Pick the wrong section at Tiger Stadium for a day game and you will feel it for three hours. The field runs diagonally, about 157 degrees off north, the shade collects on the southwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night LSU 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 157 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the southwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 67% of a 3:30 game in shade against 21% for the northeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (157 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% | 68% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 65% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 31% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 13% | 98% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 44% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 26% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 43% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 27% | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 68% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 68% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 65% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 44% | about 2.5 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 87% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 80% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 60 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 46 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. 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 northeast 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 91% shade on the southwest sideline instead of 67%, with the kickoff sun 13 degrees lower (33 vs 46). November crowds rarely need this page at all.
Ready to buy shaded seats?
🎟 LSU football tickets on TicketNetworkAffiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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 SEC: