Pick the wrong section at Centennial Bank Stadium for a day game and you will feel it for three hours. 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 Arkansas 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 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 67% of a 3:30 game in shade against 24% for the east side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (1 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% | 32% | 100% |
| East sideline, upper deck | 0% | 15% | 98% |
| West sideline, lower rows | 0% | 68% | 100% |
| West sideline, upper deck | 0% | 66% | 100% |
| North end zone, lower rows | 0% | 47% | 100% |
| North end zone, upper deck | 0% | 28% | 100% |
| South end zone, lower rows | 0% | 47% | 100% |
| South end zone, upper deck | 0% | 28% | 100% |
A 100% cell means that area never sees direct sun that game. The 7:00 column climbs everywhere because the sun sets mid-game.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| West sideline, lower rows | 68% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, mid level | 68% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, upper deck | 66% | about an hour and a half in |
| North end zone, lower rows | 47% | about 2 hours in |
East sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 85% of a 3:30 game, and East sideline, mid level sit in sun for 76% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 55 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 43 degrees up in the southwest. Minute by minute, this is what the model shows: shade climbs the west 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. The common assumption, top rows first, is wrong in this bowl. Because the stands rise at close to the sun's afternoon angle, the shadow starts at the rail and works its way up, and the highest rows are the last to cool off. Even the east sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 3.5 hours in.
At a 7:00 kickoff the sun starts about 2 degrees up and disappears before halftime, so every area heads to 100% in the night column. When the schedule offers a night game, that is the shade play, not a seat trick.
Shift the same 3:30 game to late October and the numbers move on their own: about 87% shade on the west sideline instead of 67%, with the kickoff sun 14 degrees lower (29 vs 43). November crowds rarely need this page at all.
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The percentages above are computed, not eyeballed: a 3D model of this bowl is ray-traced against the sun's true position for each date and kickoff shown, using the same engine as the live map. It approximates the stands as a tiered ring and ignores overhangs and press boxes, so trust it for which areas shade first rather than for any single row. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the Sun Belt: