lot drinking instead of raising hell in the stands making it miserable for the opponent"

This is just ignorant...you've never been to a football game at CF. Sure, there are a lot of people who go out to drink and come back in, but its not nearly as bad as some of you people make it sound. I think recently its been more a case of people bitching that the administration might restrict this in the future, not people actually doing it.

6/29/2006 11:50:44 PM

Quote :

"We added a game against MTSU that wasnt included in the season ticket package, and we were on a 2-4 tear when we played Southern Miss. Exclude the MTSU game and we sellout or come damn close to it for the season. "

 
Virginia Tech      57100
Eastern Kentucky   56747
North Carolina     57100
Clemson            57500
Southern Miss      52500
Mid Tenn St        37217
Maryland           52312

6/30/2006 12:10:19 AM

^ solid

6/30/2006 12:16:10 AM

the Maryland game was played during the Thanksgiving break too. the only area that wasn't full was the student section, and the visitors section. every other section was filled to the brim.

6/30/2006 12:53:05 AM

i have a hard time believing that the southern miss game was that full, because there were some empty sections around the stadium that day

6/30/2006 1:21:11 AM

not in the first haklf

6/30/2006 1:49:39 AM

yeah there were definitely some people that left and missed out on our comeback.

someone mentioned basketball. well i know i've done this before, but i'll express how i'd rank em.

1. Duke
2. MD
3. NCSU
4. UNC (not really loud per se, but very large, and their tradition can intimidate lesser teams)
5. Wake
6. UVA's new arena (i'm basing this on what i've seen, and how close the students will be in the arena)
7. CU
8. VT
9. GT
10. FSU
11. BC
12. UM

in my opinion after the top 3 the gap gets very large. and before anyone says i'm a homer for putting the RBC Center in the top 3 go back and read some of the comments from the GT players, David Noel, and others during this past season. David Noel said something to the effect of, "At Duke they'll say something that will make you laugh, while over there (State) they say things that'll make you cry. They're out there to hurt your feelings." One of the GT players said we were the No. 1 toughest place to play in his book.

6/30/2006 2:07:55 AM

Quote :

"please go to each one of these schools rivalry matches and then base your list on something other than a google search."

he will like that

6/30/2006 2:51:50 AM

Death Valley in Clemson was very unimpressive, although VT impressed me tremendously, it seemed like the student section had their chants rehearsed in a required class they had to take or something, very intimidating, which made it the more sweet when they missed that field goal and we beat them in their place

6/30/2006 3:20:51 AM

i like when VT does the "Stick It In" chant when they get in the red zone. "Ooh, ooh, ooh...STICK IT IN, STICK IT IN, STICK IT IN!" one group of guys and girls in front of me were so into it that they were thrusting there hips to it, all coordinated and shit.

6/30/2006 4:20:02 AM

has anyone wrote this clown yet? i'd be interestedin seeing his response.

Matt Hayes
mhayes@sportingnews.com

6/30/2006 11:16:38 AM

Quote :

"1. VT - very intimidating seeing 70,000 turkey leg eating, camo wearing, rednecks making gooble noises."

the fans up there are pretty nice too, well at least the ones i went through to get to my seat and out and what not when i went up there two seasons ago when we beat them off of them missing a FG..
..and it is pretty cool in there

6/30/2006 3:29:47 PM