Three hours on the wrong side of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in September is a bake. The field runs almost due north-south, the shade collects on the west sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Florida kickoff every area spends in shade, ray-traced for this exact bowl.
Pick your game and kickoff. Watch the shade move across the bowl through the game.
The field runs almost due north-south, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the west side block it first: that sideline averages about 54% of a 3:30 game in shade against 12% for the east side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (0 degrees), latitude and kickoff time, by the same engine as the live map.
Share of a full game spent in shade, by area, for a mid-September Saturday:
| Seats | Noon | 3:30 | 7:00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East sideline, lower rows | 0% | 21% | 100% |
| East sideline, upper deck | 0% | 5% | 89% |
| West sideline, lower rows | 0% | 55% | 100% |
| West sideline, upper deck | 0% | 53% | 100% |
| North end zone, lower rows | 0% | 35% | 100% |
| North end zone, upper deck | 0% | 17% | 99% |
| South end zone, lower rows | 0% | 35% | 100% |
| South end zone, upper deck | 0% | 17% | 99% |
100% = shaded for the entire game. Evening kickoffs converge toward 100% everywhere as the sun sets.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| West sideline, lower rows | 55% | about 2 hours in |
| West sideline, mid level | 55% | about 2 hours in |
| West sideline, upper deck | 53% | about 2 hours in |
| North end zone, lower rows | 35% | about 3 hours in |
East sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 95% of a 3:30 game, and East sideline, mid level sit in sun for 89% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 57 degrees high and nearly every open seat lit. You cannot buy full shade at noon here, only a head start: west sideline, lower rows gain it soonest.
At a 3:30 kickoff the sun stands about 51 degrees up in the southwest. Watch the clock, because shade here is a schedule: shade climbs the west sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about 2 hours in, the upper deck about 2 hours in. Most fans guess the upper deck shades first. Here it is backwards: the rake of the stands roughly matches the afternoon sun angle, so shadow pools at the front rows first and then climbs the bowl one row at a time. Even the east sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 4 hours in.
By a 7:00 kickoff the sun sits only about 7 degrees above the horizon and is gone during the first half, which is why the night column above reads close to 100% almost everywhere. If shade decides it for your group, a night game beats any seat strategy.
The calendar does half the work. For the identical 3:30 kickoff, the west sideline averages about 54% shade in mid-September and about 73% by late October, because the sun stands 14 degrees lower at kickoff (37 instead of 51). Late-season day games are kinder in every section.
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Every number here is produced by a 3D ray-traced model of this seating bowl plus the exact solar position for the dates and kickoffs shown, the same engine behind the live map. The model approximates the bowl as a continuous tiered ring, without overhangs, press boxes or section canopies, so read the percentages as a dependable ranking of which areas shade first, not a row-level guarantee. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the SEC: