Three hours on the wrong side of Carter-Finley Stadium in September is a bake. The field runs diagonally, about 142 degrees off north, the shade collects on the southwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night NC State 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 diagonally, about 142 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the southwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 63% of a 3:30 game in shade against 15% for the northeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (142 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 0% | 65% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 60% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 24% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 7% | 91% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 37% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 20% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 38% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 32% | 100% |
100% = shaded for the entire game. Evening kickoffs converge toward 100% everywhere as the sun sets.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 65% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 65% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 60% | about an hour and a half in |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 38% | about 2.5 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 93% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 87% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 54 degrees high and nearly every open seat lit. You cannot buy full shade at noon here, only a head start: southwest sideline, lower rows gain it soonest.
At a 3:30 kickoff the sun stands about 45 degrees up in the southwest. Watch the clock, because shade here is a schedule: shade climbs the southwest sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about an hour and a half in, the upper deck about an hour and a half 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 northeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 4 hours in.
By a 7:00 kickoff the sun sits only about 5 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 southwest sideline averages about 63% shade in mid-September and about 98% by late October, because the sun stands 15 degrees lower at kickoff (30 instead of 45). 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 ACC: