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The 2026 Stadium Scorecard
What 6,238 Fan Reviews Reveal About America's Top Sports Venues
Introduction
America’s biggest stadiums host millions of fans every year, and those fans are telling teams exactly what they think about the venue and their experiences. Alchemer analyzed 6,238 Google reviews across 20 of the country’s most iconic sports venues to find out what makes a stadium visit memorable, and what sends fans home frustrated.
Overall fans love these buildings and experiences, with an average rating of 4.62 out of 5 across every venue. But dig into the specifics of food, staff, parking, entertainment, and price, and real differences emerge between the venues that fans rave about, and the ones drawing complaints.
fan reviews analyzed across 20 major U.S. stadiums and arenas
average rating across all venues
of all reviews are 5 stars
Fans at the lowest-ranked stadium are roughly 7x more likely to leave a 1- or 2-star review than fans at the top-ranked ones.
Methodology: Alchemer selected 20 well-known venues (10 MLB ballparks and 10 NFL stadiums) representing a mix of historic and newer facilities. Alchemer examined 6238 public Google reviews across the 20 major U.S. sports venues between September 2025 to September 2026. Venues were ranked using a blended score weighting overall star rating (65%) and category sentiment (35%). Data reflects the review collection period noted above. Individual reviewer experiences may vary.
Old Ballparks and Venues Are Beating New Stadiums
New stadiums are investing heavily in the latest technology and amenities. Despite decades of stadium improvements, with retractable roofs, state-of-the-art jumbotrons, and billion-dollar price tags, the data shows something the leagues might not want to hear: the smaller, older ballparks are winning fans over more than the flashy new builds.
Three of the four top venues, Wrigley Field (1914), Lambeau Field (1957), and Fenway Park (1912), are among the oldest stadiums in professional sports. Meanwhile several stadiums built in just the last decade land in the bottom half.
Full Rankings: Top 20 U.S. Stadiums, Ranked by Fan Sentiment
| Rank | Venue | Rating | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PNC Park | 4.76 | Best value & parking |
| 2 | Lambeau Field | 4.81 | Best staff & merch |
| 3 | Wrigley Field | 4.83 | Highest rating; most iconic ballpark |
| 4 | Fenway Park | 4.72 | Best entertainment tradition |
| 5 | Truist Park | 4.65 | Continuous entertainment |
| 6 | Camden Yards | 4.68 | Great atmosphere |
| 7 | Coors Field | 4.67 | Consistent all-around, best family experience |
| 8 | Petco Park | 4.69 | Strong food & atmosphere |
| 9 | AT&T Stadium | 4.69 | Cleanest venue |
| 10 | Yankee Stadium | 4.69 | Strong views, solid across categories |
| 11 | Dodger Stadium | 4.67 | Praised atmosphere, but pricey concessions and parking flow flagged |
| 12 | Allegiant Stadium | 4.64 | Best concert atmosphere |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 4.63 | Strong transit access (MARTA); parking sentiment split |
| 14 | Oracle Park | 4.62 | Beautiful bay views, but lower food/atmosphere consistency than top ballparks |
| 15 | Arrowhead Stadium | 4.66 | Loudest venue & best tailgating; pricier concessions |
| 16 | Lincoln Financial Field | 4.68 | Friendly staff and big-event atmosphere: bag/bottle policy is the recurring complaint |
| 17 | Gillette Stadium | 4.62 | Best views from every section |
| 18 | SoFi Stadium | 4.51 | Praised staff and layout, but lower overall guest-service consistency than top venues |
| 19 | Caesars Superdome | 4.48 | High-priced food/drinks and parking exit congestion are the recurring complaints |
| 20 | Soldier Field | 4.2 | Lowest across nearly every category: staff, food, merch, and parking |
Top 10 MLB Ballparks
| MLB Rank | Venue | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PNC Park | 4.76 |
| 2 | Wrigley Field | 4.83 |
| 3 | Fenway Park | 4.72 |
| 4 | Truist Park | 4.65 |
| 5 | Camden Yards | 4.68 |
| 6 | Coors Field | 4.67 |
| 7 | Petco Park | 4.69 |
| 8 | Yankee Stadium | 4.69 |
| 9 | Dodger Stadium | 4.67 |
| 10 | Oracle Park | 4.62 |
Top 10 NFL Stadiums
| NFL Rank | Venue | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lambeau Field | 4.81 |
| 2 | AT&T Stadium | 4.69 |
| 3 | Allegiant Stadium | 4.64 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 4.63 |
| 5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 4.66 |
| 6 | Lincoln Financial Field | 4.68 |
| 7 | Gillette Stadium | 4.62 |
| 8 | SoFi Stadium | 4.51 |
| 9 | Caesars Superdome | 4.48 |
| 10 | Soldier Field | 4.20 |
MVP Moments
Star ratings tell you how fans feel. Review text tells you why. Alchemer dug past the numbers into the actual language fans used, looking for the recurring themes, phrases, and specific moments that show up again and again across thousands of reviews. Here’s what stood out, in fans’ own words.
Best In-Game Entertainment: Fenway Park
Fans don’t talk about scoreboards or light shows, they talk about ritual and tradition. “Sweet Caroline” during the 8th inning is called out by fans unprompted, and reviewers single out the manual scoreboard and pre-game atmosphere as the draw, not production value.
Best Value: PNC Park
Fans openly admit the food is “ballpark expensive” — then immediately add “but worth it.” PNC also wins on generous food and drink policies that let fans bring their own items inside.
Friendliest Staff: Lambeau Field
89.5% of Lambeau reviews are 5 stars, the highest of any venue in the study. Fans consistently describe staff as knowledgeable about team history, not just polite, turning a game visit into what several reviewers called a “pilgrimage.”
Best Concert Atmosphere: Allegiant Stadium
Built as home to the Las Vegas Raiders, the dome’s strongest praise doesn’t come from football fans at all. It comes from concertgoers, who repeatedly single out smooth entry, helpful staff, and the climate control as genuine selling points in Las Vegas heat.
Best Merch Experience: Lambeau Field
It’s not about product selection, it’s about pairing the Pro Shop with the Packers Hall of Fame and stadium tours. Tour guides get pulled into the merch story too, with one fan calling them “very knowledgeable” and the whole experience “a wonderful experience,” turning a souvenir stop into part of the main event.
Easiest Parking: PNC Park
Fans consistently call out clear signage and walkability, even on gamedays. Transit access comes up almost as often as parking itself, with the light rail from the south hills repeatedly mentioned as a shortcut around gameday traffic entirely.
Loudest Venue: Arrowhead Stadium
This one’s almost universal in the reviews. Arrowhead holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest outdoor stadium crowd roar. Reviewers treat the noise as the main event, not a side effect of a good game.
Best Tailgating: Arrowhead Stadium
Same venue, different category, and reviewers treat tailgating as inseparable from the in-stadium experience itself. The parking lot gets described with the same enthusiasm fans usually reserve for the game.
Cleanest Venue: AT&T Stadium
AT&T holds the highest clean-sentiment score of any venue in the study, and it holds up even under concert-level crowds. Reviewers specifically call out the clean restrooms and short lines despite thousands of guests moving through at once.
Most Iconic Ballpark: Wrigley Field
Wrigley carries the highest raw star rating of any venue in the study, and the reviews explain why in almost identical language across hundreds of entries: people aren’t rating the amenities, they’re rating the feeling of being there.
Best Family Experience: Coors Field
Strong, specific accessibility stories push this one to the top, with staff repeatedly going out of their way for guests who need extra help getting to their seats. It’s not just described as family-friendly in general terms, reviewers name the employees who made it work.
Best Views: Gillette Stadium
Smaller sample size than the others, but the highest view-sentiment score of any venue in the study. What stands out is that praise isn’t limited to premium seating. Reviewers in the upper-deck 300 sections specifically call out unobstructed sightlines, something that’s often a complaint elsewhere. Gillette also has a built-in second attraction: the stadium’s 22-story lighthouse landmark offers a separate aerial view for a $5 add-on, and multiple reviewers treat it as worth the detour on its own.
Conclusion
The data makes one thing clear. The best stadium experiences aren’t built on technology alone; they’re built on people. Top stadiums are winning because they invested in the things that are harder to build: knowledgeable staff who are ready to help when it matters, a welcoming environment that shows up in how people are greeted at the gate, and traditions that turn a single game into part of something bigger than the score. That’s what earns a five-star review, and it’s what brings fans back.
Related Resources
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Alchemer analyzed 6,238 fan reviews across 20 of America's most iconic sports venues, and the results might surprise the leagues: century-old ballparks like Wrigley and Fenway are beating billion-dollar new builds. See the full rankings, which stadiums win on staff, value and parking, and why the best fan experiences come down to people more than technology.