A writer from the National Football Post wrote about all 31 stadiums in the NFL, ranking them in order from best to worst. There is a variety of criteria he used in making his decisions, including architecture, history, weather, fans, and location. He writes a disclaimer that he has only been to 13 of the stadiums in the league, so he took into consideration what he has seen on television and the vibe he has gotten from other people.
The Green Bay Packers started the list off at No. 1, where the stadium's "history" really gave it a boost. The stadiums listed after that all have the "modern" thing going in their favor. Where does that put Cleveland Browns Stadium? Despite having its stadium built in 1999, it is all the way down at No. 25 overall. At least it wasn't last.
One issue I had with the article is that the writer's level of commentary declined right after the team ranked No. 23 overall, the Cincinnati Bengals. Sometimes, a little words can go a long way, such as the video he posted for the No. 31 overall stadium (the Minnesota Vikings). What he said for Browns Stadium had very little substance though:
Browns Stadium has never hosted a playoff game and is affectionately known as, "The Mistake by the Lake." Hard to imagine why this place didn’t crack the top ten.
Ok, so maybe the new stadium hasn't had a lot of history yet. No positive comments about the tailgaters or even a slight mention of the Dawg Pound, even if it isn't the same as it once was? I didn't think the new stadium was nicknamed "The Mistake by the Lake" so much as Municipal Stadium was.
For all of us, it is probably difficult to have a firm opinion on this topic since we haven't been to all 31 stadiums. Feel free to express whether you think Browns Stadium should be ranked higher, lower, or is ranked fairly.