Best Seats at State Farm Stadium
From the outside it looks like a spaceship parked in the desert, and that’s not an accident — architect Peter Eisenman and Populous took cues from the coil of a rattlesnake and the ribbed barrel of a saguaro when they designed the place. Two pieces of engineering make it famous: a retractable roof that opens in about twelve minutes, and an entire natural-grass field that rolls out of the building on hundreds of steel wheels to sit in the sun between games. But the feature that matters most to you on a September afternoon is simpler than either of those — the whole bowl is air conditioned. The Cardinals spent decades baking at Sun Devil Stadium because they couldn’t host early-season day games in the Arizona heat. Here, they can, and you’ll feel the difference the second you clear the concourse doors.
The honest catch: the stadium sits out in Glendale, a good 20 to 40 minutes from the Phoenix and Scottsdale stuff most visitors actually want to do. Plan the trip around that and you’ll have a great time. Here’s how to pick your seat.
Seating Guide
State Farm Stadium seats around 63,400 for football, and the bowl is compact enough that there’s no truly distant seat — the architects hung the upper deck close and steep, so even the cheap rows feel involved. The real decisions here come down to three things: which sideline you’re on, how high you sit, and whether the roof will be open or closed on your date. Most of the time it’s closed and climate-controlled, which takes the heat math off the table and makes height the bigger question than sun.
Best Non-Premium Seats
The lower bowl sidelines, the 100s on the west (home) side are the heart of the building. Sections in the low 100s around the home bench put you on the Cardinals’ sideline with a clean look down the line of scrimmage, and the bowl’s pitch means you’re not staring at the backs of standing fans three rows down. The tradeoff is the usual one for field-level football: when the ball’s on the far 20, it’s far. You trade the all-field perspective for the feeling of being in it.
The opposite sideline, the visitor-side 100s, gets you the same elevation and a near-mirror view, usually for a little less because it isn’t the home bench. If you care more about being low and on a sideline than about which bench you’re behind, this is the smarter spend.
The lower rows of the 400-level sidelines are the move if you’d rather read the whole field than sit close. The upper deck is steep and hangs in tight, so a sideline seat between the 30s up top gives you the coaches’-tape view of routes and coverages developing — genuinely a better way to actually watch football than the lower bowl, and a fraction of the price.
Best Value Seats
The Ring of Honor rows — the lettered rows at the very front of any 400-level section — are the smart-money pick in the building. They sit right at the top of the upper concourse, so you walk in off the concourse and you’re basically there, no long climb. You get a true elevated sideline sightline and the upper deck’s better view of the whole field, and the price gap versus the lower bowl is wide enough to fund a nicer hotel or an extra night. What you give up is proximity and the lettered rows can fill the concourse behind you at halftime, but for the money nothing else here competes.
Cheapest Way In
The numbered rows above the Ring of Honor, deeper in the 400 corners, are the floor on price. These are the furthest seats from the field and the corners give you a diagonal angle, so the far end zone reads small. But the bowl’s compact build means even up here you can follow the game, and when the roof is closed the upper deck traps the crowd noise as well as anywhere in the stadium. If your goal is simply being inside for a Cardinals Sunday at the lowest number, this is it — aim for the north corners over the south, since the south corners catch the worst of any open-roof sun.
Our Pick
If you only take one piece of advice: get into the lower-bowl sideline 100s on the home side, somewhere between the 30s. That’s where I keep ending up — I’ve sat in the lower 100s on that side several times now and never once wished I’d spent the money on club. You’re on the Cardinals’ bench, you’re low and in the noise, and on an open-roof day you’re on the shaded side of the building. It’s the seat I’d hand a friend without hesitating.
What to Avoid (and What’s Worth Trying Once)
The deep southeast corners, upper and lower, are the seats to skip on an open-roof day — they’re the most sun-exposed in the building and you’re staring across the full diagonal of the field. The very front balcony rows of the 400 level carry a different problem: there’s a safety rail running the lip of the upper deck that cuts across the sightline from the first row or two, so the “lowest upper-deck seat” you thought you scored can come with a bar through your view. Sit a few rows back.
Worth it once: the standing-room rail behind the end zones on the upper concourse. A surprising number of regulars never sit in their seat at all and watch the whole game from up there — it’s open, you can roam, and the view down the field is better than you’d guess. If you’ve got a cheap ticket and restless legs, it’s a fun way to take in a game.
Premium Seating Options
State Farm Stadium has quietly become one of the more aggressive premium buildings in the NFL after a multi-year renovation that added field-level clubs in both end zones and a midfield club on top of the existing suite and club inventory. Everything below leads with location and tier — sponsor names on these spaces turn over, but where they sit doesn’t.
The Best Premium Experience
The field-level casitas behind the south end zone are the signature, and there’s nothing else like them in the league. Each one is a private two-story cabana built into the end zone — a covered “front porch” right at field level, feet from where the Cardinals come out of the home tunnel, and a private rooftop deck above it for the wide view. They share an all-inclusive lounge, the Casita Garden Club, that opens hours before kickoff. It’s the most expensive way into the building and unapologetically so, but if money’s no object and you want the one room your guests will talk about for a year, this is it.
Best Value Premium
The smart premium call isn’t field level at all — it’s the traditional club-level sideline seats on the 200 level (the club sideline sections around midfield). This is where the value lives. You get the wide, padded seats, the climate-controlled interior lounges, the upgraded food and full bars, the private restrooms, the dedicated entrance and early stadium access — the whole premium-day experience — for a fraction of what the field-level products cost, and from a sightline that’s frankly better than being down at field level where the action sails over your head. If a friend asked me which premium ticket actually over-delivers, I’d point straight here.
Other Premium Options
The north end zone has its own field-level lounge, a retro supper-club-styled space (the Morgan Athletic Club, named for the franchise’s 1898 origins) that feeds the field suites, tunnel suites, and sideline field seats clustered around it — live music, all-inclusive dining, valet. At midfield on the club level there’s a newer chef-driven destination club (Casa Roja at the Fifty) for members who want the food to be the event. Down on the field you’ll also find field boxes built around oversized lounge seats for groups of four to six. And on the main concourse at midfield, loge boxes offer semi-private four-to-eight-seat pods — a good middle ground for entertaining without committing to a full suite.
Suites & Group Options
The loft suites ring the building on a private suite level and typically hold 16 to 24 guests, with a game-day attendant, private restroom, preferred parking, a private entrance, club-lounge access, and in-suite catering. They’re the move for corporate groups or a big celebration; book through the Cardinals’ premium seating office well ahead of marquee dates, which go first.
State Farm Stadium Seating Chart
State Farm Stadium holds about 63,400 for Arizona Cardinals games and expands past 73,000 for mega-events like the Fiesta Bowl, a Super Bowl, or a Final Four by filling field-level risers. For fans, the bowl works in three tiers — the lower bowl (100 level), the club level (200 level), and the upper terrace (400 level) — with the private loft and field-level suites tucked between. The field runs roughly north-south, the Cardinals’ bench is on the west sideline, and the building is one of the few in the league that’s fully climate controlled. Here is the Seating Chart For State Farm Stadium in Phoenix.
Getting the Best Tickets
The Cardinals don’t sell out the way a perennial contender does, which is the single most useful fact for buying here. For an ordinary mid-season home game against a non-rival, the secondary market routinely sits below face value, and waiting into game week pays off as season-ticket holders dump seats. Flip it for the marquee dates — a divisional game against the 49ers, Rams, or Seahawks, or a national-brand visitor like the Cowboys, Eagles, or Chiefs — and prices climb while the building fills with traveling fans (it’s not unusual to see half the stands in the other team’s colors). Buy those early. For everything else, hold and let the resale market come to you.
Get Your Arizona Cardinals Tickets Here – Our patner Vivid Seats offers a range of Cardinals, Fiesta Bowl, the College Football Playoff, Final Fours and more!
Upcoming Events At State Farm Stadium
State Farm Stadium stays pretty busy for a lot of the year with concerts, the occasional Super Bowl, Final Four and concerts. State Farm Stadium is also home to the annual Fiesta Bowl which is part of the College Football Playoff. Here is a list of upcoming events.
State Farm Stadium Bag Policy
State Farm runs a strict NFL clear-bag policy and enforces it literally — staff at the perimeter hold bags up against cardboard cutouts marked to size. You’re allowed one clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag no bigger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″, or a one-gallon clear freezer bag, plus one small non-clear clutch no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″. Diaper bags don’t count — pack baby gear into a clear bag instead. There’s no coat check or storage inside; a non-compliant bag means a walk back to the car or a paid mobile bag-check tent outside the perimeter, so travel light.
Policies to Know
You can bring in one factory-sealed, non-frozen 16.9 oz bottle of plain water per person — not sports drinks, not flavored water — which is the rare freebie worth knowing about, since drinks inside run what drinks inside always run. Outside food and alcohol are prohibited. Arizona is an open-carry state, but weapons of any kind are not allowed inside the stadium. And three sections are entirely alcohol-free — 114, 424, and 432 — useful to know whether you’re avoiding the party or seeking the quiet.
Cashless: The stadium is 100% cashless everywhere — concessions, bars, merch, all of it — and takes tap, chip, and Apple/Google/Samsung Pay. If you’re carrying cash, there are cash-to-card reverse ATMs that spit out a prepaid debit card: Main Level at Sections 104 and 123, and Terrace Level at Section 416, with a standard ATM near Section 124.
Accessibility: Accessibility here is a strength. There are accessible seating rows with companion folding chairs at the top of most sections across every level, around 2,000 ADA parking spaces spread through the lots, elevators to every tier, and roughly 50 ADA-compliant restrooms with baby-changing tables. Wheelchair check-in and assistance are handled at the Guest Services booths by Gates 1, 2, and 3. If you need specific accommodations, the team’s guest services line can set them up in advance.
We recommend you check the Cardinals handy A to Z Guide to see all the policies.
Getting To State Farm Stadium
The stadium sits off Loop 101 in Glendale, about 14 miles west of downtown Phoenix and 20 miles from Sky Harbor airport. This is a drive-or-rideshare venue — plan around that first.
State Farm Stadium Parking
Coming from Phoenix or the airport, it’s I-10 west to Loop 101 north, exiting at Cardinals Way or Glendale Avenue. The official Sportsman’s Park lots open four hours before kickoff and run roughly $10 to $30 for general parking. The most useful parking insight at this stadium has nothing to do with where you park and everything to do with when you leave: the walk in is never the problem, but the lot release afterward is brutal and predictable. Dealt with this many times. Takes forever to get out if you’re in the wrong area of the parking lot.
Don’t bolt at the final whistle. Sit fifteen to twenty-five minutes, or better, walk over to Westgate and let the lots drain — you’ll get home faster doing nothing than joining the immediate rush. Also, The adjacent Westgate Entertainment District lots are the popular cash alternative and put you right in the bars and restaurants when you’re done.
Public Transit
Be honest with yourself: there isn’t a good one. The Valley Metro light rail does not reach Glendale. The practical options are the Route 70 bus along Glendale Avenue, which stops near 95th Avenue a short walk from the stadium for a couple of dollars, or — on Cardinals home dates only — taking light rail to the Desert Sky Transit Center at 79th Avenue and McDowell and catching the game-day shuttle from there. From the airport, a transit trip runs close to two hours, so unless you’re already a Phoenix bus regular, skip it.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft work well here and the stadium has dedicated infrastructure for them — drop-off and pickup is the Black Lot, just south of the stadium off Cardinals Way. The catch is the post-game surge, which spikes hard the moment the whistle blows. The fix is to not stand in the Black Lot watching the multiplier climb: walk five minutes north into Westgate, grab a drink, and request your ride 20 to 30 minutes later once the crush clears and the price settles.
State Farm Stadium Insider Tips
State Farm Stadium rewards people who treat the day as more than the three hours of football — there’s a whole pregame world in the parking lots and at Westgate, a heat-and-security rhythm worth knowing, and a city full of desert that’s genuinely worth your morning. Here’s what the regulars do.
Start at the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza
Before anything else, walk to the north end near Gate 2 and find the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza. Tillman was a Cardinals safety who left the NFL after 9/11 to serve and was killed in Afghanistan, and the plaza honors him with a larger-than-life bronze statue, a reflection pool, and a 42-foot wall behind it — 42 was his college number at Arizona State. It’s the single most meaningful spot on the grounds and it takes five minutes. First-timers, do this one thing.
Beat the Security Crush
The bottleneck at this stadium is the outer security perimeter, not the gates — everyone walks through metal detectors before they even reach a turnstile, and inside an hour of kickoff that line backs up well into the lots. The catch unique to Phoenix: that perimeter is outdoors, and the air conditioning doesn’t hit you until you’re through the concourse doors, so a late arrival means standing in the heat in a slow line. Get to the perimeter early and the whole thing is painless.
Where the Locals Eat Inside
The Cardinals leaned into Arizona names for their concessions, so eat like you’re home, not at a generic NFL stand. Someburros (solid fried tacos) and Barrio Queen are beloved local Mexican spots, Pork on a Fork is homegrown barbecue, and the new Humble Bistro does French-braised, double-fried wings that are worth the line. The fun wildcard is the Rivalry Grill at Sections 129, 235, and 420 — an opponent-themed dish that changes for every home game, so it’s a different thing each week. Skip the generic stuff and chase the local. Two practical notes: use the Cardinals app’s express mobile ordering to skip the counter line entirely, and refill your one allowed water bottle inside rather than buying — it’s the same water for free.
The Pregame Scene Without a Tailgate Ticket
The lot tailgating in Sportsman’s Park is for ticket-holders parking there, but you don’t need a tailgate to find the party. The Great Lawn and Heritage at Sportsman’s Park have a beer garden, a sportsbook, and a live-music stage open to everyone, and the Cardinals Flight Deck on the northeast side is a shaded, tented area with a big screen running NFL RedZone and a DJ — the best place to catch the early league games before kickoff. If you need real air conditioning before you head in, the Big Red Brew Haus is the indoor option your ticket gets you into.
Beat the Exit
Covered above in parking, but it bears repeating because it’s the one mistake everyone makes: the field empties faster than the lots do. Build twenty minutes of doing-nothing into your plan and you’ll save more than that on the drive out.
Photo Ops
The Tillman plaza is the meaningful shot. For the building itself, the spaceway-in-the-desert exterior reads best at dusk when the metal skin catches the low light, and from inside, an open-roof day with the grass field lit and the sky framed in the opening is the photo people don’t expect from a “domed” stadium.
Families & Kids
This is an easy stadium to bring kids to — it’s climate controlled, so you’re not managing heat exhaustion in the stands. One child under two gets in free on a lap pass (ask security after you scan in). Grab a Child Safety Wristband at any Guest Services booth — you write your seat or phone number on it in case you get separated. The alcohol-free sections, 114, 424, and 432, are the calmest places to sit with young ones, and the family restrooms with changing tables are spread across all levels.
Autographs & Player Access
Your best shot at an autograph is during pre-game warmups from the field-level seats down near the tunnels in both end zones — get to your seat early and position by the rail. The lower-bowl rows closest to the field corners give you the proximity; the players come and go through the tunnels at the ends.
Get Outside While You’re Here
This is the part I’d actually plan the trip around, because Phoenix in football season is hiking weather and the desert is right there. Camelback Mountain is the iconic one — take the Echo Canyon side if you want the real test, a 1,280-foot scramble that’s more climbing than hiking and takes most people two to three hours round trip. Get to the trailhead before sunrise; the lot is full by 6:30 on a weekend, and you want to be coming down before the sun’s high.
Pinnacle Peak out in north Scottsdale is my easier favorite — a smooth, well-graded out-and-back with stunning desert scenery and zero scrambling. Get there early on a winter weekend morning and it’s about as good as a casual hike gets. Whichever you do, this is winter business: pack water, wear sunscreen, start early, and don’t underestimate the sun even when the air feels mild.
A Few More Things Worth Knowing
The roof status changes with the weather, so don’t assume — but assume comfort, because the building’s air conditioned regardless of whether it’s open or closed. Expect a lot of visiting-team jerseys; the Cardinals travel light on sellouts, so big-brand opponents turn the place half-and-half. Tanger Outlets sits right next to Westgate if you want to shop the trip, and the Desert Diamond Casino is a few minutes north. And the team store is easiest to hit on the way in before kickoff or to skip entirely until the third quarter, when the lines die.
Beyond the Game
If you’ve got a free morning beyond the hikes, Old Town Scottsdale is the walkable heart of the metro for galleries, shops, and patios. The Desert Botanical Garden is the best quick introduction to the Sonoran landscape, the Phoenix Zoois cool for the kiddos, and if you’ve got a full extra day, Sedona is about two hours north and worth every minute of the drive for the red rock. Highly recommend Sedona. Phoenix is also a golf town if that’s your thing — there’s no shortage of good courses within a short drive.
Hotels Near State Farm Stadium
Glendale itself is thin on the kind of lodging you’d build a trip around — it’s a quiet suburb that happens to have a stadium. So the real decision is whether you want to stay close and walk to the game, or stay where the city actually is and drive over. I’d point most visitors toward Old Town Scottsdale or downtown Phoenix and the 20-to-40-minute drive, because that’s where the food, the nightlife, and the morning hikes are. Book early for any marquee game weekend — the Westgate-area hotels are the first to fill.
Best Areas to Stay
The Westgate / Glendale Sports District is the stay-close play — a cluster of hotels within a half-mile walk of the stadium, surrounded by chain restaurants and the Tanger outlets, dead quiet otherwise. Great if your trip is the game and nothing else. Old Town Scottsdale, about 40 minutes east, is where I’d base — walkable blocks of bars, patios, and restaurants, with the best hikes a short drive north. Downtown Phoenix, about 20 minutes from the stadium, splits the difference: a real city core with the Roosevelt Row arts district, sports, and an easy freeway shot to Glendale.
Hotel Recommendations
Near the stadium, the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa is the standout — you can walk to Westgate, the stadium, and the outlets, and it’s the nicest room in the immediate area. The Holiday Inn Glendale Stadium & Entertainment District is the value pick close in, with free parking and breakfast that the surrounding lots will charge you for, and the Hampton Inn & Suites Glendale-Westgate is a reliable walk-to-everything option next to Tanger.
In Old Town Scottsdale, the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town is my pick — a rooftop pool and bar, a genuinely good lobby restaurant, and you can walk out the door into Old Town (Cien Agaves is around the corner). The Hyatt Place Scottsdale/Old Town and Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale Old Town are solid, well-located alternatives a notch down in price. In North Scottsdale, check out the Westin Kierland near Kierland Commons. Lots of shopping and restaurants around you can walk too.
Downtown, the Cambria Hotel Downtown Phoenix has a rooftop deck and sits walkable to the bars and restaurants, while Placemakr Downtown Phoenix offers apartment-style suites that are great for a group or a longer stay.
Budget Options
The Holiday Inn Glendale Stadium is the genuinely smart budget play near the venue — free parking and free breakfast claw back the fees you’d pay elsewhere in the district, and you can walk to the game. Stepping down further, the Hampton Inn & Suites Glendale-Westgate gives you the same walkable location for a bit less, with the only real tradeoff being the $18 parking that’s unavoidable anywhere in this area.
Why You Should Go
State Farm Stadium is one of the most genuinely impressive buildings in the NFL — the engineering is real, the sightlines are excellent, and the air conditioning turns what should be a brutal desert afternoon into the most comfortable game day in the league. Pair it with a Phoenix winter, where the weather is perfect and the desert hikes are right there, and a Cardinals trip becomes one of the easiest sports weekends to talk a group into. Just remember it’s a Glendale stadium in a Scottsdale-and-Phoenix town: base yourself where the city is, drive over for the game, and you’ll get the best of both.
Check out all of our NFL Guides as well as these Phoenix and regional stadium road trips:
Mortgage Matchup Center (Suns And Mercury) and Chase Field in Phoenix
SoFi Stadium – LA Rams & Chargers
Written by Brad Richards. Founder of Gameday Guides. This guide includes insights from personal visits as well as updated info from team sources, fan forums, and stadium policies. We aim to help you plan with confidence — enjoy your gameday. If you have any tips, if we missed anything or you have a question, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email.