July kickoffs, summer sun, and stadiums most fans have never sat in. If your match is midday or afternoon, which side of the bowl you pick can be the difference between comfortable and cooked. Here's the shade side at every US World Cup venue — plus a free interactive map that ray-traces the sun for your match's exact date and kickoff time.
Pick your venue, set your match date & kickoff — watch the shade move across the bowl.
| Venue | Shade situation (afternoon matches) | Live map |
|---|---|---|
| MetLife Stadium (NY/NJ) — the Final, July 19 | Open-air. West-southwest side shades first; east-northeast side holds the sun | open → |
| SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles) | Canopy covers most seats; exposed lower rows shade from the south-southwest side | open → |
| Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) | Canopy covers most seats; exposed lower rows shade from the south-southwest side | open → |
| AT&T Stadium (Dallas) | Retractable roof, typically closed in Texas heat; if open, south-southeast side shades first | open → |
| NRG Stadium (Houston) | Retractable roof, typically closed in heat; if open, west side shades first | open → |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) | Retractable roof, typically closed in heat; if open, south side shades first | open → |
| GEHA Field at Arrowhead (Kansas City) | Open-air. Southwest side shades first; northeast side holds the sun | open → |
| Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) | Open-air. West side shades first; east side holds the sun | open → |
| Gillette Stadium (Boston/Foxborough) | Open-air. West-southwest side shades first; east-northeast side holds the sun | open → |
| Levi's Stadium (SF Bay Area) | Open-air. West-southwest side shades first; the east side famously bakes | open → |
| Lumen Field (Seattle) | Canopy covers most seats; exposed lower rows shade from the west side | open → |
Canada & Mexico venues (BMO Field, BC Place, Estadio Azteca, and others) aren't in the tool yet.
Open the live map for your venue, set the match date and kickoff time, and hit play — the tool ray-traces the actual sun against the seating bowl and shows shade section by section through the match. A noon kickoff behaves very differently from a 6pm one, so check your specific match rather than relying on general advice.
The first hour of a midday kickoff is sunny almost everywhere in an open bowl — shade builds through the afternoon from the stadium's shade side. Upper rows shade before lower rows. And at the canopy venues (SoFi, Hard Rock, Lumen), anything above the lower bowl is generally covered already.
Shade predictions come from a 3D ray-traced model of each seating bowl combined with the exact solar position for your date and kickoff time. Use it to pick a side, level and row range, then confirm the precise seat on a ticket map. Independent tool; not affiliated with FIFA, the World Cup, the NFL or any venue.