Sunday, November 20, 2022

Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, OH

Basic Information

Stadium: Doyt L. Perry Stadium
Location: Bowling Green, OH (41.37817, -83.62227)
Owner: Bowling Green State University
Primary sport: football
Year constructed: 1966
Listed capacity: 24,000
Date last visited: October 2022

Summary Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

Doyt Perry Stadium ("The Doyt," as they call it) was a nice small FBS football stadium many years ago, but these days it is really showing its age.  For one, almost all of the seating is bench seating with no backs, which is hard on those of us with back problems.  Also, when you look up at the press box, you can see that some of the metal is clearly rusted.  I kept hoping that the iron that holds up the stands was in better shape than the iron I could see up there.  Further, the tiny video board looks like it is from the 1980's.  That said, this stadium could be worse.  The stands are built in an arc, which makes you feel like you are sitting closer to midfield than you really are.  Mass parking is literally feet from the stadium, even though it is not free.  The bright orange and white paint scheme gives the stadium a fresh appearance...until you start looking more carefully and see the age and corrosion.  Overall, The Doyt is a well-designed small FBS football stadium that desperately needs some updating.  

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: Like many Mid-American Conference football programs, Bowling Green's football program is poorly supported.  Thus, the gameday atmosphere is somewhat lacking.  Bowling Green does have a good marching band.  You can see I-75 from the west stands, so this campus's small interstate town location really comes out.

Seating: a few chairback seats for season ticket holders; otherwise bench seating with no backs

Field View: Both stands are built in arcs, so you feel like you are sitting closer to midfield than you really are.  On the other hand, the grade of the stands is fairly gradual, so you are further from the field than you would expect for a given row.  Overall, the view of the field is decent for most seats given their position.

Audio/Video: The video board is tiny by FBS standards, even for a small FBS stadium.  The audio seemed to work fine; they enjoy blaring 80's rock songs pregame (WO-OAH/LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!).

Concessions/Hot Dogs: They serve mostly the usual fare.  They offer Jet's as a very good and different pizza option.  The hot dogs have the fake smoky taste that I detest, but they also have grill marks.  Is it possible these hot dogs are individually grilled rather than mass-cooked?

Pedestrian Flow: ramps leading to portals give access to the stands, but most of the sidewalks leading away from the stadium are rather narrow.  Thus, traffic flows fairly well unless there is a large crowd.

Parking: all of the grassy areas around the stadium are utilized as paid parking.  For day games you can park at Carter Park just over 0.5 miles away for free.

No comments:

Post a Comment