September day games at Spartan Stadium split the crowd into two groups: the shaded and the cooked. 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 Michigan 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 57% of a 3:30 game in shade against 9% 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% | 19% | 100% |
| East sideline, upper deck | 0% | 0% | 84% |
| West sideline, lower rows | 0% | 58% | 100% |
| West sideline, upper deck | 0% | 56% | 100% |
| North end zone, lower rows | 0% | 35% | 100% |
| North end zone, upper deck | 0% | 15% | 98% |
| South end zone, lower rows | 0% | 35% | 100% |
| South end zone, upper deck | 0% | 15% | 98% |
Read 100% as shaded from kickoff to final whistle. Every area drifts toward 100% for evening games as the sun drops.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| West sideline, lower rows | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, mid level | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| West sideline, upper deck | 56% | about 2 hours in |
| North end zone, lower rows | 35% | about 3 hours in |
East sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 100% of a 3:30 game, and East sideline, mid level sit in sun for 92% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 46 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 2 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 east sideline, upper deck never reach half shade before the final whistle.
Night games solve the problem for you: at a 7:00 kickoff the sun is already down to about 9 degrees and sets during the first half, so the whole bowl converges on 100% shade. Nobody needs this page for a night kickoff.
Date matters as much as section. Take the same 3:30 kickoff in late October and the west sideline climbs from about 57% shade to about 81%, purely because the kickoff sun drops from 43 to 28 degrees. Every area benefits late in the season.
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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 Big Ten: