A new study has revealed the most and least congested NFL stadiums, factoring in congestion levels, rush hour travel time, and pollution levels. Which stadiums are the best and worst? How does your team rank? Let’s take a look.
Least Congested NFL Stadiums: NFL Stadium Congestion Analyzed
Key Findings
Arrowhead Stadium revealed as the least congested NFL stadium, thanks to the lowest gameday traffic and the quickest 10km rush hour travel time in the league
Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, is the most congested NFL stadium, with gameday traffic recorded at a whopping 42 per cent
The study conducted by sports picks, parlays and predictions specialists, Pickswise, analyzed congestion levels around each NFL stadium on Sunday at 4 pm, measured how long it takes to travel 10km at evening rush hour, and considered local pollution levels around each stadium, to give a total score out of 100.
Arrowhead Stadium topped the rankings with a score of 85.2 out of 100, making it the best NFL venue for traffic in the league. Despite Arrowhead Stadium having the 10th-worst pollution level around the stadium, with an IQAir air quality index level of 52, which is 7.6 over the NFL average of 42.4.
The home of the Kansas City Chiefs excels when it comes to the congestion levels around the stadium on game day, with an eight per cent level of congestion on Sunday at 4 pm, which is 17.3 per cent less than the NFL congestion average of 25.3 per cent. Not to mention, the time it takes to travel 10km at evening rush hour in Kansas City is also the quickest compared to all other NFL stadium locations, at just 12 minutes and 41 seconds.
Least Congested NFL Stadiums: Top 10 Easiest Stadiums to Travel to in the NFL
Rank Stadium Team Congestion Level (%) Time to travel 10km at rush hour Pollution Level Congestion Score /100
1 Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City Chiefs 8 12 min 41 sec 52 85.2
2 EverBank Stadium Jacksonville Jaguars 15 13 min 9 sec 35 71.3
3 State Farm Stadium Arizona Cardinals 20 14 min 39 sec 35 66.9
4 U.S. Bank Stadium Minnesota Vikings 18 16 min 18 sec 24 66.6
5 Ford Field Detroit Lions 20 13 min 23 sec 53 64.9
6 NRG Stadium Houston Texans 20 18 min 56 sec 21 61.6
7 Paycor Stadium Cincinnati Bengals 18 14 min 4 sec 58 60.6
8 Levi’s Stadium San Francisco 49ers 20 16 min 28 sec 39 60.6
9 Huntington Bank Field Cleveland Browns 21 12 min 55 sec 62 58.9
10 Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis Colts 20 16 min 47 sec 45 57.6
Coming in second place is the Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium, with a score of 71.3 out of 100. Traffic congestion levels on game day average 15 percent, which is the second-best in the league. The time to travel 10km during rush hour is also a relatively quick 13 minutes and 9 seconds, and Jacksonville’s IQAir air quality pollution level of 35 is below the NFL average.
State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, secures third overall with a score of 66.9 out of 100. The stadium sees 20 percent congestion on game day, paired with a 14-minute and 39-second evening rush hour travel time.
Fourth spot goes to the Minnesota Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium, with a congestion score of 66.6 out of 100. The U.S. Bank Stadium experiences 18 percent congestion on game day, while rush hour traffic pushes the 10km travel time to 16 minutes and 18 seconds. An IQAir air quality pollution level of 24 is also the second-best in the top 10.
Rounding out the top five is Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, with a score of 64.9 out of 100. Detroit records 20 percent congestion on game day, with rush hour trips the third-quickest in the league, at 13 minutes and 23 seconds to cover 10km.
Least Congested NFL Stadiums: Bears at the Bottom
At the other end of the spectrum, Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears, is the worst stadium in the NFL for congestion, with a score of 20.3 out of 100. Congestion levels on game day stand at a hefty 42 percent, and the time it takes to travel 10km is the third-worst in the league, at 27 minutes and 55 seconds.
Andrew Wilsher, Managing Editor at Pickswise, said: “Arrowhead Stadium is renowned for its atmosphere and passionate fanbase, and now it also stands out as the easiest NFL stadium to get to.
“While many stadiums suffer from long traffic delays and heavy congestion, Chiefs fans benefit from far smoother journeys on game day. Despite the city’s air quality challenges, Kansas City sets the standard when it comes to efficient travel times and minimal traffic around its stadium.”
Methodology for Determining Least Congested
The study analyzed three factors to give a total score out of 100 i, including:
‘Congestion Level Percentage’ taken at Sunday 4 pm in line with the most common NFL game time and sourced from TomTom Traffic Index. (Scored out of 33.3)
‘Time taken to travel 10km at rush hour’ sourced from the TomTom Traffic Index. (Scored out of 33.3)
‘Pollution Level’ sourced from IQAir’s air quality index, which measures the air quality where each stadium is located ra, ranging from 0 (good) to 500 (hazardous). (Scored out of 33.3)
The Last Word
Multiple factors influence congestion around NFL stadiums: traffic, rush hour travel time, and pollution levels. The Kansas City Chiefs have the highest score on the least congestion scale, with the Jacksonville Jaguars a distant second place. The worst place for congestion is the Chicago Bears and Soldier Field, with some of the worst traffic in the NFL.
Helping improve fan experience is a goal of every NFL team, but one thing teams cannot do is change the infrastructure around the stadium. What each team can do, however, is work with local officials to create conditions for monitoring traffic conditions.
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Story release courtesy of Pickswise