You know that clause in the Rams lease that we hear so much about? The one that says that if by 2015, the Edward Jones Dome isn't amongst the top 25% of all stadiums in the NFL that they can void their contract?
Well, if Sports Illustrated's opinion means anything, the people who run the CVC might want to head up to Home Depot and start renovating asap. SI did their annual stadium rankings, basing the results on five categories - affordability & food, tailgating, team quality, atmosphere and accessibility.
The Jones Dome ranked 32nd overall. That's out of 32 stadiums if you were wondering. For the math-challenged, that means they have to leapfrog 24 stadiums make the top 25%.
Seems pretty bleak.
But what the hell does Sports Illustrated know anyway? It's no shock that they listed Lambeau Field as the top stadium in the league - mystique may not be a category, but it's always a huge factor in all these rankings. It's the same reason that Fenway Park is always listed as the top stadium in Major League Baseball despite being roundly considered a huge dump by pretty much everyone who has to watch games there. Surely, the Jones Dome is being shortchanged, right?
We took a look at the individual results and offer up our own opinions as to whether they are on target with their assessment:
Viewing the results from this survey shows that the Dome doesn't do anything particularly bad to slot them in the bottom five of the league, they're simply average. 54% of the fans who participated said that the affordability of a trip a Rams home game was average, which matches their standing amongst NFL teams in ticket prices ($68 average Rams ticket; average NFL ticket $72). The big strike against the Dome is that the participants in the poll didn't give them much love for the quality of food available. One look at the standard nachos plate will confirm that opinion.
Tailgate Assessment: Too much emphasis placed on something as subjective as food goes into this ranking, although the Dome certainly doesn't offer much creativity in the category.
Probably the most common criticism of the Dome is the crappy tailgating scene it produces. Instead of one big parking lot a'la Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, it's a collection of smaller ones scattered on all sides of the stadium. But is it really that bad? In the end, there is plenty of space to pull your car or RV up, wheel out the grill and start drinking. The beauty of the tailgate is that you don't need much more than that. Get closer to the stadium and you get your big tents, sponsored tailgates and inevitable appearances by Smash. It's not the best scene, but coming from someone who has experienced Arrowhead several times (#3 on the SI list), the Dome is not devoid of atmosphere by any means.
Tailgate Assessment: The killer for the Rams ranking is that 54% of the people who responded to the poll said that they only tailgate for 0-1 hour before the game. My response: they interviewed the wrong people.
To be honest, being ranked second to last in team quality is sort of a victory for the Rams. You have to assume that this poll was taken long before the Rams scored an unexpected win over the Redskins on Sunday and before that game, there was little doubt that they were the worst team in the NFL.
If there is one common area of criticism of the Dome that I am firmly on board with its that the atmosphere inside is terrible. Part of it is the bleak visual feel that the Dome eminates, part of it is a tepid crowd when the Rams aren't playing well. How do you fix it? Aside from ripping the roof off or starting from scratch, I have no idea. All I know is that it sucks.
On the bright side, 37% of those polled rated the hospitality towards opposing fans as "above average". Good to hear considering there are normally about 25,000 of them at any given game.
Tailgate Assessment: If it weren't for teams below them getting penalized for unfriendly treatment towards opposing fans (Raiders and Jets primarily) the Rams would probably be battling with Cincy for last in atmosphere. That sounds about right.
See there, we're not all that bad. There's at least one category in which the Dome breaks the top 20. Factors such as parking availability and cost, public transportation and pre/post game traffic are all considered when SI.com determined that the Edward Jones Dome was just a smidge below average in accessibility.
Hey, parking may not be ideal, but at least we've got a free market economy setting prices as opposed to single-lot stadiums where, if you want to park within 10 miles of the stadium, you're paying whatever the hell they tell you to pay.
Tailgate Assessment: Suck on that teams below us. You've got to go back to your fan bases and tell them that you actually ranked below the Edward Jones Dome in something.
Overall: Given the categories that SI.com uses, it's tough to argue where the Jones Dome sits in the overall rankings. Sure they may have been a bit harsh on the food quality and the tailgating, but they probably could have been more harsh on the atmosphere and team quality rankings.
Basically what we're saying is - the CVC is screwed come 2015.
The Jones Dome ranked 32nd overall. That's out of 32 stadiums if you were wondering. For the math-challenged, that means they have to leapfrog 24 stadiums make the top 25%. 
Stadium Atmosphere
