In Miami, the stadium is laid out in such a way that the home team gets shade while the visitors are in the glaring sun.
Do any other stadiums create unbalanced situations like this?
The only thing I can think of is the Browns stadiums positioning can greatly effect FG/PAT’s. The issue with that one though is it can mess with both teams kickers, with the idea the Browns kicker gets used to it in camp and preseason (in an ideal scenario anyway… looking at you Cade York)
When Gillette Stadium first opened in 2002, it had a natural grass field. In addition to the Patriots, they let a bunch of high school teams play on it too. It became such a mud pit that the NFL threatened to move games out of Foxborough if they did not replace the field (in violation of NFL rules). After switching to turf, they brought in Randy Moss and Wes Welker…
Everbank field is unfair for the jags.
The Steelers put a black screen with the Steelers logo on the jumbotron when they are kicking a FG/XP and they put the live video on when the oposing team is kicking. Makes it harder for the opposing team to kick as the jumbotron is right behind the posts.
I imagine other teams probably do this as well
If the visiting team bench is in bright sunlight and the home team is shaded in the hotter months.
Evidently, the shape of Clevelands stadium results in a very specific swirling wind pattern from gusts entering from Lake Erie. The only kicker that seemed to have mastered kicking within it with a distinct advantage is Phil Dawson who took advice from a stadium sniper on reading wind direction by using not just the goalpost flags which could blow in two directions at once, but by observing the American flags in the stadium.
Hard Rock Stadium Miami
The grass in Acrisure is notoriously fucked, but we’re used to it. Kicking into the open end used to be a big deal. Renegade works like 60% of the time. And then weather is something a lot of teams no longer deal with. Add to that that a lot of away games BECOME home games for us, we take away YOUR home field advantage too.
This thread happens every season. -I’m not ragging on OP, just sayin’ that we’ve talked it out. Joke answers are probably the way to go, incorporate current events.
My non-joke answer will always remain: Mile High Stadium is literally a mile above sea level. Walk a flight of stairs. Cool, right? Now do it in Colorado. Jeeeeezus that’s humbling. How “All Denver Teams” isn’t the consensus most unfair home field advantage is beyond me.
An unintended consequence of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas is a significant contingent of away fans at their games. It’s already a destination town, and if you’re going to go to an away game to support your team, what better place than Vegas? It also drives the aftermarket ticket cost up. I live in LA, and a couple of years ago I took my daughter to see the Raiders play the Giants at MetLife because it was overall cheaper than heading to Vegas.
Since the move, I’ve thought the Raiders would be better off tanking permanently, and then focus sales on visiting fans getting to see their team destroy the Raiders. Like a reverse Globe Trotters thing. It honestly seemed like the plan after Gruden left, but now I have my doubts with the interim coach doing well. It does seem like the plan could work.
When the chiefs play the raiders this year I’m going to have the globe trotters song in my head the whole time.
I remember the 70’s Chicago Bears teams used to pile snowdrifts behind the visitors bench
I don’t know if this gives any kind of advantage or not but when the Indians (Guardians) built their new stadium in the 90s they put the home dugout on the 3rd base side so when they travel to other stadiums they are always on the 3rd base side. I’m sure that gave some kind of advantage… maybe
In the NCAA, the iowa hawkeyes visitor locker room is entirely pink. Probably doesn’t effect many games but it’s still kinda funny
It’s not a current advantage but the Patriots had a distinct unfair advantage at their home games in the snow., having an ex con on a snowplow come clear a spot for their kicker
The browns 3rd down sound is an airplane that sounds super low, right next to an airport.