Pick the wrong section at Rice-Eccles 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 Utah 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 61% of a 3:30 game in shade against 14% for the east side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (180 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West sideline, lower rows | 0% | 61% | 100% |
| West sideline, upper deck | 0% | 60% | 100% |
| East sideline, lower rows | 0% | 24% | 100% |
| East sideline, upper deck | 0% | 5% | 89% |
| South end zone, lower rows | 0% | 38% | 100% |
| South end zone, upper deck | 0% | 19% | 100% |
| North end zone, lower rows | 0% | 38% | 100% |
| North end zone, upper deck | 0% | 19% | 100% |
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 | 61% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, mid level | 61% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, upper deck | 60% | about an hour and a half in |
| South end zone, lower rows | 38% | about 2.5 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 87% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 49 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. Here is the sequence, computed for this bowl: 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 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 61% shade in mid-September and about 83% by late October, because the sun stands 15 degrees lower at kickoff (28 instead of 43). Late-season day games are kinder in every section.
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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 Big 12: