# Football stadium orientation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411 "2008-01-13T22:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/1 "2008-01-13T22:11:55Z")
What is the directional orientation of most football stadiums in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/2 "2008-01-13T22:22:11Z")
North-south may be preferred, but it’s hardly universal. 70% of the pro stadiums run north-south according to one source. It might be preferable for keeping the sun out of players eyes, but it’s apparently not such a crucial factor that they will refuse to build an east-west stadium in response to other factors, such as the shape of available land parcels. With modern stadiums having banks of high seating all around it, it’s questionable how much of a factor the Sun can be anyway, since it will be blocked from the player’s view when it is low in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/3 "2008-01-13T22:48:12Z")
Most are north-south, or northish-southish. Several of the high school fields around here are eastish-westish. It’s very hard to officiate games when you’re staring at the setting sun in the west endzone. Playing can’t be any easier. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/4 "2008-01-13T23:12:33Z")
Of course, if you have Google Earth, you can survey the local football fields in a given area pretty easily. I just determined that Stanford and Cal-Berkeley both run diagonally NW-SE. If somebody points this out to them, some alumnus will probably demand that the stadium be rotated, just so they aren’t aligned like the other guy … There are examples right around me of fields running both N-S and E-W. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/5 "2008-01-14T00:49:29Z")
Quick survey of the Big Ten conference: [ul] [li]University of Illinois, [north-south](http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=16&X=986&Y=11098&W=1&qs=%7cUrbana%7cIL%7c)[/li][li]Indiana University, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bloomington,+IN,+United+States+of+America&ie=UTF8&ll=39.180701,-86.524737&spn=0.003584,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]University of Iowa, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=iowa+city,+IA&ie=UTF8&ll=41.658886,-91.55081&spn=0.003455,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]University of Michigan, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=ann+arbor,+MI+football&ie=UTF8&ll=42.265861,-83.7485&spn=0.003422,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]Michigan State University, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=east+lansing,+MI&ie=UTF8&ll=42.728155,-84.484767&spn=0.003397,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]University of Minnesota, [Metrodome](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=minneapolis,+MN+University+of+Minnesota+football&ie=UTF8&ll=44.973633,-93.257918&spn=0.006543,0.016587&t=h&z=16&om=1)[/li][li]Northwestern University, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=evanston,+IL+ryan+field&sll=42.049412,-87.673945&sspn=0.003434,0.008293&ie=UTF8&ll=42.065408,-87.692399&spn=0.003433,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li]li Ohio State University, [NNE-SSW](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=columbus,+OH+ohio+stadium&sll=40.085295,-83.059645&sspn=0.028303,0.066347&ie=UTF8&ll=40.001624,-83.018811&spn=0.003542,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]Penn State, [NW-SE](http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=18&X=1295&Y=22608&W=1&qs=%7cUniversity+Park%7cPA%7c)[/li][li]Purdue University, [NNW-SSE](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=west+Lafayette,+IN&ie=UTF8&ll=40.434405,-86.917863&spn=0.00352,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][li]University of Wisconsin, [north-south](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=madison,+WI&ie=UTF8&ll=43.070001,-89.412907&spn=0.003378,0.008293&t=h&z=17&om=1)[/li][/ul] So, mostly north-south. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/6 "2008-01-14T02:11:55Z")
And from the Big 12, University of Nebraska, University of Kansas, Iowa State University and Kasnas State University are all north-south. The University of Missouri is northeast-southwest. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/7 "2008-01-14T02:15:40Z")
IIRC the Rose Bowl is N-S, but the Colliseum is E-W. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego is E-Wish. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/8 "2008-01-14T02:45:01Z")
Cleveland Browns Stadium is one of the few that runs East-West (on an angle). I remember the Browns ex-coach Butch Davis used the cliche about wanting backs who run north south and some smart aleck on a call in show asked if he wanted his backs to run straight to the team benches on the sidelines. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/9 "2008-01-14T16:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] And from the Big 12, University of Nebraska, University of Kansas, Iowa State University and Kasnas State University are all north-south. The University of Missouri is northeast-southwest. [/QUOTE] To round that out, Texas - N/S Texas A&M - NW/SE Baylor - NW/SE Texas Tech- N/S Oklahoma - N/S Colorado - N/S and the confused one in the conference Oklahoma State - E/W ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/10 "2008-01-14T19:44:40Z")
SLight hijack, but I thought this was pretty cool. The football (soccer) stadium in Macapá, Brazil, is not only oriented north-south, but the half-way line is slap on the equator. [Here it is on Google Maps](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=macapa+brazil&ie=UTF8&ll=0.000617,-51.080568&spn=0.002929,0.00559&t=k&z=18&om=1). Looks a bit grotty, but a unique location. (Pan eastwards and follow the “Equatorial Avenue” into town.) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stadium-orientation/433411/11 "2008-01-14T20:19:06Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] SLight hijack, but I thought this was pretty cool. The football (soccer) stadium in Macapá, Brazil, is not only oriented north-south, but the half-way line is slap on the equator. [Here it is on Google Maps](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=macapa+brazil&ie=UTF8&ll=0.000617,-51.080568&spn=0.002929,0.00559&t=k&z=18&om=1). Looks a bit grotty, but a unique location. (Pan eastwards and follow the “Equatorial Avenue” into town.) [/QUOTE] Hehehe, gives a new meaning to the choice of “ends.” 😃