Seeing how we used only two of the seven criteria used by Sports Illustrated there were a number of stadiums and teams that ended up with the same score out of a possible 20 points. Rather than try to break ties based on other criteria the teams are listed here by their overall score based on stadium accessibility and tailgating as judged by the writers of the SI article. In the interest of fairness those teams that ended up with a tied score are listed alphabetically based on their city name.
For the complete rankings with all seven criteria included, make sure to read the entire article from SI.com.
Kansas City Chiefs – Arrowhead Stadium
Parking Fees – $18
Accessibility Score: 5 out of 10
Reason – The commute to the game is relatively light because of the large number of tailgaters who have already been on-site for 3-4 hours. While that allows for a relatively smooth ride for many, it makes for slow traffic 45 minutes before the gates to the parking lot open. The big problem is after the game and the parking lot backs up for at least 30 minutes following the game and can leave one stuck for hours.
Tailgating Score: 10 out of 10
Reason – Tailgating in Kansas city is the most important social event of each weekend during the football season. Everyone brings their grills and smokers, and by 9 a.m., the sky is covered in a thin layer of barbecue-flavored smoke. K.C. tailgating turns a three-hour game into a six-hour event where people who don’t have tickets will go and set up a big screen TV in the parking lot just to have the crowd noise in the background.
Total Score = 15 of 20
Oakland Raiders – McAfee Coliseum
Parking Fees – $20
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – If using your own vehicle, the commute can take awhile due to the volume of other cars. The freeway exits near the stadium are poorly designed for the amount of cars that crowd the area on game days. Despite easy access to two freeways, leaving at the same time 40,000-50,000 fans are spilling onto the streets still takes tremendous patience.
Tailgating Score: 9 out of 10
Reason – Belying the scary reputation of Raiders fans, tailgaters are actually a really friendly bunch if you get them to open up a bit. These being Raiders fans, the atmosphere strikes some as Halloween for adults, more like a colorful scene although the team colors are silver and black. It’s a mix between a Rick James and a Tupac video. With a three-ring circus of tailgating this diverse, it’s no surprise some line up as early as Friday to get a prime spot on Sunday.
Total Score = 15 of 20
Philadelphia Eagles – Lincoln Financial Field
Parking Fees – $10
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – Two major Interstates (I-95 & I-76) lead to the stadium but the sheer volume of cars can make the commute just awful. Taking the subway helps but if you plan to drive and tailgate there seems little escape from the gridlock of leaving the stadium.
Tailgating Score: 9 out of 10
Reason – Starting at dawn and running non-stop all day, the Eagles tailgate features heavy drinking and lots of food from large, 100-person groups to two-man get-togethers. The festive atmosphere is punctuated with guys dressed like Andy Reid, people singing the Eagles fight song and Terrell Owens is burned in effigy. Even if you don’t have tickets, the party is good enough to show up for.
Total Score = 15 of 20
Baltimore Ravens – M&T Bank Stadium
Parking Fees – $25
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – With exits directly into the parking lots off of I-95 and numerous downtown streets leading right up to the stadium it’s easy to drive into the stadium. There’s plenty of parking at a lot shared with Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Tailgating Score: 8 out of 10
Reason – Tailgates offer regional food such as crab cakes and oysters or more traditional fare such as hamburgers and ribs, and even pancakes in the mornings. In Baltimore, it’s not about the food; it’s about meeting like-minded friends and having a party.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Buffalo Bills – Ralph Wilson Stadium
Parking Fees – $20
Accessibility Score: 5 out of 10
Reason – Situated about 20 minutes outside of the city, the stadium doesn’t offer much in the way of public transit, so it’s all cars. Parking is never a problem in either the decently sized stadium lot or in the mini parking lots which consists of the homes surrounding the stadium set up, where most people pay $5-$10 to park on someone’s lawn. The commute home is a whole different story making normally a 20-minute drive take an hour and a half.
Tailgating Score: 9 out of 10
Reason – Some people park their campers and RVs as early as Friday for a Sunday early afternoon game… and leave the day after the game. For many, a tailgate that some estimate draws twice as many people in the lots as the stadium, is one of the top 50 things you have to do before you die. With large lots surrounding the stadium, the unbelievable scene spreads in a 360-degree circle around the facility. Touch football games can be found in every aisle, and special tailgate vehicles with built-in grills, sound systems and hot tubs on flatbed trailers make the rounds.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Carolina Panthers – Bank of America Stadium
Parking Fees – $25
Accessibility Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – The stadium offers 4,000 spaces to season-ticket holders, but does not control any other locations that includes smaller lots scattered over multiple locations. A 15-minute
walk and you can find free parking and an easier route home after the game.
Tailgating Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – A slow building tradition, tailgating has struggled to take hold because there isn’t a big parking lot next to the stadium where everyone congregates. Parking lots are scattered around the stadium, so there is little tailgating continuity. However, each lot seems to have its own vibe.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Cleveland Browns – Cleveland Browns Stadium
Parking Fees – $20
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – The commute is very easy to the stadium. Multiple highways lead to many parking lots, which may be accessed even easier via surface streets. Leaving after the game is a bigger problem. The stadium is on the lake, so 60,000 people all have to go south at once.
Tailgating Score: 8 out of 10
Reason – With no official stadium parking, people are tailgating everywhere you look, from the west side to the east side. tailgating in Cleveland is described as ‘mayhem and full bellies no matter the weather.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Green Bay Packers – Lambeau Field
Parking Fees – $30
Accessibility Score: 4 out of 10
Reason – No public transportation, Town of 100,000 does not have the best infrastructure to handle a large influx of fans on game day.
Tailgating Score: 10 out of 10
Reason – Not uncommon to see people setting up at 7 am for a noon kick-off. Multiple bathrooms outside the stadium built solely for tailgaters. The stadium lot regularly is full three to four hours before the game.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Pittsburgh Steelers – Heinz Field
Parking Fees – $25
Accessibility Score: 5 out of 10
Reason – The three rivers and extensive number of bridges can make getting from place to place around Pittsburgh a little bit of a hassle. On-site parking difficult to obtain without a permit.
Tailgating Score: 9 out of 10
Reason – No matter the weather, there are people grilling dogs and putting away cold ones all morning. You could go down to the stadium without any food or beer and still go into the game full and drunk.
Total Score = 14 of 20
Cincinnati Bengals – Paul Brown Stadium
Parking Fees – $21
Accessibility Score: 5 out of 10
Reason – The stadium is downtown, so fans can arrive from N/S/E/W, which prevents major congestion. Inexpensive parking close to the stadium isn’t easy to find, but there is plenty downtown within 8-10 blocks. Additionally, parking across the Ohio River in Kentucky and walking across the suspension bridge makes the commute easy. A water taxi and a $1.00 shuttle bus ride also offers easy access. While public transportation is relatively limited, Bengals Express buses offer rides in from the Cincinnati suburbs that couldn’t be any easier. Leaving the game is always a bear, but with several routes in and out of the city, it’s never too bad.
Tailgating Score: 8 out of 10
Reason – Until recently, tailgating was the only reason to go to the stadium. With parking near the stadium pricey and limited to season-pass holders, the tailgating scene covers about a square mile in many far-flung locations. Dispersed from absolutely phenomenal Longworth Hall — an old railroad building about twice the length of the stadium — to a huge parking lot next to a gravel pit, Bengals tailgating is a mix between Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. People have ambulances painted orange and black, grills are cooking classic Midwestern fare (brats, burgers, chili, etc.) and lots of alcohol is around. Games of parking lot football abound, as do games of cornhole, a bean bag toss game similar to horseshoes named as such because the bean bags are filled with corn. The festive atmosphere stretching a mile in both directions along the river has gained a following so intense that Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson himself has even walked about the tailgates for the experience.
Total Score = 13 of 20
Denver Broncos – INVESCO Field at Mile High
Parking Fees – $20
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – There is precious little parking in and around the stadium, and you are going to have to pay an arm or a leg for what is there. Getting home from a game is terrible because nobody leaves early and the freeway entrances are clogged, leaving you in a long, one-lane line from your parking spot to the freeway.
Tailgating Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – Since you need a parking pass for the stadium lot, tailgaters spread to outlying lots and neighborhoods around the stadium, turning game days into a multiple block party. Each lot has its own fans who have tailgated for years together and their own unique foods. Though no kegs are allowed, there is lots of Fat Tire beer, a regional microbrew.
Total Score = 13 of 20
Houston Texans – Reliant Stadium
Parking Fees – $15
Accessibility Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – Given the circumstances that Houston traffic is awful as it is, but throw in 75,000 people cramming into one large parking lot with three entrances, congestion is almost unavoidable. Most have found the easiest way to avoid the congestion is simply to arrive very early for tailgating and avoid the after-game traffic by having a drink or looking through the stores.
Tailgating Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – Given that tailgating was prohibited when the Oilers were in town, people now have jumped on the opportunity to tailgate. The stadium has taken note of that, and the new Texas phenomenon is highly encouraged by the Texans organization. Tailgaters allowed to purchase parking passes even if they don’t have game tickets. Tailgater of the Week and Tailgater of the Year have become very prestigious awards to receive.
Total Score = 13 of 20
Jacksonville Jaguars – Municipal Stadium
Parking Fees – $10
Accessibility Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – Although the stadium is located in the heart of downtown, traffic flows surprisingly well in and out. Many roads lead into and out of the stadium and a lot of the streets become one way before or following a game. There is plenty of free parking within walking distance of the stadium. Should you hope to avoid traffic altogether, a water taxi from Jacksonville Landing on the St. John’s River takes you to and from the game with ease.
Tailgating Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – The laid-back scene has the potential to rock, week-in, week-out, but it needs more dedicated early risers. A lot of people roll in after church or after having been to a Florida or a Florida State game the day before and don’t want to get up earlier. Once awake, many fans find the best tailgating occurs the farther away you get from the stadium at the private grass lots on the river.For a city that holds the ‘World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’ [at the Florida-Georgia game], it’s clear the Jags draw a much milder tailgate scene in comparison.
Total Score = 13 of 20
St. Louis Rams – Edward Jones Dome
Parking Fees – $5
Accessibility Score: 7 out of 10
Reason – St. Louis is a relatively small ‘big city,’ so the traffic isn’t what you would expect from a New York or Chicago. The Dome’s location on the north side of downtown makes for a lot of one-way streets, and surface parking space near the stadium can cost a premium. Traffic is spread out by the number of different highways and routes that converge in downtown St. Louis, although the city doesn’t seem to do much to combat game day congestion except for a couple of traffic cops. Generally a straightforward commute, travel to the Dome is complicated by all the godforsaken construction taking place, an issue that will likely get worse with the anticipated shutdown of Highway 40. The city’s light rail system, Metrolink, helps with traffic and the difficulty of parking at a stadium without its own lot. The Metro pretty much goes directly to the stadium, which makes getting to the game really easy, if somewhat crowded.
Tailgating Score: 6 out of 10
Reason – Tailgates are disjointed from each other, a result of the stadium not having a large lot of its own and from the tearing down of the biggest and best lot for another casino. Consequently, you have to pick and choose from several smaller lots scattered around the [area], from church parking lots to parks to shopping centers to garages. Many readily admit the scene pales in comparison to K.C., however it is still pretty active. Some groups come in decked-out motorhomes and set-up couches and TVs in the parking lot; some show up late, cook a hamburger or a brat and call it a tailgate.
Total Score = 13 of 20
Arizona Cardinals – University of Phoenix Stadium
Parking Fees – $10