Total Pro Sports
Levi’s Stadium only opened 11 years ago, but the home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers is not held in high regard by football fans.
After 54 years at the legendary Candlestick Park venue, the 49ers moved into Levi’s Stadium in 2014. The 68,500-seat stadium cost $1.3 billion to make and will host Super Bowl 60 on Feb. 8 next year, which may or may not contain a Taylor Swift-led halftime performance.
Even though the venue is relatively new and the proud home of a marquee NFL franchise, the stadium ranked poorly in fan rankings.
Experts at the SiGMA Play sportsbook analyzed ticket, food and parking costs and fan ratings through services like Yelp to determine which NFL stadiums offer the best and worst gameday experiences.
Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts since 2008, had the best overall score at 9.09. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Atlanta Falcons’ home field since 2018, was second at 9.06.
But Levi’s Stadium finished with the worst rating at 3.24 by a wide margin. Perhaps the high beer cost ($12 per) and the outrageous median parking price ($100) contributed to its 2.7/5 rating on Yelp.
In another surprise, the Minnesota Vikings’ home of U.S. Bank Stadium ranked second-last with a 4.88 rating, followed by Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles) at 5.28.
For what it’s worth, fans ranked the Green Bay Packers’ home venue of Lambeau Field as the NFL’s best stadium in another separate study.
It’s important to note that recency bias is a key factor in studies like this latest one. The 49ers finished last in the NFC West last year with a 6-11 record, so fans obviously didn’t get their money’s worth a year ago.
We’ll see if the 49ers can bounce back after a rough 2024 campaign, but they’re already poised to begin the season short-handed. Star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk isn’t expected to return from surgery on a torn ACL until Week 6, and veteran Demarcus Robinson faces a multi-game suspension over a DUI arrest.
