Best seats at Rice-Eccles Stadium: closest, shadiest, covered and highest

Closest to the field: Section E36, front row 115 ft from midfield. Shadiest for day games: Section S49, 22 minutes of direct sun per game on average. Every pick below is measured, not rated: front-row distance and row heights from USGS lidar of the stadium, sun minutes from NOAA sun positions. Tap a section for its rows and seat views.

Which Rice-Eccles Stadium seats are closest to the field?

Section E36, front row 115 ft from midfield. Distances run from each section's front row to midfield, measured from USGS lidar of the stadium.

Section	Where	Front row to midfield
Section E36	bowl, east, sideline	115 ft
Section W12	bowl, west, sideline	116 ft
Section W11	bowl, west, sideline	124 ft
Section E37	bowl, east, sideline	125 ft
Section W13	bowl, west, sideline	126 ft

Which Rice-Eccles Stadium seats are in the shade for day games?

Section S49, 22 minutes of direct sun per game on average across the 6 day-game starts we model (10:00 am, 1:30 pm on Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 27). Sun minutes are per seat over the whole game, from the stadium's lidar shape and NOAA sun positions, averaged over the section's rows.

Section	Where	Direct sun per game
Section S49	bowl, south, end zone	22 min
Section S48	bowl, south, end zone	45 min
Section S50	bowl, south, end zone	47 min
Section S47	bowl, south, end zone	62 min
Section S51	bowl, south, end zone	66 min

Which Rice-Eccles Stadium seats get the most sun?

Section E36, 194 minutes of direct sun per game on average across the same day games. Sit here for warmth on a cold day; bring sunscreen and a hat in summer.

Section	Where	Direct sun per game
Section E36	bowl, east, sideline	194 min
Section N28	bowl, north east, corner	193 min
Section E34	bowl, east, sideline	192 min
Section E37	bowl, east, sideline	191 min
Section N29	bowl, north east, corner	189 min

Which Rice-Eccles Stadium seats are covered from rain?

No section is fully covered; in Section W15 you are under the deck above from Row 52. 9 sections have at least some covered rows. Covered rows also stay out of direct sun.

Section	Where	Covered rows
Section W15	bowl, west, sideline	From Row 52
Section W12	bowl, west, sideline	From Row 53
Section W9	bowl, west, sideline	From Row 53
Section W10	bowl, west, sideline	From Row 54
Section W11	bowl, west, sideline	From Row 54

Where are the highest seats at Rice-Eccles Stadium?

Section E34, top row 104 ft above the field. High rows show plays develop and the whole field at once; they are also the furthest from the action.

Section	Where	Top row above the field
Section E34	bowl, east, sideline	104 ft
Section S43	bowl, south east, corner	98 ft
Section E31	bowl, north east, corner	98 ft
Section E35	bowl, east, sideline	98 ft
Section E37	bowl, east, sideline	98 ft