How the Jordan-Hare Stadium seat and sun data is measured

Every number comes from a USGS lidar survey of the stadium, NOAA solar equations, Auburn's section numbering and published row lists. Nothing is estimated from photos.

Sources

Stadium shape: USGS 3D Elevation Program lidar, Alabama 19 County collection, flown 3 February 2025, 1 tile. First-return points gridded to 1 m. This delivery classes the turf field as low noise, so field-level points in that class are kept; all other noise is removed.
Section directions: the section order round the stadium from a ticket map (section centres only), lined up with the field in the lidar. auburntigers.com puts the student section in the south end zone and the visiting bench on the east side, which fixes the orientation.
Row lists, covered rows, team sides, the student section numbers and the visiting fans' seats: rateyourseats.com section notes.
Gates, bag rules, parking, tailgating and the North Project: auburntigers.com. Capacity and opening year: Wikipedia.
Sun: NOAA solar position equations. Weather: ERA5 reanalysis and forecasts via Open-Meteo.

How shade is computed

Each section is sampled on 3 lines (left, centre, right) at every row, 10686 seat points in total. For each point the surrounding stadium surface is scanned in every direction the sun can come from to give a horizon profile. A seat is in direct sun when the sun is higher than that horizon. Games are sampled every 10 minutes for 3.5 hours. Rows under the upper deck count as shade.

How rows are placed

A line is walked out from the field edge through each section, and the measured profile is split into tiers by height: the lower bowl up to about 22 m and the upper decks about 26 to 50 m up. Where a section lists only its back rows (for example Rows 28 to 55 in a corner), the missing front rows keep their depth so the listed rows sit where they really are.

How the seat views are made

Each view is drawn from a 3D model built from the lidar, from 1.15 m above the seat (seated eye height), facing the field. Only rows open to the sky get a view.

Limits

The lidar was flown in February 2025. Auburn says the North Project does not change any seats in the 2026 season, so the scan matches this season's bowl. After the 2026 season Rows 55 to 63 of Sections 36 to 45 are removed, and these pages will change then.
The upper decks overhang the back of the sideline lower bowl. Those hidden rows continue along the measured slope at the row depth measured on the open end zones, so their distances and heights are approximate and they count as shade.
Section edges come from the section order round the stadium, not an official drawing, so a section's sideways extent can be off by a seat or two.
Not modelled: the suites and the North, South and Nelson clubs.
Light poles and video boards thinner than the 1 m grid may be missed.

Downloads (CC BY 4.0)

sun-by-section.csv: game, kickoff, section, minutes of sun, shade arrival
sections.json: section geometry and row-by-row sightlines