Where's the shade?
For a football game starting at 1:00 PM on an early-September Sunday, the shadiest seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are 50-yard line (SE) (club deck), in shade for about 100% of the game. Across the whole stadium, seats spend about 37% of that game in shade. Mercedes-Benz Stadium has a retractable roof: with it closed every seat is shaded, and these figures are for the roof open.
Sun all game Shade all game
North is up. Colours show how much of a 1:00 PM game on an early-September Sunday each section spends in shade.
Shadiest seats
- 50-yard line (SE), club deck: 100% of the game in shade
- 50-yard line (S), club deck: 100% of the game in shade
- 50-yard line (SW), club deck: 100% of the game in shade
- 25-yard line (SE), club deck: 90% of the game in shade
- Corner (SE), club deck: 88% of the game in shade
- 50-yard line (SW), lower deck: 77% of the game in shade
Sunniest seats
Bring a hat and sunscreen.
- 50-yard line (W), upper deck: 0% of the game in shade
- 50-yard line (NW), upper deck: 0% of the game in shade
- 50-yard line (N), upper deck: 0% of the game in shade
- 25-yard line (N), upper deck: 0% of the game in shade
Does the start time matter?
Yes, a lot. Across the stadium on an early-September Sunday:
- 1:00 PM start: about 42% of seats' game time in shade
- 4:25 PM start: about 60% of seats' game time in shade
- 8:20 PM start: about 100% of seats' game time in shade
Night games are in shade once the sun sets.
Check your exact seat and date
The free ShadeScore app works it out for any game: type your section, row and seat, watch the shade move through the game, and see what your seat will feel like.
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Shade is modelled from Mercedes-Benz Stadium's real location, orientation and seating rows. Treat a result near 50% as "the shade line will be close". Weather and roof decisions on the day can change things.