The 10 Best Stadium Seats
This wiki has been updated 37 times since it was first published in May of 2015. Take a load off and enjoy the game in comfort on one of these stadium seats, which all come in at a price that won't break the bank. Ranked by quality, cost, and special features, they are sure to keep your bum from going numb at any professional sporting event, your kid's soccer match, or even an outdoor concert. They are available in an eye-catching assortment of colors, too. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Cascade Mountain Tech
2. Picnic Time Ventura
3. Alps Mountaineering Weekender
Editor's Notes
April 16, 2019:
After some thought, we decided to keep both frame and non-frame options, but it's important to note that many professional stadiums prohibit chairs with metal frames. You'll want to reserve these for your kid's sporting events, local concerts, non-pro games, picnics, and the like. That said, for overall durability and comfort, we still think the Cascade Mountain Tech and Alps Mountaineering Weekender are fine options. The former is quite a bit heavier than the latter, so it's a better choice when you don't have to lug your gear all that far. We also added a luxury model, Pop Design's The Hot Seat, which may be a little too big for some events but nonetheless provides just about every feature you could possibly want in a stadium chair, including a heater. It doesn't come with a battery, though, so you'll need to factor that into the overall cost, which is a little steep to begin with. To cover the other end of the features continuum, we added the Portal Seat Pad 3-Pack, which gives you plain, no-frills cushioning for your bottom. For simple selections with a back, we still think the Coleman Stadium and Rio Gear My Pod are fine choices, but they're made for light use and won't stand up to everyday, heavy wear and tear.
4. The Hot Seat
5. The Stadium Chair Co. Gamechanger
6. Rio Gear Armchair
7. Portal Seat Pad 3-Pack
8. Home-Complete Wide
9. Rio Gear My Pod
10. Coleman Stadium
Benefits Of Using A Stadium Seat
The convenience of personal stadium seat cushions is also a major benefit.
A quality stadium seat allows the user to focus on the event at hand without being distracted by a sore back, numb legs, or poor concentration caused by uncomfortable seating options. Most stadium seat cushions have been ergonomically designed to provide optimal support for the spine and hips, which can help prevent sciatica symptoms. They also take the pressure off the legs, help achieve a good posture, and provide sufficient padding for the buttocks.
Using a stadium seat cushion while watching a sporting event leads to greater enjoyment of the event, eliminating the need to constantly readjust one's seating position just to get comfortable. Most bleachers and stadium seats are made of aluminum or HDPE plastics, and can be very uninviting. Neither option provides proper support, and both are hard and uncomfortable. Using a stadium seat can make watching a game in person comfortable and enjoyable.
Once the season is over, stadium seats can be used anywhere portable support is needed. Barbecues, concerts, camping trips, and even sitting at the dinner table can be enhanced by using a supportive stadium seat. The convenience of personal stadium seat cushions is also a major benefit. They are extremely simple to use; most just need to be unfolded and placed on your chair before one can begin sitting.
Can A Simple Seat Reduce Pain?
Over 76 million American adults experience chronic pain at some point in their lives, commonly associated with problems in the lumbar spine. Sitting for prolonged periods of time not only causes chronic back pain, it has been linked to some serious side effects; including chronic ailments like diabetes, heart disease, and premature death.
Rotate healthy seating positions, do some stretches in the seat, and get up and move around at least once every hour.
Over the course of various studies, researchers found that people who sat for prolonged periods of time had a higher risk of death from all causes. These risks were most prevalent in people who did little or no exercise. Exercise shows much promise in the treatment of chronic back pain. Knowing this, it is easy to see the importance of the 7th inning stretch.
As one of the most common causes of chronic back pain, poor sitting posture is easily remedied at home, in the office, or while using a stadium seat. Wherever you sit, it is important to follow some simple guidelines to ensure the spine is aligned and the posture is correct. If sitting at a 90 degree angle, it is important to keep the feet flat on the ground, with the knees and hips aligned. The shoulders should be kept down and back with the elbows close to the body. The spine should remain straight, from the top of the head to the sacrum. The cushion from personal stadium seats can also help protect the back and legs from the hard surfaces of stadium chairs.
While the support from a stadium seat goes a long way to reducing back pain, it is highly important in any seated environment to break up sitting patterns. Rotate healthy seating positions, do some stretches in the seat, and get up and move around at least once every hour. What is lost in the minutes of game time is gained in years of a healthier, happier back.
The Personal Seat License; Just Another Expense?
A personal seat license allows a fan of a specific sports team to buy the rights to purchase season tickets for a certain seat in the stadium. Unlike a suite or box seats, which can be rented for specific events, personal seat licenses give the holder the rights to particular seats. If someone thoroughly enjoys the views from a specific seat, teams will allow them to permanently lease the seat to enjoy every regular game from the same seat.
Since then, multiple professional and collegiate teams alike have started offering seat licenses to fans.
The first stadium seat license was sold at a college stadium in 1986 by Dick Gould. The tennis coach was looking for a way to finance a new stadium, and decided on offering spectators the rights to seats. Since then, multiple professional and collegiate teams alike have started offering seat licenses to fans.
As the cost of stadiums in sports like American Football is on the rise, the teams often look for ways to minimize the debts accrued from the construction of these enormous stadiums. In many cases, this debt is subsidized by the federal government, which allows state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds towards the funding of these stadiums. This tax exemption lowers the interest on debt, and therefore lowers the amount of money the government earns on these bonds. The money is then made up through the taxes paid by citizens.
That does not make the debt of the stadium disappear, and teams again turn to the average person to foot the bill. Rising concessions, admissions tickets, and the personal seat license are all ways in which teams turn the cost of stadiums back onto their fans. For die-hard fans, this is a small price to pay to enjoy their favorite sports team. For the average fan, however, this may be seen as just another way to get money.
Melissa Harr is a language-obsessed writer from Chicagoland who holds both a bachelor of arts and master of arts in English. Although she began as a TEFL teacher, earning several teaching certificates and working in both Russia and Vietnam, she moved into freelance writing to satisfy her passion for the written word. She has published full-length courses and books in the realm of arts & crafts and DIY; in fact, most of her non-working time is spent knitting, cleaning, or committing acts of home improvement. Along with an extensive knowledge of tools, home goods, and crafts and organizational supplies, she has ample experience (okay, an obsession) with travel gear, luggage, and the electronics that make modern life more convenient.