Pes 6 All Stadiums

[Tadeo Lentz]

Thefollowing is a list of stadiums in the United States. They are ranked by capacity, which is the maximum number of spectators the stadium can normally accommodate. All U.S. stadiums with a current capacity of 10,000 or more are included in the list. The majority of these stadiums are used for American football, either in college football or the NFL. Most of the others are Major League Baseball ballparks or Major League Soccer stadiums.

The 14 stadiums spread across 10 states on the East Coast, Central Zone and West Coast will be dressed in the colors and image of this new edition of the oldest and most exciting national team tournament in the world.

Whether you're a fan of Death Valley (the orange-and-white version or the purple-and-gold), Touchdown Jesus or just playing between the hedges, you understand the unique experience college football's stadiums provide.

So we asked 14 of our college football writers to rank the best stadiums in the sport. No parameters, no criteria. Writers were asked to submit their top 20 stadiums in order. We then awarded points: 20 for first-place votes, 19 for second and all the way down to 1 point for a stadium voted No. 20.

In all, 42 stadiums received at least one vote, allowing us to build a Top 25 (this is college football, after all) for fans to form a travel bucket list or just venues to try out in EA Sports College Football 25.

Soaking up the atmosphere on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium is pure nirvana for football fans, and it's hardly just the football game. The food at all the tailgating spots is divine, and we're talking about dishes from gumbo to shrimp boils to jambalaya being stirred in giant pots by fans hydrating with cold beverages and sporting their purple-and-gold attire (and, yes, beads too).

Mike the Tiger, LSU's live mascot, roams around in his spacious zoolike enclosure just north of the stadium. He used to hang out on the field in his cage on wheels just outside the opponents' locker room, but he no longer leaves his habitat to go inside the stadium for games. Having opened in 1924 and now with a capacity of 102,321, Tiger Stadium has been listed as one of "America's Most Treasured Stadiums" by the Historic Stadium Caucus. And when the Golden Band From Tigerland hits those first four notes upon stepping onto the field for pregame festivities, there's nothing else quite like it. -- Chris Low

Broadcaster Keith Jackson used to marvel (repeat it in his legendary voice) about the majestic San Gabriel Mountains hovering in the distance at the Rose Bowl. Good luck finding a more picturesque backdrop for any football stadium on the planet, especially at sunset. Sure, the stadium is old and in need of repairs, but there's a reason it was established as a National Historic Landmark.

The Rose Bowl Game is held there every year. The stadium also has hosted five Super Bowls, an Olympic gold medal match in soccer and multiple World Cup finals. Although UCLA doesn't draw big crowds for home games, the blend of history, pageantry and scenery surrounding the iconic 92,542-seat stadium in Pasadena, California, makes it a must-visit for any college football fan. -- Low

Size matters with stadiums, and Michigan remains the largest by capacity at 107,601, edging fellow Big Ten venues Beaver Stadium (Penn State) and Ohio Stadium (Ohio State). In 2013, Michigan drew 115,109 for its game against Notre Dame, the largest crowd ever to attend a football game on campus. The listed capacity has ended in "01" since 1956 with the "extra seat" belonging to former Michigan coach and athletic director Fritz Crisler.

The stadium went through a $227 million renovation in 2010 that brought club suites and private suites and significantly increased the noise level around the large bowl. Games at "the Big House" -- a phrase coined by former commentator Keith Jackson -- begin dramatically with the Wolverines touching a "Go Blue" banner as they enter the field. -- Adam Rittenberg

Since opening in 1930, Notre Dame Stadium has hosted some of college football's most significant teams, players, coaches and moments. But the venue is known as much for what lies just beyond its northern edge as for what's inside.

Since fall 1964, the "Word of Life" mural on the university library tower has welcomed ball carriers to the north end zone. Known as "Touchdown Jesus," the mural depicts Jesus Christ with his arms raised, similar to the touchdown signal. Located a little more than a football field away from the Knute Rockne Gate, where Notre Dame players enter for each game, Touchdown Jesus is visible from a portion of seats in the south part of the stadium and is frequently shown in camera shots of Notre Dame contests. -- Rittenberg

College football has brought mega-stadiums to less-populated areas, and arguably none stands out like Beaver Stadium, the nation's second-largest venue by capacity. The stadium rises near Mount Nittany on the northern edge of State College, which has a population of around 41,000 but becomes the third-largest city in Pennsylvania for Penn State home games. The stadium's size and capacity (106,572) mirror Penn State's growth over time. The stadium moved to its current location in 1960 and had mushroomed from a capacity of around 46,000 to 83,770 by 1980.

Penn State won two national championships during the 1980s, which led to the addition of about 10,000 more seats to Beaver Stadium by 1991. An 11,500-seat deck in the south end zone in 2001 brought capacity to six figures. The team's White Out games -- where students and other fans come dressed completely in white -- provide one of the sport's most striking visuals. -- Rittenberg

Washington boasts that Husky Stadium is "the greatest setting in college football," and it's hard to blame it for saying so. Constructed on the banks of picturesque Lake Washington, this mammoth 70,138-seat stadium is a rare big-city venue with big-time college football. With views of the Seattle skyline, Mount Rainier and a pair of mountain ranges, Husky Stadium is the premier college football bucket-list trip on the West Coast.

Pregaming on the water is a favorite pastime, with a range of experiences from small boats to expensive yachts lining Union Bay. Husky Stadium went through an extensive renovation in 2012 that modernized the facility, bringing fans closer to the field and adding to what was already a formidable home-field advantage. -- Kyle Bonagura

Arguably no college football stadium is more synonymous with its original shape than Ohio Stadium. The venue opened in 1922 as the nation's first horseshoe-shaped stadium with double decks. Architect Howard Dwight Smith went with a horseshoe shape to accommodate track events in the open end, and so that all seats could face the field. The stadium is famously "on the banks of the Olentangy River," as legendary college football announcer Keith Jackson would say, but a bend in the river had to be straightened to accommodate the venue and natural drainage was rerouted into sewers.

Although "The Horseshoe" has been filled in by a grandstand behind the south end zone, Ohio Stadium will forever be known by its original shape. Before each game, the band famously performs Script Ohio, culminating with the dotting of the "i." -- Rittenberg

The site of Camp Randall Stadium is steeped in history -- Wisconsin's state fair took place there before the Civil War, and Union soldiers were trained there during the war -- but it might be most recognized for a recent tradition: "Jump Around."

In 1998, Wisconsin blasted House of Pain's 1992 song "Jump Around" between the third and fourth quarters of its homecoming game against Purdue. Students and others in both stadium decks bounced to the song, causing the venue to shake with excitement. The Badgers went on to beat the Boilermakers and began playing the song before the fourth quarter of every game. Players and visiting fans often join in the "Jump Around," creating one of the most exciting and recognizable scenes in college football. -- Rittenberg

Bronze statues of Alabama's national championship-winning coaches flank the right side of a brick-paved walkway on the north end of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the site of the Walk of Champions, where thousands of fans gather on both sides of the plaza hours before the game to welcome Crimson Tide players and coaches as they make their way inside.

The stadium has seen tremendous transformation over the past 20-plus years and now seats 101,821 people and features luxurious suites and club seating. As recently as the 1990s, Alabama would play three or four home games a year at Legion Field in Birmingham, but Bryant-Denny is now firmly the Tide's football cathedral. It's a sea of crimson mixed in with Bear Bryant's familiar houndstooth pattern on game Saturdays. The decibel levels are ear-piercing with chants of "Roll Tide" and the tradition of playing "Dixieland Delight" by country music band Alabama in the fourth quarter. -- Low

Members of the Vol Navy set sail as early as the middle part of the week for Neyland Stadium, which sits on the banks of the Tennessee River. The stream of orange-clad banners flying from boats floating down the river is matched only by the mass of orange that engulfs Peyton Manning Pass to watch the Vols' players and coaches make their way down the hilly street and into the stadium. For years, Neyland Stadium has owned one of the largest capacities in the sport, and it is now listed at 101,915 after some renovations over the years.

Constructed in 1921 as Shields-Watkins Field (now the name of the playing surface), Neyland Stadium is also home to one of the most renowned entrances in college football. The Pride of the Southland Marching Band forms a giant "T" for the players and coaches to run through just before kickoff, and the end zones are painted in orange-and-white checkerboards. And one other thing: You're liable to hear the band crank up "Rocky Top" about 100 times a game. -- Low

A trip to Clemson includes "the most exciting 25 seconds in college football." There is a slow buildup, of course. The giant videoboard keeps the crowd updated: Players loading up the buses to take the 1 minute, 45 second drive from the locker room to the hill atop the east end zone. Coach Dabo Swinney is always the first one off the bus. He and his players stop first to rub Howard's Rock, which was placed on a pedestal at the top of the hill in 1966 but did not become a pregame tradition until the next year.

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