State Farm Stadium in Glendale was listed by The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman as one of the top postseason venues in college football.
Dochterman listed the home of the Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona Cardinals as third out of 25 college football postseason venues, behind only the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, respectively.
Dochterman listed the stadium’s retractable roof and Glendale’s warmer weather during the winter as key reasons for its placement.
The Fiesta Bowl long has been considered an interloper for positioning itself as the fifth New Year’s Day bowl, but its warm-weather climate makes it a great destination. When the game moved into the current stadium nearly 20 years ago, the Fiesta Bowl enjoyed modern comforts and amenities to go along with the perfect location. State Farm Stadium has a retractable roof and possesses as good of a big-game feel as any venue in the country.
State Farm Stadium (previously known as University of Phoenix Stadium from 2006-18) began as a college football postseason site on Jan 1, 2007 with the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma, and it was a memorable one.
Boise State and Oklahoma played a back and forth game that saw the Broncos execute three do-or-die plays across the fourth quarter and overtime, including a “Statue of Liberty” play by quarterback Jared Zabransky and running back Ian Johnson on a two-point conversion in overtime to beat the Sooners, 43-42.
Since that game, State Farm Stadium has hosted three college football national championship games (2007, 2011 and 2016) and served as a semifinal game in 2016, 2019 and 2022. State Farm Stadium was a quarterfinals venue for the 2024-25 College Football Playoff in a game that saw Penn State beat Boise State, 31-14.
State Farm Stadium will be a semifinals site in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff on Jan. 8.
Rate Bowl in Phoenix also appears on list
The Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix was listed as the 22nd best postseason venue.
Chase Field (then known as Bank One Ballpark) began its first run as a site for the bowl game from 2000-05. After being hosted at Mountain America Stadium (previously known as Sun Devil Stadium) in Tempe from 2006-15, the game returned to Chase Field in 2016.
Dochterman again highlighted the stadium’s retractable roof and Phoenix’s climate in late December as to why its a great site during bowl season.
The Phoenix area easily ranks among the best bowl locations with its temperate climate in late December. This game used to be played at Arizona State University, but it has been moved to Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, which is equipped with a retractable roof. To improve fan visibility and broaden the viewing experience, the bowl brings in bleachers behind one of the sidelines, which is helpful.
Minnesota and New Mexico will play each other in the 2025 Rate Bowl on Dec. 26. This will be 16th time the Rate Bowl will be played at Chase Field.
