Football Stadium Review: Hopp Stadium (Ripon College)

 Hopp Stadium in Ripon, Wisconsin is home to the Ripon Redhawks of the Division 3 Midwest Conference. This 2,000 seat stadium plays host not just to the football program, but also both soccer programs too.  It is one of the newest D3 stadiums, as it opened just three years ago in 2023.  I had the opportunity to attend a game here in this town in central Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the result was a 31 point loss for the Redhawks, which was a massive downside. However, how did Hopp Stadium fare? Let's find out below!

Amenities:

So.. no regular food stand but a food truck was there. The bathrooms were clean and the whole stadium was super clean. The staff were also super nice, so the amenities are sort of there, but no main food stand is a very interesting choice.  3 out of 5.

Atmosphere:

You definitely could easily feel for the Ripon fans, after a 31-0 loss on this day, because there were several opportunities for the Redhawks to score and make this a game but nothing was done. It was a bunch who wanted to have something to cheer about, but there was a palpable frustration throughout. Unfortunately on this day, this dampened the atmosphere.  There was emotion though, so I will give it a 1.5 out of 5.

Location:

Ripon is in central-ish Wisconsin, but with a population of under 8 thousand, it's going to rely on the college a lot.  Hopp Stadium is smack dab in the middle of the campus which makes this a solid plus.  It is also not terribly far from the main town center, but again it is a small town that won't be incredibly lively. The on-campus stadium part does help this score pretty solidly and will help the students have a Saturday afternoon watching ball for a couple of hours. 3.5 out of 5.

Price/Quality:

It's less than 10 for a ticket and it was free to park near the stadium.  Those are the plus sides.  The food was way too expensive overall and lacked the quality to make it worth the price.  At best, it was above average.  With that, its a 3 out of 5 with the ticket/parking being cheap making this as high of a score as it is.

Review:

One of the newest stadiums on the board, Hopp Stadium does have some things to work out.  Mainly, if they got a food stand of their own it might help.  The food truck was far too expensive for middle of the road quality. I feel a lot of this rating would have been better if the atmosphere was better, but you have to rate on the days you go, and unfortunately for the Redhawks, they get rated on a rather tough day.  Will say, this would be a stadium I would like to review again in a couple of years if able. For now, that 11 will stay.

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.