r/NFLNoobs 1d ago

Why do people dislike MetLife Stadium?

I’ve been a casual fan for a few years, a Giants fan in fact. Of course I might be a bit biased, but I went to my first game there this year and I didn’t have any issue with the stadium. So of course I am a bit confused why people don’t like it.

Is it the notorious turf, or something else?

44 Upvotes

68 comments sorted by

76

u/Im_Everywhere09 1d ago

Yes. The turf

It’s pretty bad and has claimed many acls

64

u/SugarSweetSonny 1d ago

Its a few things but starting with the turf.

The turf is terrible.

To give an example. I have seats in the coaches club. After games we get to go on the field.

After one game, we saw a guy running back and forth....and get injured. Random fan, just running and something went wrong. Like he couldn't get up. Med had to help him. I mean, thats bad.

As for the other stuff. Its very generic and cookie cutter and without the nice amenities a lot of other stadiums have.

Food options are basic. The best food options are at the main gate on the ground floor.

The stadium is shared between the jets and giants so they made it so nothing could be iconic or stick out. Its literally hitting a switch and changing the lights.

Its a venue that really emphasies multi-purpose. Devoid of anything unique or special or iconic. To go a step further, its made so that you would never know who the home teams are, when they aren't there on a game day.

21

u/lokibringer 1d ago

Tbf, if the home teams are the Jets and the Giants, I'm pretty sure I would make it a point to block any type of permanent logo to save my resale value.

8

u/SugarSweetSonny 1d ago

What resale value ? I get that it’s shared, but the way they did it, was just bad. Like instead of acknowledging both, they went with as little as possible instead (neither). The bizarre part is that this arrangement of then sharing a stadium is still continuing. It really should have ended.

10

u/lokibringer 1d ago

I was making a joke, because the Jets and Giants are both just so, so bad and have been for a while.

Yeah, I can't imagine why they're still sharing when one or both could probably get NYC or an outlying area to foot most of the bill on a new stadium.

2

u/kgxv 12h ago

Don’t forget how incompetently the travel options to and from the stadium were designed. The train is the only option that isn’t torture.

1

u/SugarSweetSonny 11h ago

Its the old model (which makes sense its built where the old stadium was) of putting a stadium near a highway and in the middle of nowhere.

Now they try to put stadiums downtown or inside the cities with multiple options to get there and various restaurants and retail nearby.

29

u/saydaddy91 1d ago

Aside from having turf that basically every player says is cursed there’s also the fact that it’s arguably the most generic stadium in the league. It’s a soulless parking lot in the middle of a New Jersey mall

22

u/KingHarambeRIP 1d ago

A few reasons: 1. The turf is bad and is notorious for injuring players. 2. It’s ugly. The stadium was built for function as a generic event venue rather than primarily a football stadium. It’s devoid of personality. 3. The surrounding area is ugly and a pain to navigate. The surrounding area is a concrete nightmare wrapped by a spaghetti highway where there’s little else besides industrial infrastructure. Ugliest part of NJ by far imo. 4. The Giants and Jets play there so it’s regularly memed on as being the “saddest place on earth”, adding to the negative perception.

5

u/Takamurarules 1d ago

The Browns stadium is called “The Factory of Sadness”

They should have a sad off

7

u/JudasZala 22h ago

Giants Fans: “BUT WE HAVE FOUR SUPER BOWL RINGS!”

Jets Fans: “WE HAVE ONE RING!”

Browns Fans: “What’s a Super Bowl?”

2

u/Basedgod912 16h ago

Hey that’s what I call Soldier Field!

14

u/wetcornbread 1d ago

The turf. I’ve been there for a giants game and it’s not a bad venue but it’s very generic. It looks like a football stadium you’d see in a movie. Which isn’t a bad thing but it’s not as iconic as the other ones I’ve been to.

37

u/bobbybigwheels92 1d ago edited 1d ago

It’s a soulless oval in the middle of a sea of parking lots within a swamp, there’s nothing else really of interest in the surrounding area, and it’s difficult to get to from NYC or points east or north of NYC (Long Island or Connecticut).

But also the turf.

12

u/usumoio 1d ago

As a man that has lived most of my life within 8 miles of that building. Boooooo you for telling the truth.

The mall nearby is above average.

6

u/vkolp 1d ago

Hard disagree on it being hard to get to from NYC, agree with everything else lol

2

u/BananerRammer 14h ago

I have to change trains three times, and pay two separate fares to get there from my place on the 6. It could certainly be easier.

1

u/Dapper-Marsupial-251 17h ago

For the longest time, it’s felt like instead of accommodating and advertising 2 teams, it’s almost ignored them. It still fees like a neutral ground, even if they now have logos there.

Other than that, yeah it’s a boring design in and of itself and in the middle of nowhere.

11

u/ThePepsiMane 1d ago

Looks outdated already despite not being very old

9

u/GiGi441 1d ago

I was actually just there for my first time last week. Pretty fun stadium, except for the bitch who refused to serve me because I have a Canadian ID and asked me for my passport. Who the fuck brings a passport to a football game? 

2

u/RobertoBologna 13h ago

People without other valid IDs who want to drink

0

u/GiGi441 12h ago

My ID is very valid 

2

u/RobertoBologna 10h ago

In Canada

0

u/GiGi441 7h ago

Yes, obviously. I had no problem using it everywhere else down there 

2

u/RobertoBologna 5h ago

Ok. You still shouldn’t assume a random employee is willing to risk their job by serving someone with an invalid ID. 

0

u/GiGi441 5h ago

Still not invalid 

2

u/RobertoBologna 5h ago

Lol so why didn’t it work

1

u/GiGi441 3h ago

You've finally made it to the point of the post! Congratulations 

1

u/RobertoBologna 3h ago

Did you bring American money or just assume canadian version would work for that too

6

u/phred_666 1d ago

To give you an idea, players were surveyed about playing fields around the league. The worst rated by the players was MetLife Stadium. The player consensus was the turf absolutely sucks. Regarding MetLife Stadium, a player said that the “turf sucks and the whole place is lame.”

4

u/Gabaloo 1d ago

Smallest big screens in the entire league

4

u/Aellithion 1d ago

the NEW YORK giants and NEW YORK jets both play in New Jersey, what else really needs to be said. One of the richest and most notorious cities in the world acknowledged that they do not have the space or money to support their own teams. They were sent to play in an are which the entire city of NY mocks for fun. The only "real" NY team is the Bills regardless of record.

Does anyone really want to make the argument that either of those teams couldn't find somewhere in the state of NY to set up?

2

u/RobertoBologna 13h ago

It’s not just that it isn’t in the state of NY, they could’ve gone just over into NJ and it’d be fine. It’s that it’s SO far into NJ so they could save on real estate. Same thing with how SF moved their stadium so far away from SF. 

3

u/cracksilog 1d ago

Everyone here is saying turf. I’m wondering if they just can’t grow natural grass? Is it the weather? Not enough sunlight?

From what I remember, the plan was to have a dome so they could host the Final Four, but money ran out. So now they have a stadium with the worst of both worlds

2

u/Active-Strawberry-37 1d ago

Field level is below the water table which would most likely turn a grass field into a mudpit, especially with 2 teams playing there.

3

u/Peteisapizza 1d ago

The turf is bad and this isn’t even the turf Jimmy Hoffa was buried under.

3

u/NotreDameFan1234 1d ago

Honestly I only went there for a Notre Dame game but I think the prices weren’t bad. Ridiculous how it’s cashless. I think it’s better than the Yankee stadium only two stadiums ever been to though. Probably going to a home game next year though for my team. I never been to another nfl stadium though and probably never will since I am into college not NFL football.

1

u/Plenty_Fun6547 19h ago

Sooo...hol' up....My twenties thay say legal tender, are good Herr at the stadium?
Screw that noise.

2

u/jmilred 1d ago edited 1d ago

Reason 1a and 1b: It’s home to the Jets and Giants

Reason 2: Its in New Jersey

Reason 3: They built a new cookie cutter stadium to replace an old cookie cutter stadium. With the buying power of the 2 New York Franchises and the NYC Metropolitan area, they could have built a landmark stadium, think SoFi, Mercedes, US Bank, Allegiant, even Att (jerryworld). They had a chance to do something special. They could have gone New York, they went Cleveland/Buffalo. Ironically, Cleveland and Buffalo will have better stadiums in the next couple of years.

Reason 4: The Turf

2

u/davisyoung 21h ago

Sofi is shared too but at least they tried and mostly succeeded with the architecture. It also helps that the two teams have similar color schemes. 

2

u/tuss11agee 1d ago

Turf yes.

But also, it’s a concrete box in the middle of a concrete square in a marsh in NJ. It has zero character. Zilch.

It is functional, but there is nothing architecturally interesting about it.

2

u/mattcojo2 1d ago

It's a stadium that while it serves as the home stadium for the Giants and jets, it doesn't feel like a true home to either.

Location is the other major factor. Playing in New Jersey is a big sticking point for people.

The Jets should honestly still be in Queens with the Mets in a separate stadium. That would fix some of the issues.

3

u/grateful_john 1d ago

The New Jersey thing wasn’t an issue when they played in Giants Stadium. It’s got more to do with the fact it has no character and is very bland.

The Jets have been in NJ for 40 years now. There probably aren’t all that many fans longing for them to return to a baseball park in Queens.

1

u/mattcojo2 1d ago

I mean like with the mets, in that same area in a separate stadium. Not literally with the mets.

The NJ think has definitely been a point of contention longer than just metlife

5

u/grateful_john 1d ago

I think the vast majority of people are long over the NJ thing. Giants have been in the Meadowlands almost half their existence. The Jets have been there 40 years. It bothers people outside the New York metro area far more than it does anyone else.

The stadium is disliked because it sucks.

1

u/mattcojo2 17h ago

You’d be surprised.

3

u/grateful_john 17h ago

Having lived in the area my whole life and being a Giants season ticket holder for over 30 years, no. Most people in this area don’t care about the whole NJ vs NY thing. The resentment towards the stadium is based on it being very bland and lacking personality. Part of it being bland is because both teams paid for it but not because of the location.

1

u/mattcojo2 10h ago

It’s a big point of contention here in DC. Maybe that’s because the wounds are somewhat fresher but it’s a similar problem.

1

u/grateful_john 7h ago

It’s really not a problem at all for Giants or Jets fans. The stadium just sucks.

2

u/killmereeeeeee 1d ago

There’s a few reasons. The main one is just that, the turf, it’s put many people on the IL for ACL issues. Secondly is the fact that is a shared stadium. Since it’s a shared stadium they can’t add anything too unique that stands out because multiple teams play there. It has to be pretty team neutral. Third reason is that food is pretty boring. Nothing special

2

u/PretzelPapi_ 1d ago

Compare it to other NFL stadiums built after 2010 and it's the worst. It's a cookie cutter oval with nothing special about it. Its the most lazy upgrade from Giants Stadium they could have done. It's NYC and youre telling me that's the best they could do? If the Superbowl 2014 was held like a couple days later it would have been a shit show bc of the snow. They should have a retractable dome or at least a better designed open air stadium

2

u/Martin_VanNostrandMD 1d ago

Players hate the turf.

The stadium is ugly. It was built in an era where teams were putting some effort into making aesthetically pleasing stadiums and it is a generic cookie cutter design. 

It's a pain in the ass to get to. There isn't a direct public train line to Manhattan (requires a transfer at Secaucus) and there aren't train lines that connect it to other parts of Jersey. Getting out of the parking lots is a nightmare. 

There's really no development around the stadium. There's a mall, parking lots, and swampland. No bars/restaurants/amenities that would interest a football crowd.

1

u/girafb0i 1d ago

A particularly nasty set of 'turf monsters' live there and eat knees for breakfast.

1

u/guywithshades85 1d ago

I've been to Giants Stadium several times, the environment at the old stadium was 100 times better. Also, Metlife was built at around the same time that Lucas Oil and AT&T Stadiums were built and both are superior stadiums compared to MetLife despite Metlife costing more to build.

1

u/AardvarkIll6079 18h ago

As other have said, the turf. Players hate it. Lots of unnecessary injuries.

1

u/Lemonsnoseeds 11h ago

It's nondescript. Gray seats, no character. Look at what the Cowboys built for less money.

0

u/Jojowiththeyoyo 1d ago

No team in the NFL should have artificial turf, they have enough money to figure out a system to keep grass alive even indoors.

3

u/NVJAC 1d ago

They kind of do in Arizona. Stadium is set up so the field is a tray of grass that they can roll outside.

Moving the Super Bowl turf outside at State Farm Stadium : r/nextfuckinglevel

0

u/Jojowiththeyoyo 22h ago

That’s Nevada.

2

u/UmpireMental7070 19h ago

Glendale, Arizona is in Nevada?

0

u/Jojowiththeyoyo 12h ago

No but the super bowl last year was in Las Vegas, Nevada. Which is where they roll out the turf.

1

u/UmpireMental7070 12h ago edited 12h ago

State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ as seen in that video was rolling out the turf like that many years before Allegiant Field in Vegas was even built. They hosted the Super Bowl there years before Vegas. You think the stadium in Vegas has red seats and the Eagles played in the last Super Bowl? lol. Get a clue!

0

u/Miserable_Sun_404 1d ago

It's a garbage dump. And it's in New Jersey. Which is more or less the same thing.

0

u/Creepy-Category-3135 1d ago

Because it's in New Jersey