Finis Horne Arena in Greenwood, SC

Basic Information

Arena: Finis Horne Arena

Location: Greenwood, SC (34.20119, -82.16736)

Owner: Lander University

Primary sport: basketball

Year constructed: 1993

Listed capacity: 2276

Date last visited: March 2026

Arena information: https://landerbearcats.com/facilities/finis-horne-arena/1

Summary Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

Watching a game at Lander University's Finis Horne Arena is almost like watching a game in Mammoth Cave.  The arena is huge relative to the size of the university and its fanbase.  Moreover, the arena is in the center of its building, so there are no windows to let any exterior light in.  Thus, the arena is rather dark, especially in the upper deck.  The stands were less than 1/3 full when I came here.  Yet almost the entire arena is a hard surface, and therefore sounds resonates rather well.  The arena isn't designed particularly well: there is only 1 walkway and 1 entrance/exit, so the pedestrian flow gets clogged around that exit door.  Also, the lobby leading into the seating area is very small.  If Lander had more fans, these would be serious problems.  Concession options are underwhelming but not out-of-line for a Division II venue.  Overall, if you like dark empty arenas, then this might be the venue for you.  While I do a lot of hiking and kind of enjoyed the solitude here, this is not a great place to watch a game.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: This arena is cavernous: it is huge and rather dark because there are no windows to allow exterior light in.  I came here for the Peach Belt Conference Basketball Tournament.  Lander basketball is not particularly well supported: the home team was one of the teams in the tournament, and yet the arena was less than 1/3 full.  The arena resonates what little crowd noise there is rather well, so it would give a very strong home court advantage if they had more fans.

Seating: all chairbacks, all comfortable.

Court View: acceptable but no more.  The seating area does not have a particularly steep grade, so the upper deck is somewhat far away.  There are no seats in either end, but there doesn't need to be.  They could close the entire upper deck and still have an arena that is plenty large for this university.

Audio/Video: The audio is loud and clear.  There is no video except for a nice scoreboard hanging over center court.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: The concession stand offers no hot dogs or warm food except Chick-fil-a.  The soda and popcorn I bought were fine.

Pedestrian Flow: quite poor.  This arena has only 1 walkway and 1 entrance/exit; both are at mid-level.  This design would be a problem if Lander had more fans.

Parking: plenty of free parking around the arena; look for "event parking" signs.

Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, SC

Basic Information

Stadium: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium

Location: Spartanburg, SC (34.96341, -81.93363)

Owner: Wofford College

Primary sport: basketball

Year constructed: 2017

Listed capacity: 3400

Date last visited: March 2026

Arena information: https://woffordterriers.com/facilities/jerry-richardson-indoor-stadium/153

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Wofford College moved up to NCAA Division I in 1995, and with that move came a commitment to upgrade their athletic facilities.  It took until 2017, but they finally built a top-tier basketball arena for a small Division I school.  Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium looks a little like an old fieldhouse.  Windows everywhere let a lot of exterior light into the seating area.  You enter the building at court level and ride an escalator up to the lower bowl's main concourse, from which all seating is accessed.  There is also an upper gallery that is accessed by elevators and stairwells in the 4 corners of the concourse.  There are no bad seats in the arena.  Like many newer arenas, there are social areas across the concourse behind the lower bowl, and a trophy case/hall of fame is located in the northwest corner of the concourse.  I came here for an NCAA Division II conference basketball tournament that was sparsely attended, but the building was still fairly lively.  Overall, I really enjoyed watching the 2 games I watched here, and for a small arena, this one is hard to beat.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: I came here for an NCAA Division II conference basketball tournament that was sparsely attended.  The building resonated what little noise there was rather well, so it can probably really rock for a Wofford home game.

Seating: all chairback seating except for bleachers in the ends.

Court View: there are no bad seats in the house.

Audio/Video: The audio is about average, and that may be the worst thing I have to say about this arena.  It has 4 nice video boards, one in each corner.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: They offered the standard concessions when I came here.  The hot dogs are decent sized and rather moist, but they don't have much flavor.

Pedestrian Flow: You enter on the court level with all access to seating from the middle level concourse.  Several wide staircases and an escalator get you between the levels.  This design wouldn't work for a larger arena, but it works fine for this one.

Parking: several free medium-sized parking lots in various directions from the arena; plenty of parking elsewhere on campus.

Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, SC

Basic Information

Stadium: Gibbs Stadium

Location: Spartanburg, SC (34.96194, -81.93305)

Owner: Wofford College

Primary sport: football

Year constructed: 1996

Listed capacity: 8500

Dates visited: December 2017, March 2026

Stadium information: https://woffordterriers.com/facilities/gibbs-stadium/1

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Wofford College moved up to NCAA Division I in 1995, and with that move came a commitment to upgrade their athletic facilities.  While the new football stadium they built, Gibbs Stadium reviewed here, is adequate for an FCS team, it hasn't aged all that well.  The stadium was built by leveling a gently sloping piece of land, and you can see the leveling cut made in the ground behind the north end zone and under the home stands.  The grade of the resulting stands is fairly gradual, and the gradual grade, low viewing angle due to the small stadium, and the decent amount of open space between the stands and the playing field make the view of the field below average.  The audio/video system is about average, as are the concessions.  The stands have several portals that allow access to the concourse, thus allowing pedestrian traffic to flow rather well.  Overall, I have watched games at almost every stadium in the Southern Conference (SoCon).  While Gibbs Stadium is not the worst of that lot, it is far from the best.  I would prefer to spend a Saturday afternoon in many SoCon stadiums over this one.  As one final note, Wofford's new basketball arena, which is the subject of my next review, is much nicer than their football stadium.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: I came here for an FCS playoff game, which both enlivens and deadens the atmosphere.  On one hand, the stakes are high and the fans are plentiful.  On the other hand, the home team does not get complete control over videos and announcements.  That said, the atmosphere was fairly bland.  Wofford's opponent was arch-rival Furman, and Furman had almost as many fans in the stands as Wofford.  Thus, the gameday atmosphere is very average.

Seating: mostly benchbacks on the home side; mostly bench seating on the visitor side.

Field View: below average.  This is a small stadium, so you are sitting at a low angle to view the field.  Also, there is a decent bit of space between the stands and field, and the grade of the stands is rather gradual.  Thus, you don't feel very close to the action relative to where you are sitting.

Audio/Video: average; 1 nice video board on the north end.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: Concessions are located behind the stands where you would expect them.  The concession items are the standard ones.  The hot dogs are decent sized and rather moist but do not have much flavor.

Pedestrian Flow: several portals to/from the concourse behind the stands helps the pedestrian traffic flow rather well.

Parking: several medium-sized parking lots in various directions from the stadium; plenty of parking elsewhere on campus.

Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, IL

Basic Information

Stadium: Huskie Stadium

Location: DeKalb, IL (41.93391, -88.77780)

Owner: Northern Illinois University

Primary sport: football

Year constructed: 1965

Listed capacity: 28,211

Date last visited: October 2025

Stadium information: https://niuhuskies.com/facilities/huskie-stadium/6

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

I had read some negative reviews of this stadium, and sure enough as I walked toward the stadium from the east it appeared as a huge soulless, charmless hunk of metal.  But after I scanned my ticket, bought my hot dogs, and climbed the stairs through the portal to view the stands and the field, a whole different world emerged.  The stands are reasonably close to the field, and the field is several feet below the 1st row of stands.  Thus, the view of the field is excellent.  Northern Illinois has one of the larger and louder fan bases among non-power conference teams, and they make for an energetic gameday atmosphere.  Pedestrian and vehicle traffic flow quite well.  Overall, I enjoyed watching a game here.  Rynearson Stadium at Eastern Michigan and "The Doyt" at Bowling Green are 2 similar-sized stadiums built in the same era in this same part of the country, and I would much rather watch a game here than at either of those.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: Northern Illinois has a rather large and loud fan base for a non-power conference team.  They also have strong spirit squads, and they do a good job of keeping the fans engaged.

Seating: mostly bench seating with curved seats for more comfortable seating.

Field View: The stands are gradually sloped, but the playing surface is depressed beneath the 1st row of stands.  I sat about 20 rows up and could see the field rather well.

Audio/Video: All stadium speakers are in the south end, but the audio is plenty loud and clear.  The video board is smaller, but they also have ribbon boards, which is a rare feature for a stadium this small.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: The hot dogs are plump and barely/mildly seasoned.  The hot dogs are pricey, so I was hoping they would be Chicago-style hot dogs, which they are not.  The concessions serve mostly standard stadium fare, but a few booths offer more specialized options.

Pedestrian Flow: Not 1, not 2, but 3 levels of portals give access to the home stands.  They also have portals on the visitor side of the field, so pedestrian traffic flows well.

Parking: There is plenty of parking, mostly paid.  The bargain deal is the Visitor Pay Lot: no payment is required on weekends and evenings as of this writing.  The Visitor Pay Lot is less than a mile from the stadium, and I highly recommend it for cheapskates like me.

Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek, NC

Basic Information

Stadium: Barker-Lane Stadium

Location: Buies Creek, NC (35.40463, -78.74272)

Owner: Campbell University

Primary sport: football

Year constructed: 2008

Listed capacity: 5500

Date last visited: September 2025

Stadium information: https://gocamels.com/facilities/barker-lane-stadium/7

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Built only in 2008 when Campbell University re-started its football program, Barker-Lane Stadium is a standard 21st century small FCS stadium with few unique features, good or bad.  Being a small university, Campbell does not have a large alumni base, student body, or fan support.  Thus, the crowd is rather small and tame, and it nowhere near filled the stadium on the Saturday afternoon I came here.  My team was the visiting team, and we had almost as many fans in the stadium as Campbell did.  The stadium's layout is very standard and therefore very adequate.  As with most small stadiums, most seats give a low viewing angle of the field.  Yet the stands are close to the field, and overall the view of the field is clear and acceptable.  The pedestrian tunnel under the highway that leads to the campus center and the north parking lots is evidence of good planning.  In summary, there is nothing horribly wrong with this stadium, but there is also nothing that makes you want to watch a game here as opposed to other venues.  Unless my team plays here again, I probably won't watch a game here again.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: rather tame.  Campbell is a small school without a long football history, so they are still working to build a fan base and tradition.  That fact combined with the standard-design stadium makes for a very standard atmosphere that almost any small school could replicate.  It's not that I didn't enjoy watching a game here, but there is very little unique here that would compel me to come back.

Seating: benchbacks on home side, benches on visiting side

Field View: Most seats give a low-angle view of the field, but they give a clear view and are located fairly close to the field.

Audio/Video: both are about average for a small Division I stadium.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: located behind the stands where you would expect them.  The hot dogs are nice and plump, fairly juicy, and have just a little chargrilled flavor.

Pedestrian Flow: The stadium has plenty of portals and wide concourses, so the pedestrian flow seems fine.  The tunnel taking you under US 421 to the parking lots north of the highway is a well thought out feature.

Parking: free parking in some parking lots north of US 421; paid parking south of US 421 in the lots near the stadium.

SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ

Basic Information

Stadium: SHI Stadium

Location: Piscataway, NJ (40.51361, -74.46527)

Owner: Rutgers University

Primary sport: football

Year constructed: 1994, but the current stadium is a rebuild from a previous football stadium built on this site in 1938

Listed capacity: 52,454

Date last visited: September 2025

Stadium information: https://scarletknights.com/facilities/shi-stadium/2

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Rutgers University is known as the Birthplace of College Football because the first college football game was played on its campus on November 6, 1869.  Rutgers defeated Princeton 6-4 that day (points were scored different back then), but most of the rest of college football history has been less kind to the Scarlet Knights.  Unfortunately, history has not been kind to its stadium either: SHI Stadium is one of the smallest and least distinguished stadiums in major college football.  The first college football game actually took place at a field across the Raritan River, so there is no distinguished history associated with the current stadium's site.  The stands at SHI Stadium have a very steep grade, one of the steepest I have ever seen.  I sat in the upper deck and felt like I was watching the game from the press box.  Then I realized the press box was actually directly underneath me, so I was more or less watching the game from the blimp!  My aging back enjoyed the bench back seats.  The stadium has nice concourses and ramps, and the concession options are above average.  Truth be told, I actually had a pretty good time watching a game here, but this stadium pales in comparison to most of its Big Ten brethren.  Thus, while this stadium isn't as bad as this review may make it sound, the overall ranking can't go too high.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: Rutgers has possibly the smallest fan base in the Big 10 (rivaled only by Northwestern and maybe Minnesota or Maryland).  Thus, the gameday atmosphere is rather flat in spite of a "gameday carnival" outside the north end of the stadium, an ample student section, and an energetic marching band.  The stadium actually holds noise rather well, but there aren't many fans to make any noise to hold.

Seating: mostly bench and bench backs; a few chairbacks in the high dollar sections.

Field View: the stands have one of the steepest grades I have ever seen: the stairs have 3 steps per row rather than the usual 2.  I sat in the 3rd row of the upper deck.  I thought it was like watching the game from the press box, but then I realized the press box was directly below me.  Thus, it was more like watching the game from the blimp: every pass and kick was waaaay below me.  If you can tolerate looking down on the action (literally), then the field view is fine.

Audio/Video: large clear video board and nice ribbon boards.  The music was loud, but the PA had medium volume.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: The hot dogs are large but not particularly tasty.  They have plenty of concession options including a Pizza Hut in the south end of the stadium.

Pedestrian Flow: SHI Stadium has wide concourses and nice ramps, so the pedestrian flow is quite smooth.

Parking: Rutgers tries to use all of the parking on campus as gameday parking like other major football schools do, but they don't have enough fans to fill all of the on-campus spaces.  The lot I parked in can probably accommodate 1000 cars; roughly 50 cars were parked there.  All parking is paid, and there is plenty of it available due to the small fan base.

Foley Field in Athens, GA

Basic Information

Stadium: Foley Field

Location: Athens, GA (33.94105, -83.38100)

Owner: University of Georgia

Primary sport: baseball

Year constructed: 1966, last renovated in 2024

Listed capacity: 3633

Date last visited: March 2025

Stadium information: https://georgiadogs.com/sports/2023/8/16/facility-foley-field

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Recently renovated Foley Field is the 3rd smallest baseball stadium in the vaunted SEC.  Like many college baseball stadiums, Foley Field is tucked in a corner of campus near the basketball arena and the football practice field, and it feels a little crammed in.  The stadium features nice wide concourses, and the seats are fairly comfortable.  The view of the field is not as good as you would expect: I sat in the main grandstand and could not see the home bullpen due to the newly-constructed entrance plaza.  Georgia has a growing baseball tradition that now includes The Stroke and "Feed the Trees."  I came here for a midweek game against an undermanned opponent, but the crowd was still fairly large and engaged all things considered.  While I had a good time here, I can't say this is my favorite baseball stadium even though the renovation made it a decent bit better than it used to be.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: Foley Field offers a surprisingly intimate setting for a major college baseball program.  The crowd was somewhat docile because I came here for a midweek game against an overmatched opponent.  I love doing The Stroke when the opposing team has to change pitchers mid-inning because the exiting pitcher was ineffective.

Seating: mostly plastic chairback seats, some standing room, bleachers in right field.

Field View: not as good as you would expect: I sat in the main grandstand and couldn't see the home bullpen down the left field line because my view was obstructed by the newly-built entrance plaza.  The row of trees beyond the outfield fence inspired the "feed the trees" line, and it creates a visual barrier between Foley Field and the rest of campus.

Audio/Video: nice clear video board and audio system.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: large plump juicy hot dogs with a slight smoky flavor.  Main concessions are located behind the stands, but a few tents are located on the entrance plaza.

Pedestrian Flow: Foley Field has wide concourses in front of and behind the stands, so the pedestrian flow is quite smooth.

Parking: the large Carlton Street Parking Deck is nearby, but you will probably have to pay to park there.  You may find some free parking in nearby campus surface lots if you come for a night or weekend game.  Mind the parking permit regulations, which the University strictly enforces.