This study aims to answer that question by ranking the best and worst football stadiums for fan experience based on eight weighted criteria – and the study has officially concluded that Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park provides the best fan experience anywhere in the football league.
Key Insights
- Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park is ranked as the best EFL club for fan experience
- The Coventry Building Society Arena is ranked as the best in the Championship, narrowly ahead of the Hawthorn’s of West Brom
- The University of Bolton Stadium tops the League One rankings, followed by Plymouth’s Home Park
- Portsmouth’s Fratton Park has the best atmosphere rating across the EFL
- Teams from the South of England generally fared worse than teams elsewhere in the country
- Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium is the lowest ranked side in the EFL for fan experience
Ranking: The 20 Best Stadiums for Football Fan Experience in EFL
| Rank | Team | Stadium Name | League | Total Score (100) |
| 1 | Tranmere Rovers | Prenton Park | League 2 | 78.0 |
| 2 | Coventry City | Coventry Building Society Arena | Championship | 76.9 |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns | Championship | 75.7 |
| 4 | Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | Championship | 75.5 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | University of Bolton Stadium | League 1 | 74.3 |
| 6 | Bradford City | Valley Parade | League 2 | 73.5 |
| 7 | Sunderland | Stadium of Light | Championship | 73.4 |
| 8 | Plymouth Argyle | Home Park | League 1 | 73.3 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | The Valley | League 1 | 73.1 |
| 10 | Sheffield Wednesday | Hillsborough Stadium | League 1 | 72.4 |
| 11 | Derby County | Pride Park | League 1 | 72.1 |
| 12 | Norwich City | Carrow Road | Championship | 72.0 |
| 13 | Hull City | KC Stadium | Championship | 71.7 |
| 14 | Rotherham United | New York City Stadium | Championship | 71.7 |
| 15 | Stoke City | bet365 Stadium | Championship | 71.6 |
| 16 | AFC Wimbledon | Cherry Red Records Stadium | League 2 | 71.3 |
| 17 | Reading | Madejski Stadium | Championship | 70.8 |
| 18 | Harrogate Town | The EnviroVent Stadium | League 2 | 70.8 |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | Championship | 70.3 |
| 20 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | Championship | 70.0 |
Tranmere’s Prenton Park Leads League Two & EFL Rankings
Tranmere’s Prenton Park has been crowned the best stadium in the football league for fan experience with the Merseyside club scoring 78.91 in BetVictor’s fan experience index.
The League Two club, which scored noticeably well for stadium view and food rating, remarkably pipped Championship sides Coventry City (2nd), West Bromwich Albion (3rd) and Sheffield United (4th) to the top spot with Bolton Wanderers finishing off the top five.
Clubs in the South of England Fail to Impress Fans
Interestingly, football teams in the South of England tended to offer worse fan experiences than those in the Midlands, the North, and Wales. Of the bottom five teams in the fan experience ranking only Newport does not hail from the South of England, whilst the best ranked southern team, Plymouth, only came in 8th place.
Fratton Park Leads The Atmosphere Ratings
Despite being down in 43rd position overall, Portsmouth’s historic home of Fratton Park boasts the highest atmosphere rating (80) of any club in the EFL, as voted for by fans. There’s a host of clubs coming in just behind them with a rating of 70 including the likes of Sunderland, Sheffield United, Grimsby Town and Plymouth Argyle.
Methodology
BetVictor’s Football Fan Experience study set out to find the best and worst football stadiums for fan experience in the English Football League.
To evaluate this, 8 ranking factors were determined which were
- average season ticket cost 21/22
- median ticket cost 21/22
- number of ratings from attending fans
- match atmosphere voted by fans
- location rating
- view of pitch voted by attending fans
- food quality voted by attending fans
- infrastructure rating voted by fans
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