29. Edward Jones Dome (STL)-Truth

[SierraRam]

Aaaaah, John "The Vampire" Shaw..............................kinda miss those days........wait, no I don't!

I can only comment with this:

I have been to 5 Football games in my 42 years so my opinion should be valued by that stat. Those 5 games break down like this:
1 - Edward Jones Dome (post Superbowl win)
2 - Candlestick Park
2 - Anaheim Stadium (I was very young)

Of those games, the Ed was the worst experience of "watching a game" The lighting as others have said is the primary issue, but just the feel of the place was a downer...............(this coming from a person surrounded by 49er fans at Candlestick).

Been to the "stick" to see the Giants and Niners countless times. What a dump! But niner fans think its a cathedral because of all the memories.

Bottom line: The most important part of the stadium is the product on the field. And cold beer.

 

[CoachO]

I understand this point a lot, but let me add to it because its not wrong.

Winning would quiet those fans that live in the area of the team, but wouldn't do much for fans who are flying in or driving a long ways. The "experience" of the game at the dome needs to surpass watching the game on TV while BBQing with friends. Compare it all to the travel plans, hotel, gas or plan tickets and tickets to the game. This is where the EJD is failing fans.

I wouldn't bother ever buying tickets and plan tickets to see the Rams at the EJD again until that "Experience" changed.

That's where your expectations of the experience supersede the actual experience. If the team is winning on a regular basis, and the stadium is filled with enthusiastic fans, rather than the "hope we see a good game" types that are going now, the overall atmosphere improves, hence the "experience" is enhanced.

Not to belittle your opinion, but you yourself said you have been to FIVE NFL games live. I challenge you to say the same thing if you would have been able to attend any game during the GSOT era, and say that the stadium caused you to have a less than pleasant experience.

That place was packed, and the atmosphere was electric. Tail-gaiters were everywhere, and then entire downtown was dynamic on game day. Fast forward to the post 2006 era, and now those days are a distant memory. And NOW the dome sucks.

And I don't get the comments about the lighting, unless one is talking about the lack of natural lighting in the playing area. I don't care it the seats are well lighted, as long as I can see the field, and there are no issues for the players. I have never heard of any players complaining about the lighting. And just because is appears to be "dark" on tv, well, it is what it is.

 

[dieterbrock]

I can honestly say that watching games on TV, I really never thought the stadium looked bad in any way.
Other than last year's ultimate disaster against the 49ers. I swear I want to track down the marketing exec that thought it was a good idea to have the Rams wear their road whites, and have the fans participate in a white out despite having red seats through out and the Niners in their home Reds. Looked like a home game for them. And of course it kinda played that way too.

 

[STLINI]

I go to about 4 - 6 home games per season. I'm a pretty simple guy and don't need a lot of bells and whistles. When I'm in watching the game, my mood will solely be determined by whats going on on the field. I don't care too much about the amenities. That said, here are a few of my pretty minor upgrades:
-The lighting does need to be better. You feel like you're in a cave in the upper deck and just makes for a more dreary atmosphere if things aren't going well.
-The red seats. I hate those freaking red seats, and think it makes the attendance look that much worse on TV because you can see every empty seat, and even see part of the seat behind somebody sitting in it. Get some blue seats in there.
-Make the stadium feel more like the home of the Rams. Decorate the concourses with murals of Rams players. Do something to make it feel more like home.
-Get better and more TVs on the concourse, especially for halftime when people would like to go out and check other games. Same goes with WIFI, get a better system in there. Like it or not, fantasy football is a factor for a lot of fans. The more fan friendly stuff like this is, the more likely a fringe fan may spend an afternoon there.

Personally, I really liked the plans that came out to reconstruct the dome, including the retractable roof, more natural light, the walkway over Broadway, etc. I am also a fan of the downtown location. I do wish they could make some more parking for bigger tailgating lots.

 

[LosAngelesRams]

It's all relative. Going to see NFL games at Sun Devil Stadium(before the University of Phoenix stadium was built) was the bottom of the barrel trust me. Try sitting on metal bleachers on the East end of an open stadium on a September day in AZ at 5PM. Bathrooms few and far in between and built for herds of cattle rather than humans. Nowhere to park unless you want to risk a traffic ticket. Sound system built in the 70's i believe...crappy. No fancy scoreboard.
The EJD sounds pretty good now doesn't it?

When I was younger I went to a Rams game in AZ I think it was the stadium your talking about. It was over a hundred degrees and no wind at all! I remember burning my ass through my shorts and being cooked by the sun.