September day games at UB Stadium split the crowd into two groups: the shaded and the cooked. The field runs diagonally, about 143 degrees off north, the shade collects on the southwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Buffalo 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 143 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the southwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 70% of a 3:30 game in shade against 14% for the northeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (143 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% | 71% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 69% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 24% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 5% | 91% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 41% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 20% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 40% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 32% | 100% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 71% | about an hour in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 71% | about an hour in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 69% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 41% | about 2.5 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 95% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 87% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 48 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 40 degrees up in the southwest. Minute by minute, this is what the model shows: shade climbs the southwest sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about an hour in, the upper deck about an hour and a half 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. Even the northeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 4 hours in.
Night games solve the problem for you: at a 7:00 kickoff the sun is already down to about 5 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 southwest sideline climbs from about 70% shade to about 100%, purely because the kickoff sun drops from 40 to 25 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 MAC: