September day games at Sanford Stadium split the crowd into two groups: the shaded and the cooked. The field runs diagonally, about 116 degrees off north, the shade collects on the northwest end zone, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Georgia 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.
Because the field runs diagonally, about 116 degrees off north, the afternoon sun tracks along the length of the field instead of across it. That flips the usual advice: neither sideline hides from the sun here. The shade collects behind the northwest end zone, where the lower rows spend about 39% of a 3:30 game in shade while the sidelines average almost none (southwest 32%, northeast 7%).
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% | 32% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 31% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 15% | 97% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 0% | 84% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 14% | 97% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 4% | 88% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 39% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 37% | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 39% | about 2.5 hours in |
| Northwest end zone, mid level | 39% | about 2.5 hours in |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 37% | about 2.5 hours in |
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 32% | about 3 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 100% of a 3:30 game, and Southeast end zone, upper deck sit in sun for 96% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 53 degrees high and nearly every open seat lit. You cannot buy full shade at noon here, only a head start: northwest end zone, lower rows gain it soonest.
At a 3:30 kickoff the sun stands about 49 degrees up in the southwest. Here is the sequence, computed for this bowl: shade climbs the northwest end zone from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about 2.5 hours in, the upper deck about 2.5 hours in. That surprises people who assume the top of the stadium shades first. It does not. The stands behind you rise at roughly the same pitch as the afternoon sun, so the front rows drop into shadow first and the shade line walks upward row by row. The northeast sideline, upper deck never reach half shade before the final whistle.
At a 7:00 kickoff the sun starts about 8 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 55% shade on the northwest end zone instead of 38%, with the kickoff sun 15 degrees lower (34 vs 49). November crowds rarely need this page at all.
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These figures come straight from the engine that runs the live map: a 3D bowl model ray-traced against the actual solar path for the dates and kickoffs listed. Overhangs, press boxes and one-off canopies are not modeled, so use the numbers to rank areas, then confirm the exact row on a seat map. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the SEC: