Desperately seeking shade: Where Jaguars fans can find the coolest spots at TIAA Bank Field

Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times-Union
·5 min read

If you've ever been to a Jaguars game in the first few months of the NFL season, you're probably aware that it can get a little warm in the stadium, if it's not pouring rain. Like brutally, intolerably warm, especially if your seat is in full sun.

Earlier this year, the Jaguars surveyed fans and season ticket holders about what improvements they'd like to see at TIAA Bank Field. More than 80 percent of respondents said they want shade over the stadium seats.

Until they can figure out how to do that, here are the (literally) coolest places in the stadium. It's worth noting that, unless you're really tall or really lucky, you aren't likely to find a place where you can be in the shade and see the action on the field, especially at a 1 p.m. game.

Gameday grub: From meatball subs to fish tacos, here's what's new for Jaguars fans at TIAA Bank Field's concessions

Jaguars lose again: Mascot Jaxson De Ville finishes near bottom in nationwide 'lovable' survey

Club seats and cabanas

About 13 percent of the seats at TIAA Bank Field are club seats. If you're sitting there, you have access to the air-conditioned clubs located on either side of the stadium.

The coolest seats in the stadium — maybe in the whole NFL — are the spa cabanas behind the north endzone. Those are the ones that come with access to the swimming pools. They cost $14,500 per game, but that's good for 50 people and includes food and beverage service. Availability is limited for the rest of this season.

Flex Field

The Flex Field behind Daily's Place is open before Jaguars games and is a great place to catch a breeze from the giant ceiling fans.
The Flex Field behind Daily's Place is open before Jaguars games and is a great place to catch a breeze from the giant ceiling fans.

Before kickoff, the Flex Field located behind the Daily's Place stage is open as a place to hang out, toss a football and enjoy the breeze generated by giant ceiling-mounted fans. You'll have to download and sign off on a lengthy waiver before you can get through the doors, and no food or drink is allowed inside. But once you get through the door, you can walk on the surprisingly soft artificial-turf football field, meet the Roar cheerleaders, pose in a photo booth, kick field goals, play a giant cornhole game or take the QB Challenge. Kids will find a bounce house and inflatable slides and obstacle courses, and a big area of the field is fenced off for fans to run routes and throw footballs.

Daily's Place

Fans can sit in the Daily's Place amphitheater and watch the game on a large video screen during Jaguars home games. At the home opener, many of the seats were filled by the Bethune-Cookman band, which performed at halftime.
Fans can sit in the Daily's Place amphitheater and watch the game on a large video screen during Jaguars home games. At the home opener, many of the seats were filled by the Bethune-Cookman band, which performed at halftime.

The Daily's Place amphitheater that is attached to the south end of the stadium is open before and during games. Prior to kickoff, bands play on the stage while a giant video screen over their head shows "NFL Gameday" with the sound off.

During the game, fans can take any seat they want in the amphitheater and watch the game on that same big video screen. At the Jaguars' home opener against the Colts, a couple dozen people did just that, despite holding a ticket that would allow them to watch the game live. It is noticeably cooler in the Daily's seats than in the stadium seats, and rain isn't an issue, so it might make sense for some people.

Ground Floor South End Zone

The tunnel between the south endzone lobby and the field allows a great view of the action, but gets very crowded during games.
The tunnel between the south endzone lobby and the field allows a great view of the action, but gets very crowded during games.

At ground level, the large lobby between Daily's and the stadium is 100 percent in the shade. It's filled with vendors (and a Daily's store with beer taps) and has a lot more elbow room than the stadium concourses and tons of video screens. As a bonus, there's a tunnel from the lobby that offers a view directly onto the field, right behind the goalposts. Seats are sold in the tunnel area itself, but anybody can stand behind them and get a shockingly close view of the action on the field, all while standing in the shade. It's not a secret though, so good luck finding a spot with a view.

Bud Light Party Zone

The Bud Light Party Zone offers shade and cover from rain, but it gets packed and very loud during games.
The Bud Light Party Zone offers shade and cover from rain, but it gets packed and very loud during games.

Located on the main concourse at the south end of the stadium, the massive bar has a great view of the field but gets so crowded during games that you have little chance of actually seeing the game. A walkway separates the bar from the south endzone seats and ushers are vigilant in keeping it clear, so you have to be actually in the bar if you want to loiter, and a wall of fans quickly develops.

If seeing the game live isn't important, the bar is a pretty good place to hang out. It gets jam-packed and very loud, but there are TVs everywhere you turn, showing the on-field action.

Concourses

Wider concourses are also one of the items fans asked for in the Jaguars' survey, and the existing ones can get a little tight, especially at halftime. That makes them a logical place to equip with big ceiling fans and, boy, can they ever crank up a refreshing breeze.

Restrooms

Many of the restrooms have fans. They might not be a place where you'd want to linger but the breeze can be very refreshing.

In the concourse outside most restrooms, fans can find water fountains and stations to refill a water bottle. The Jaguars allow fans to bring one factory-sealed water bottle into the stadium and you can refill it for free as many times as you like.

Nosebleeds

The "nosebleed" seats in the upper deck of TIAA Bank Field are a long way from the action, but if there is any breeze to be had, that's the place to find it.
The "nosebleed" seats in the upper deck of TIAA Bank Field are a long way from the action, but if there is any breeze to be had, that's the place to find it.

Those cheap seats that are way up high in the stadium and a long way from the field are also the best ones to catch a breeze. The walkways on the corners of the stadium can also be breezy, even on a quiet day. Those are the spots that used to be clogged with smokers, but smoking is no longer permitted in the stadium.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Where can you find shade at a Jacksonville Jaguars game?