Best HS stadium?
- Thread starter steelcurtain55.
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I’m from new Brighton but I always enjoyed going to the “Pit”in aliquippa because of the mystique of that stadium. It just screamed perfect high school stadium so at one time it would have been in the discussion for best stadium. But it deteriorated so much over the years that I am not sure I can make that statement today.
In WPIAL or anywhere? In the WPIAL, you have historic stadiums such as Woodland Hills, Aliquippa, or the City League stadium. Then you have newer, modern facilities such as Pine Richland. I think those would be some of the “best.” I think North Hills and N.A. could also be considered.
Personally, I like South Fayette’s stadium. Nice setting and has great amenities.
Personally, I like South Fayette’s stadium. Nice setting and has great amenities.
Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Home of the McKinley Bulldogs.
If we’re expanding it beyond the WPIAL, then yes. Ohio has some great stadiums with a ton of history. In addition to Fawcett Stadium, you have Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Elder’s “Pit,” and Steubenville’s Harding Stadium.
As someone who lived in Steubenville for many years, I loved going to games at Harding Stadium. Probably has to be my all-time favorite high school stadium. Very historic, the stands are up-close, and they’ve done a great job preserving it.
I've been to Fawcett quite a few times and attended a Massillon-McKinley game at Paul Brown Stadium back in the day.
That’s one high school game I’ve never got to experience yet but I’d love to one day. Almost like a college game. What do you think of the Fawcett renovations? Obviously it’s “better” than before but I liked the old one just fine.
I've been to 48 WPIAL stadiums and actually ranked them at the conclusion of this past football season. My top six in alphabetical order.
Ambridge-Moe Rubenstein Stadium
I was only here once and it was a long time ago, but it made a good impression. I like that its adjacent to a neighborhood has a pretty good view from the home side of the field. Plus for large stands on both sides of the field and close to the action with no track.
Belle Vernon-James Weir Stadium
Let me get this out of the way...the field is atrocious. Football is meant to be played on grass, but if you have to play on FieldTurf, make sure it's green. It takes away from the viewing experience. However, the field aside, it has a historic feel. Balanced with the bleachers on each side and no track once again puts you close to the action. The home side is usually pretty full which adds to the atmosphere and away side has steep bleachers, which is nice.
Greensburg Salem-Offutt Field
There is not a better view in the WPIAL and it is even better at sunset. Another stadium without a track and this is probably the closest to the field of any high school stadium. Bleachers on both sides and the new turf looks great with the striping. Being in the middle of town away from the school adds to the atmosphere.
North Hills-Martorelli Stadium
If you haven't caught on by now, I am a fan of stadiums with balanced bleachers on both sides and no track. I read a lot about Martorelli Stadium and finally had a chance to attend a PIAA playoff game there last year. It's a great venue. Built into a natural bowl, the sound doesn't escape so it gets pretty loud. The only downside is its relatively difficult to walk from one side to the other.
Norwin-Norwin Knights Stadium
There is a reason this is used for big-time WPIAL events. It's a great venue and probably my favorite with a track. A ton of seats on both sides and they get packed for WPIAL playoff games.
Woodland Hills-The Wolvarena
This is just a cool place to watch a game. The concrete bleachers built into the hillside, you just have to go to the top to take in the view. It just feels different than any other high school stadium I've been to because of its size.
Ambridge-Moe Rubenstein Stadium
I was only here once and it was a long time ago, but it made a good impression. I like that its adjacent to a neighborhood has a pretty good view from the home side of the field. Plus for large stands on both sides of the field and close to the action with no track.
Belle Vernon-James Weir Stadium
Let me get this out of the way...the field is atrocious. Football is meant to be played on grass, but if you have to play on FieldTurf, make sure it's green. It takes away from the viewing experience. However, the field aside, it has a historic feel. Balanced with the bleachers on each side and no track once again puts you close to the action. The home side is usually pretty full which adds to the atmosphere and away side has steep bleachers, which is nice.
Greensburg Salem-Offutt Field
There is not a better view in the WPIAL and it is even better at sunset. Another stadium without a track and this is probably the closest to the field of any high school stadium. Bleachers on both sides and the new turf looks great with the striping. Being in the middle of town away from the school adds to the atmosphere.
North Hills-Martorelli Stadium
If you haven't caught on by now, I am a fan of stadiums with balanced bleachers on both sides and no track. I read a lot about Martorelli Stadium and finally had a chance to attend a PIAA playoff game there last year. It's a great venue. Built into a natural bowl, the sound doesn't escape so it gets pretty loud. The only downside is its relatively difficult to walk from one side to the other.
Norwin-Norwin Knights Stadium
There is a reason this is used for big-time WPIAL events. It's a great venue and probably my favorite with a track. A ton of seats on both sides and they get packed for WPIAL playoff games.
Woodland Hills-The Wolvarena
This is just a cool place to watch a game. The concrete bleachers built into the hillside, you just have to go to the top to take in the view. It just feels different than any other high school stadium I've been to because of its size.
North hills looks pretty cool. The no track thing makes it. Really, if you consider it a great football venue, it’s not gonna have a track. North hills is one of a very few that has this feature.
there is actually a little restaurant on the hill above it. It’d be cool if that place built a back deck and got a liquor license. The deck would overlook the footbsll stadium. That’d be sweet sitting up there with an outside bar during a Friday night gsme.
there is actually a little restaurant on the hill above it. It’d be cool if that place built a back deck and got a liquor license. The deck would overlook the footbsll stadium. That’d be sweet sitting up there with an outside bar during a Friday night gsme.
Only been there once - do they still have that siren blaring during every opponents plays? If so, hard pass.
I don’t know. A siren blares during the plays? I feel like there are rules against such things. Not really sure what that has to do with the stadium though. Obnoxious loudspeaker guy
PR's pressbox would be the envy of a lot of colleges. Their food is better than most of the stuff @ Heinz Field.If they get a videoscoreboard like their neighbors @ NA, it will be no contest. My alma mater doesn't
have a stadium; but we do have a # of championships! CCHS!
have a stadium; but we do have a # of championships! CCHS!
I lived in the Dallas area for several years. The high school stadiums there are beyond comprehension and couldn’t be touched by anything outside of Texas. Heck, not far from where I lived was Prosper High School, which had an indoor football practice facility that would put half of major college programs to shame. Allen and McKinney have built $60+ million, 20,000 seat stadiums within the last 5-6 years, while Frisco’s 9 high schools play at the Cowboys indoor facility which holds around 15,000. The district kicked in $48 million as I recall toward the building of Jerry’s new headquarters.
Has anyone ever been to Morgantown HS? I recently saw it and it was extremely cool. Google for pics.
I always like NH in the wpial.
Johnstown and Erie High have great fields too.
I always like NH in the wpial.
Johnstown and Erie High have great fields too.
If we are strictly covering WPIAL :
North Hills
Pine Richland
If anywhere :
Allen TX
North Hills
Pine Richland
If anywhere :
Allen TX
For Schools not mentioned many great one already stated.
I do tend to favor older facilities even if they are rougher now then before.
WPIAL
Monessen
Uniontown
New Castle
Deer Lakes
PA outside of WPIAL
State College
Mt Carmel Silver Bowl
Sharon
Postage
Ohio
Warren G Harding
Martin's Ferry
I do tend to favor older facilities even if they are rougher now then before.
WPIAL
Monessen
Uniontown
New Castle
Deer Lakes
PA outside of WPIAL
State College
Mt Carmel Silver Bowl
Sharon
Postage
Ohio
Warren G Harding
Martin's Ferry
From Eastern part of Pennsylvania
Easton Cottingham Stadium
Allentown J Birney Crum Stadium
Pottsville Memorial Stadium
Yeah I lived in Morgantown. The HS and stadium is in a cool setting, pretty similar also to State College's stadium.
Obviously they aren’t as wide as the posters on this board or they wouldn’t build nice stadiums for a sport that will not exist in 5 years. I mean, that’s what a lot of you post, this dying sport.
There are a lot of nice high school campuses out there these days. You even see beautiful stadiums popping up in districts with little money. Crazy how different it's become. When I was in high school, some teams were playing in glorified cornfields.
I've been to 48 WPIAL stadiums and actually ranked them at the conclusion of this past football season. My top six in alphabetical order.
Ambridge-Moe Rubenstein Stadium
I was only here once and it was a long time ago, but it made a good impression. I like that its adjacent to a neighborhood has a pretty good view from the home side of the field. Plus for large stands on both sides of the field and close to the action with no track.
Belle Vernon-James Weir Stadium
Let me get this out of the way...the field is atrocious. Football is meant to be played on grass, but if you have to play on FieldTurf, make sure it's green. It takes away from the viewing experience. However, the field aside, it has a historic feel. Balanced with the bleachers on each side and no track once again puts you close to the action. The home side is usually pretty full which adds to the atmosphere and away side has steep bleachers, which is nice.
Greensburg Salem-Offutt Field
There is not a better view in the WPIAL and it is even better at sunset. Another stadium without a track and this is probably the closest to the field of any high school stadium. Bleachers on both sides and the new turf looks great with the striping. Being in the middle of town away from the school adds to the atmosphere.
North Hills-Martorelli Stadium
If you haven't caught on by now, I am a fan of stadiums with balanced bleachers on both sides and no track. I read a lot about Martorelli Stadium and finally had a chance to attend a PIAA playoff game there last year. It's a great venue. Built into a natural bowl, the sound doesn't escape so it gets pretty loud. The only downside is its relatively difficult to walk from one side to the other.
Norwin-Norwin Knights Stadium
There is a reason this is used for big-time WPIAL events. It's a great venue and probably my favorite with a track. A ton of seats on both sides and they get packed for WPIAL playoff games.
Woodland Hills-The Wolvarena
This is just a cool place to watch a game. The concrete bleachers built into the hillside, you just have to go to the top to take in the view. It just feels different than any other high school stadium I've been to because of its size.
Just after college, my friends and I would get our fall Fridays started by hitting up a WPIAL venue that we had never been to before.
I know what you’re thinking and yes, we really were some wild and crazy guys!
Anyway, it just became something we would do and it was fun. From there, we would usually hit a bar or a few bars nearby and usually talk about football.
I’m not that old but two of the guys that would do that with me are now dead, so time goes quickly.
We talked about writing a book about it or something like that, but it just never materialized. I don’t know if it was interesting enough for that? I’m not sure there’s a huge market for football nerds who love high school football stadiums specifically in Western Pennsylvania?
Anyway, eventually it just petered out because we started to have children or moved to a different city or whatever. Also, I started going to more Pitt road games, which obviously coincides with that.
However, every once in a blue moon I will get a call from someone saying, “Hey, let’s go to a couple football games this fall.”
Now, we typically go back and visit just our favorite sites and I agree that to be considered elite, you can’t have a track around your field. That’s a real dealbreaker for intimacy reasons.
Pine-Richland, for example, is absolutely opulent. However, it lacks the charm and some of those other places have. The press box is absolutely absurd though. It’s legitimately unbelievable. Still, there’s no way in hell I would put that in my top five WPIAL Stadium experiences.
I would rank Martorelli Stadium as my favorite WPIAL venue. It just has a really cool vibe to it right in the middle of Ross Township. It just feels like a throwback experience. I was there many times before they renovated it and I’ve been there several times after they’ve renovated it and even though they changed a lot about it, including the direction of the field itself, it has still maintained its charm.
I also loved Greensburg Salem! It also had a great feel. It felt like a throwback and I loved that. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Ambridge is cool too and bonus points for Ambridge is that Frank’s Pizza is literally another block down the street and that’s one of the best pizza places in the region as well. Go to a game at Ambridge and grab a pie from Frank’s and you will definitely not be disappointed.
One stadium that did not make your list but absolutely should have, especially given the other schools included, was Dormont Stadium. That’s probably the best pure venue of any of them.
Their pressbox is horrible and you have to park several blocks away and then walk up basically their version of Cardiac Hill just to get into the stadium. However, it is so worth it. You will see people sitting on their porches — and on the roofs of their porches — just hanging out watching the game. That’s amazing!
Also, I’m not sure if it’s still the case, but I know at one time it hosted three different WPIAL high schools: Keystone Oaks, Bishop Canevin and Seton LaSalle. I am not aware of any other venue they can make the same claim. That has to be on any list.
You also have the Pit (Aliquippa) and the Wolverina ( Woodland Hills), which are as famous for the quality of their teams as they are the venues themselves, but the venues themselves are awesome.
Some other underrated ones are Blackhawk – which sits right next to a giant cornfield. I always thought that was really cool.
I like South Fayette a lot too. It reminds me a little of Pine Richland. It’s not one of the very best but it’s absolutely a cool setting on a Friday night. Also, South Fayette’s entire school district sits on one sprawling campus and that is so cool. The whole thing feels like a Division III college. Very cool!
Thomas Jefferson has another cool setting that is very similar to South Fayette. It only has stands on one side but it’s cool. Gateway is like that too.
Also, Deer Lakes is fantastic sitting in that valley. Man, that was a beautiful little venue. Another cool one up that way it was Highlands. They have a bronze ram statue in the one end zone and I thought that was amazing.
I also always liked Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon, which has a big LEBO rock formation up on the hill that surrounds the stadium. At least it did at the time. Also, people would hang out up top and just kind of tailgate and look down into the stadium. That was very cool.
Those were all the ones that stood out to me. I can’t really think of many others. I wasn’t blown away with Hempfield or North Allegheny or Bethel Park or many of the others. They were all kind of the same.
I do remember going to Norwin, but I don’t remember being overwhelmed by it. I thought it was fine but forgettable. I’m surprised it has become such a highly regarded venue. To me, it always felt like Plum or Franklin Regional — one of those cool but not amazing places.
Yeah, Deer Lakes' Stadium is really underrated and a really pretty setting. I went to Highlands, and I always wondered why they never built the football stadium around the track because there existed a natural "bowl". And well, they finally did just that.
Showing my age, it is funny seeing Pine Richland and South Fayette now When I was in school the two districts were farmer districts. Now it is like they are two lottery winners, nouveau riche and the best of everything. Same colors too. Green. Hmmmmmmmm..
it is the rowdy rooters who watch from outside the stadium and use the siren, I guess since they are technically not paying admission is how the get away with it. I agree they shouldn't do it.
A lot of the old stadiums mentioned were paid for/built by the steel companies. Belle Vernon is one of those. Monesson would fall in that bucket as well. I want to say Charleroi, Clairton, and some of the other small valley towns had similarly histories. I've also always been a fan of HS stadiums where you could enter the stands from the top. Very underappreciated feature that keeps the old guy, who can't climb the steps, coming to games.
Not sure if anyone remembers when Ringgold would play their games in Donora up at Legion Field. I got to play in one of the final games there. The field was build during the depression. It's overgrown and crumbling now but you can find some of these old stadiums if you know where to look. The locker rooms were adjacent and had paper thin walls. The Ringgold players were taught to be silent so they could hear what was being said in the opponent's locker room.
Side note on Belle Vernon. That turf is an abomination but it was never was a good grass field. It was actually terrible but mostly because they played, on average, 6-8 games of some sort there per week and they liked to keep the grass short because BV always had smaller, fast teams. But yeah, I don't know too many alumni that think it's okay to be that color.
Not sure if anyone remembers when Ringgold would play their games in Donora up at Legion Field. I got to play in one of the final games there. The field was build during the depression. It's overgrown and crumbling now but you can find some of these old stadiums if you know where to look. The locker rooms were adjacent and had paper thin walls. The Ringgold players were taught to be silent so they could hear what was being said in the opponent's locker room.
Side note on Belle Vernon. That turf is an abomination but it was never was a good grass field. It was actually terrible but mostly because they played, on average, 6-8 games of some sort there per week and they liked to keep the grass short because BV always had smaller, fast teams. But yeah, I don't know too many alumni that think it's okay to be that color.
Parking is a bit of a problem since there is none!Morgantown’s is very nice. Love the setting of the school building around it.
The worst field was where Duquesne HS played. They didn’t even have full size end zones. The corner was cut off. The locker rooms were awful as well.
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I've been to 48 WPIAL stadiums and actually ranked them at the conclusion of this past football season. My top six in alphabetical order.
Ambridge-Moe Rubenstein Stadium
I was only here once and it was a long time ago, but it made a good impression. I like that its adjacent to a neighborhood has a pretty good view from the home side of the field. Plus for large stands on both sides of the field and close to the action with no track.
Belle Vernon-James Weir Stadium
Let me get this out of the way...the field is atrocious. Football is meant to be played on grass, but if you have to play on FieldTurf, make sure it's green. It takes away from the viewing experience. However, the field aside, it has a historic feel. Balanced with the bleachers on each side and no track once again puts you close to the action. The home side is usually pretty full which adds to the atmosphere and away side has steep bleachers, which is nice.
Greensburg Salem-Offutt Field
There is not a better view in the WPIAL and it is even better at sunset. Another stadium without a track and this is probably the closest to the field of any high school stadium. Bleachers on both sides and the new turf looks great with the striping. Being in the middle of town away from the school adds to the atmosphere.
North Hills-Martorelli Stadium
If you haven't caught on by now, I am a fan of stadiums with balanced bleachers on both sides and no track. I read a lot about Martorelli Stadium and finally had a chance to attend a PIAA playoff game there last year. It's a great venue. Built into a natural bowl, the sound doesn't escape so it gets pretty loud. The only downside is its relatively difficult to walk from one side to the other.
Norwin-Norwin Knights Stadium
There is a reason this is used for big-time WPIAL events. It's a great venue and probably my favorite with a track. A ton of seats on both sides and they get packed for WPIAL playoff games.
Woodland Hills-The Wolvarena
This is just a cool place to watch a game. The concrete bleachers built into the hillside, you just have to go to the top to take in the view. It just feels different than any other high school stadium I've been to because of its size.
I remember watching the Pitt freshman FB team play the WVU freshmen FB team in the Ambridge HS stadium in the fall of 1967. Having come to Pitt from the NYC area where no one went to HS games except the students and parents of the players--it boggled my mind to see a HS stadium of this size and seating capacity.
Yeah, that was a dump. And they've since merged with West Mifflin, who used to play at their middle school field, which was like 15 minutes away from their high school. But I think they have a pretty decent stadium at their high school now.
I've been to 48 WPIAL stadiums and actually ranked them at the conclusion of this past football season. My top six in alphabetical order.
Ambridge-Moe Rubenstein Stadium
I was only here once and it was a long time ago, but it made a good impression. I like that its adjacent to a neighborhood has a pretty good view from the home side of the field. Plus for large stands on both sides of the field and close to the action with no track.
Belle Vernon-James Weir Stadium
Let me get this out of the way...the field is atrocious. Football is meant to be played on grass, but if you have to play on FieldTurf, make sure it's green. It takes away from the viewing experience. However, the field aside, it has a historic feel. Balanced with the bleachers on each side and no track once again puts you close to the action. The home side is usually pretty full which adds to the atmosphere and away side has steep bleachers, which is nice.
Greensburg Salem-Offutt Field
There is not a better view in the WPIAL and it is even better at sunset. Another stadium without a track and this is probably the closest to the field of any high school stadium. Bleachers on both sides and the new turf looks great with the striping. Being in the middle of town away from the school adds to the atmosphere.
North Hills-Martorelli Stadium
If you haven't caught on by now, I am a fan of stadiums with balanced bleachers on both sides and no track. I read a lot about Martorelli Stadium and finally had a chance to attend a PIAA playoff game there last year. It's a great venue. Built into a natural bowl, the sound doesn't escape so it gets pretty loud. The only downside is its relatively difficult to walk from one side to the other.
Norwin-Norwin Knights Stadium
There is a reason this is used for big-time WPIAL events. It's a great venue and probably my favorite with a track. A ton of seats on both sides and they get packed for WPIAL playoff games.
Woodland Hills-The Wolvarena
This is just a cool place to watch a game. The concrete bleachers built into the hillside, you just have to go to the top to take in the view. It just feels different than any other high school stadium I've been to because of its size.
I'm partial to Norwin...
I actually saw the McKinley- Massillon game at Fawcett when Chris Spielman did the unthinkable and started both ways as a sophomore for the Tigers. Actually I haven't been inside the new digs yet. The old stadium was great.
I assume you meant Portage. That is a really quaint old stadium. It was built by the CCC in the 30s. State College is also unique.
It shocked me on my first visit, too. Daughter #2 graduated in 1994, first year in the new HS. Ceremony on the path outside. #4 in 2009, inside the Taj Mahal.
The infrastructure at P-R is incredible.....which is still in a steep growth pattern.
I saw that coming in the early '70s. mostly farms then.
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