The NFL consists of 30 full-time venues, including 2 shared ones, 10 closed, 5 retractable, and the rest open venues. Top-rated ones include US Bank Stadium, SoFi Stadium, and Lambeau Field. While these are enjoyable for the fans to watch their favorite teams play, others may create an unenjoyable environment for fans trying to watch their favorite teams. Here are some venues that are overdue for renovation or need to be retired.
FedEx Field
Home of the Washington commanders, this field had a capacity of 82,000 when it opened in 1997 but has decreased to about 67,000 seats. This venue has been at the bottom of the list of the top-rated stadiums for a couple of years, and if fans were asked what they disliked about their home field, they wouldn’t have a problem answering. One major issue is that it is not even in D.C. It’s in Maryland, a 31-minute drive from the white house if the D.C. traffic hasn’t come alive yet, and a 38-minute drive from the Ravens M&T stadium to FedEx Field. Many fans do not enjoy traveling all that way, either by car or metro and paying for parking. Another issue in the venue is the condition of the stadium. There have been a couple of occurrences where water pipes burst and drenched fans. In a 2022 game against the Eagles, the railings above the away team’s tunnel failed to the weight of fans and resulted in multiple injuries to them, almost injuring Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hard Rock Stadium
Surprising to some, this one lands on this list. Housing the Miami Dolphins, this venue opened in 1987 and has a capacity of 65,000. The hope when building this stadium was to host an MLB team because the Miami Marlins (now Dolphins) didn’t exist yet. Part of the issue is the age, as it’s the 6th oldest venue in the league, creating problems with the structure, safety, and maintaining the stadium. Fans face other issues when trying to watch, such as limited transportation to and from the stadium, nearby hotels, the sound level, and expensive and poor parking. For the players, a large issue, especially for away teams, is the heat. The stadium roof provides shade for the Dolphins’ sidelines, which creates a big difference in Florida, but it’s not as helpful for the away team. The roof offers their sideline with constant sunlight, making it, on average, 30 degrees warmer than the Dolphins’ sideline. This heat can tire out the away team while cooling the Dolphins. While this hasn’t seemed to help yet this season, it may help when Tua gets back on his feet. On August 8th, 2024, 3 workers were injured by an oven explosion at Hard Rock Stadium after a report of smelling gas. This incident may have been a result of the stadium’s age or could have been an accident not related to the stadium.
