Football Stadium Review: Art Keller Field (Carthage College)

 Art Keller Field is home to the Carthage Firebirds in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  This stadium is situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, as is the campus.  This makes the late September game I went to last year against Illinois Wesleyan a beautiful setting for the game. It was also Carthage's homecoming, which will not be the last homecoming game I went to in 2025. It was warm yes, but it was picturesque.  So, I guess that's that for the review right?! Welllllll not so fast. As you all know, here's my review of Art Keller Field!

Amenities:

So here's a bit of a new thing, there's a bookstore/dining hall that is connected to the stadium.  That does offer some options for people wanting to cool down on a warm day, or shop Firebirds merch, which they have a LOT of. Through the game, it didn't seem like a lot of the food options inside that hall were open, so that leads me to think it's a Monday-Friday sort of thing.  However, there were numerous food and drink stands on this day. The bathrooms also were in that dining hall type area, so it worked out.  Overall, though the amenities had long lines and while the staff worked hard for trying to thin the lines, with it being homecoming it was going to be a long line. Overall, 4 out of 5.

Atmosphere:

While Illinois Wesleyan won 34-10, there was a sizeable 20-0 lead built up where there wasn't much to cheer about with the over capacity crowd of 3,500 on this day. However, when Carthage got an INT down 20-7, but couldn't get a touchdown off of it to swing momentum, that was the curtain call for quite a number of fans.  Even down 20-10, there was the feeling that the Firebirds weren't coming back.  Quite a shame really, because the crowd was energized for the game.  Any closer of a game or a Firebirds win, this goes to a 5, however as it is, 3.5 out of 5 I think is appropriate.

Location: 

This is an on-campus stadium on the shore of Lake Michigan. A late September game makes it picturesque already, however Homecoming adds more to that of course.  There honestly isn't a ton of food or drink options near by, but you cannot beat the location of where this stadium is. 5 out of 5.

Price:

I'll be honest, I forget how much I paid for the ticket but I know it was under 10. I also had to park about a mile from the stadium due to all of the spots taken up and all the overflow also taken up. However, parking was free and the shuttle was fine. At the stadium, the bookstore merch wasn't incredibly expensive but I didn't get anything and just checked it out. The food and drinks were fine priced, but not overwhelmingly great or bad.  The other stands were a bit more expensive for my liking, but that's a homecoming for you.  Overall, solid 4 out of 5 is warranted here.

Review: 

You cannot beat a great lakeside stadium on a Saturday afternoon and Carthage does deliver that.  The crowd was into the game, and if Carthage capitalizes on a couple more mistakes then the crowd is deep into the game on this homecoming.  However, Carthage will honestly have a good place in my heart over the crowd of just really neat people that attended the game.  16.5 is a good number for you guys, keep up the good work Firebirds.

Football Stadium Review: Strong Stadium (Beloit College)

 Strong Stadium in Beloit, Wisconsin is the football stadium for the Beloit College Buccaneers. This 3,000 seat stadium is on the very outskirt of the college itself, about three-quarters of a mile away from the college and very near the Wisconsin/Illinois border.  On the same night that I went to Carroll University earlier in the day, I traveled I-43 to Beloit to find myself at this game, which was ironically its Homecoming Night vs. Knox. Spoiler: Beloit lost by 2, 16-14.  However, the drive down was uneventful, but how was the game and Strong Stadium itself? Let's go below!

Amenities:

The parking lot was fuller than full.  But there was a LOT of tailgating here before the game and during halftime which was fantastic. The food/drink options were all inside the stadium's entrance, as were the bathrooms.  I cannot comment on the restroom but the entrance itself was not many frills and okay. All in all for amenities, 3 out of 5 works here.

Atmosphere:

This will be skewed based on the fact it was homecoming so a greater than capacity crowd for the home side was expected.  The official attendance on the box score stated 800 but I tend to think it was more than that with the later arrivals (myself included). The crowd on the away side did have people but it was not nearly as rambunctious as the home side on the homecoming.  Unfortunately, the team didn't give the crowd a ton to cheer about. Still have to go with what it is, 3.5 out of 5. If it weren't homecoming, there'd likely be a lower score.

Location:

Not being squarely on campus here hurts Beloit, because you actually have to travel further to get to food/drink and good spots to just have a good Saturday night out. Unless you would rather go to South Beloit, in Illinois which has some stuff right away as you cross the border.  Either way, it's a good spot for an athletic complex, but there isn't a ton around it. Overall, 2 out of 5.

Price:

Have to hand it to Beloit for this: Free parking (Street parking, so, rolling with it being free), free tickets (they literally didn't have a ticket on their site and no one even checked), and low price food/drinks saves this. I didn't have any of the food because I ate before the game.  5 out of 5 though for price.

Review:

Strong Stadium is an alright place, if albeit just lacking in major details.  The student body want a winner and it has been over 15 years of a lot of losing for the Buccaneers.  I hope that they can succeed in the future so that the student base and the fans can pack Strong Stadium. Otherwise, 13 is the best I can offer here.

Football Stadium Review: Schneider Stadium (Carroll University)

 Schneider Stadium, home of the Carroll Pioneers.  It's a stadium in Waukesha that I have driven past a couple of times in the past, but wondered how it would be as a spectator to look at a football game here.  I got that opportunity a year ago to see how the Pios were against Washington University-St. Louis. This was a bit of a weird game as a storm rolled through in the third quarter of the contest, delaying the game by over an hour. By then, I had already committed to having to go to the second game of my double header day, so I had to forego the remainder of the game.  Still 2.5 quarters was good enough to summarize this stadium.  Let's see how Schneider Stadium fares!

Amenities:

Pretty good selection of food and drinks are here.  Initial concourse is a bit narrow, with a tennis court essentially side by side, however the place does widen out as you get towards the bleachers. Bathrooms are a bit dated but the VIP area behind the endzone is a neat place.  Probably the best amenity is the fact you could theoretically not pay and be able to sit in the gazebo or watch from past the stadium where there is non-screened off fencing.  Though overall, based on the amenities and the relative cleanliness of the stadium, going 3.5 out of 5.

Atmosphere:

The Pios lost this game on this day by 12, though before the weather delay the crowd definitely was into the game.  This was one of the more better atmospheres.  I have to think the remainder of the crowd wasn't as boastful with energy post-delay but before that, there was a palpable energy for the home team (and those from the away side that attended as well). With that, I have to give this a solid 4 out of 5.

Location:

It's an on-campus stadium in Waukesha, so this will be a big number.  They also have a ton of options within Waukesha for food and drinks and fun spots. However, just around the stadium blocks, there are some options as well.  The fact the stadium is near the basketball arena, softball and baseball diamonds is a plus but it's smack dab on campus for the students to get to a game. With that, 5 out of 5!

Price:

Parking ended up being free, parking on a street was a good thing.  The game itself I think was around 10 dollars, so not necessarily the most expensive.  Drinks I believe were Pepsi brand, so do note that if you go to Schneider Stadium. The food was.. fine.  Wasn't anything spectacular so will knock it a bit.  With that said, 4 out of 5 seems fine.

Review: 

Schneider Stadium is a solid D3 stadium in the CCIW. 16.5 is a very good grade for this stadium in Waukesha.  The University should be happy regarding the rating, because you guys are doing things great. Keep it up!

Football Stadium Review: Umnus Field (Luther Preparatory School)

 Luther Prep in Watertown is a Preparatory School that is denoted as high school. Yes, wrap your head around that. On campus is their football stadium, Umnus Field. The stadium, according to the WIAA, holds 1,300 seats and the Phoenix play Division 5 football.  I was able to attend a game at Luther Prep.  Note, there will be an additional point given to the PA guy who said "Move the chains, first and tennnnnn LUTHER PREP" so be aware for that as we rate this stadium! Let's go!

Amenities:

First, the concessions are behind the stands on the lowest level of the press/coaches box. It's a bit odd, but the way the stadium is and the way Luther Prep is, it's understandable.  I didn't have to use any other concourses but noticed the stadium was clean and without major garbage anywhere so they do a good job every game of keeping the stadium clean.  Just the main concession area, no where else.  The ticket desk at the start of the stadium is very basic.  Parking is limited in the parking lot, but lots of area to street park around the stadium.  Overall, solid 4 of 5.

Atmosphere:

Honestly, what a difference pre-school year to school year makes.  When I reviewed WHS' game, the atmosphere was incredibly dull. Luther Prep's, the opposite, at least until the fourth quarter when Martin Luther (Yeah, it's weird how my last review had this, and now this one, weird coincidences abound) pulled away to a 13 point victory. We also saw referees and coaches getting into it. However, what stood out was the student section was into the game for most of it. The non-students were.. kinda just there. They celebrated big plays or touchdowns, but not necessarily other things.  Would have liked more from them.  Overall, 3.5 out of 5.

Location:

While not heart of downtown, it's closer to downtown than WHS, so this gets a bit of a boost. You are closer to a lot of the food options and other spots in Watertown from Luther Prep than WHS.  The football field being RIGHT BEHIND the campus also works. So location, it's easy 5 out of 5.

Price:

A fiver to get in the stadium, free parking, concessions that are not going to break the budget, even if the food was average. Cannot hate it at all, if they get better taste on their food, they get a five. Right now though, 4 out of 5 is solid.

Review:

Umnus Field is a solid little stadium for high school football.  Cannot go wrong with a game here.  Because I said we grant an additional point to the stadium PA guy, this gets bumped up from 16.5 to 17.5.  Keep making slight improvements Luther Prep, you are nearly there.

Football Stadium Review: Banta Bowl (Lawrence University)

 Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin is a private university (not aligned with the UW system) that is based in this city in the Fox Valley region of the state.  It's football program has been mired in being a non-competitive program for several years, with only a handful of wins since the COVID season was taken in 2020.  I was able to find the Banta Bowl for their home opener against Martin Luther, and unfortunately their best game of the season still resulted in a 19 point loss for the Vikings.  However, how did I find the Banta Bowl overall? Let's find out below (And of course, the ratings go to Amenities, Atmosphere, Location and Price).

Amenities:

If the Banta Bowl has anything going for it, it's an exceptionally clean, roomy place with plenty enough to offer to the Vikings fans.  They have a merch stand, food stand, bathrooms, and they have a concourse that is really wide.  It doubles as a soccer stadium as well, so it is helpful for all sports. Overall, very clean facility and stadium, wide concourse.  One does get a knock though is the wait at the gate to get in the stadium.  Yes, it was a game that denoted its highest crowd (though not a sellout) but there was a significant wait to get into the game. Overall, 4 out of 5.

Atmosphere:

When you have only a handful of wins in a half decade, it doesn't bode well for atmosphere.  The Vikings fans feel they want a winner, and during their touchdowns, they did get excited. However, in a 33-14 game, the fans can only be so excited and energetic. The away crowd with Martin Luther was excited as they nearly packed the away stand. So the away fans were more excited than the home fans. I have to go based off of what happened that day, so the best I can give is a 1.5 out of 5.

Location:

The Banta Bowl is situated in Appleton but secluded from the major areas of Appleton, like the mall, shopping areas, etc.  It might be on Lawrence's campus but feels like the outskirt of it. However, the way it is sunk into the earth is neat for a stadium setting.  However, around it isn't.. a lot. An aquatic center is there, but otherwise it's just a road and a side road. You'll have to travel a couple miles for a lot of the main food options. Overall, 2 out of 5.

Price:

For the fact it's a bad record-wise football team playing in a nice stadium, tickets are cheap. Food/drink is fine for price and I believe merch was a decent price too. No major frills, the food and drink are fine, but not overwhelmingly terrific. But this is where the score will be high, 5 out of 5 for price.

Review:

Unfortunately, The Banta Bowl is a stadium that is good, but surrounded in essence by a program that has lost, and continues to lose, a bunch in a half decade.  If they can ever right the ship, pardon the pun, it feels like the Banta Bowl will become a lively place.  However, 12.5 is the best they can get in these circumstances. 

Football Stadium Review: Glover Field (Johnson Creek High School)

 Glover Field in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin is a high school football stadium which its high school was featured on one of Five Points Vids YouTube clips (Yes JCHS, your domed style high school caught YT sports people's attention).  For Glover Field, we went on the third trip (Is it fair to call it a trip, its not more than 10 miles away) on the football 2025 trip that we took.  According to the WIAA, this stadium seats 1300.  How did they fare on this night? A two point win, which brought us to 3-0 on the season (Don't worry, that undefeated streak did run out soon) so how did the fans fare at Glover Field? Let's go, and note we do this via amenities, Atmosphere, location, and price.

Amenities: 

There are plenty of food and drink options at Glover Field, with one main concession stand.  There is also a bathroom so the amenities are of course there. No major issues on waiting, and unless you were waiting at halftime, it wasn't a terribly long wait anyway, even with a full crowd like this night. The staff are crisp and quick, and they keep the facility clean.  So all in all, have to give the staff a 5 out of 5 for the amenities and cleanliness.

Atmosphere:

Unlike the previous HS on this list, JCHS fans get out to support their Blue Jays in vast amounts.  This night it was a full crowd in the stands and in the overflow area.  There is plenty of grass space outside the stadium, so kids can just sit outside or play football. The atmosphere was electric for a HS crowd, and while there wasn't a ton of scoring (it was a 14-12 win), the crowd did cheer a lot for a turnover, a first down or otherwise.  They were in the game, and for that, it's a 5 out of 5.

Location:

Maybe one of the more unusual locations, considering its on the outskirt of the town rather than in town.  It does give a lot of room for the school and the stadium however, and there is the possibility that the town can expand in living area/business in years to come.  It's not relatively close to much of the main food areas or main stops in Johnson Creek, so you'll have to drive a couple miles to the main mall, food places or otherwise.  This gets a 3 out of 5.

Price:

This is easy, it's a 5. Free parking, a fiver for a ticket, with the ability for cash and non-cash tickets, 50/50 raffle is cheap. Food/drink are good choices and decent in taste. Either way, a single person can come away fulfilled with 10-15 dollars spent and not have much issue.  They deserve this five rating.

Review:

This is about as close to a perfect stadium as it can get and JCHS deserves an 18. They do a fantastic job all around with Glover Field.  With JCHS typically a solid football program every year, we can expect them to keep doing a top notch job with the stadium.

Football Stadium Review: Huskie Stadium (Northern Illinois)

 For those that have been reading my blogs through this time, we have reached a momentus milestone of 200 posts! Hooray for this! What do we do to celebrate this? Why, another stadium review of course! This time, to north central Illinois, to the city of DeKalb, IL to be exact. This is where Huskie Stadium is, and where the Northern Illinois Huskies call home.  NIU has been home to many college legends like Michael Turner and Jordan Lynch, who led the Huskies to a BCS Bowl game.  With that, this stadium that holds 28,211 was the site of a pre-Labor Day contest between the Huskies and the Holy Cross Crusaders (Sorry, Badgers fans, I am opening up that wound now). End Result: Northern Illinois walked away winners 19-17. As with every stadium review, it goes Amenities, Atmosphere, Location, and Price and a last review of the event is what we see here.  Let's go!

Amenities:

NIU makes sure they have plenty of options of food and drink around Huskie Stadium so fans will not be lacking there.  They also have a lot of room for tailgating, tents and fan zones outside the stadium so they do really well here as well.  The merch areas have a lot of different things.  I got a shirt and a plushie for a reasonable price of under 40 dollars (most days at sporting events if you get a shirt at 40, you are lucky). The bathrooms are a bit weird in some areas, as you have to walk down to get to them.  Not necessarily a negative thing, but one that is odd.  It is a fairly basic type stadium though and the people and staff maintain a pretty clean stadium overall. Will give it 4 out of 5.

Atmosphere:

I have to say the Huskies did themselves no favors getting the crowd involved in this one.  With it being on Labor Day weekend, it was going to be a tough sell against an FCS opponent to sell the game out, and it was no where close on that.  However, the team didn't give the fans much reason to cheer until the fourth quarter and getting the win.  I know the atmosphere here can be a lot better, but I do have to rate based on the game and day I went.  This really isn't on the fans, it's more on the team.  The fans seem to be a fanbase that wants a proven and constant winner, so they can have more people come in to maybe sell out the stadium.  Again, don't hate me NIU, this was more on the team not giving you more to cheer about. 2 out of 5.

Location:

A college stadium on campus is never something to not give a positive remark to.  It's also around the basketball arena, the softball and baseball diamonds so it gives a sort of athletic complex feel to it. NIU is kind of on the outskirt of DeKalb a bit, but it's easy to get to.  Parking is easy as well. So the location is a good one. They are about a mile-ish away from the major food areas and social places that aren't already on campus.  However, solid location, and with as much area as NIU has for all the tailgating and fan festivities and such, cannot go wrong.  Solid 4 out of 5.

Price:

About 25 dollars for the ticket isn't bad, and is comparable to more of the group of 5 teams in the NCAA. However, 20 dollars for parking was pretty steep I thought, even by those same standards (I don't typically go to D1 stadiums so I could be skewed). The food/drink ran me about 10 dollars combined and wasn't terribly outlandish in terms of being good or bad. Both were just fine.  As I mentioned earlier, the merch was decently priced for what I got, so no qualms there.  Again, I think 4 out of 5 works.

Review:

I haven't visited a MAC stadium before this one and NIU is the closest to me. Honest impression is a solid stadium, that has a lot to offer.  I think the 14 I gave is a solid one because I am not sure what other MAC stadiums (maybe I should say MWC now as NIU is going there) would be better. So solid stadium NIU, just keep trying to improve as you go forward!