Shaded Seats at Boone Pickens Stadium

Boone Pickens Stadium is a historic college football venue and the home field for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Stillwater features warm, sunny weather during the early football season, with cooler temperatures later in the year. Fans attending Cowboys games can use this guide along with the stadium’s seating chart to identify the shaded seats at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Where are the seats in the shade and sun at Boone Pickens Stadium?

As a general rule, the seats in the shade at Boone Pickens Stadium are located:

• South Sideline: Shade on the Cowboys’ home side of the stadium

And the seats in the sun at Boone Pickens Stadium are located:

• North Sideline: Sunny on the away team’s side of the stadium

Cowboys games at Boone Pickens Stadium usually kick off at noon, 3:30 PM or 7:00 PM, with a few other times mixed into the schedule as well. For specific details about shaded sections at different start times, please continue reading.

Boone Pickens Stadium Orientation to the Sun

Boone Pickens Stadium is oriented east to west. This is a fairly unique orientation for football stadiums and means that, by noon, the sun is above and behind the south side of the stadium. Over the course of the afternoon, it continues to dip behind the south side of the stadium and eventually sets behind the west end zone. This configuration makes the south side of the stadium the “shade side” and the north side the sunny side. The end zone is sunny early in the day, but shaded for evening games.

The graphic below shows the approximate hour-by-hour position of the sun throughout the day on September 1st.

See an interactive seating chart for the next event at Boone Pickens Stadium

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Early Afternoon Boone Pickens Stadium Games

Boone Pickens Stadium is a historic venue that has been upgraded and modernized over the years. It uses a horseshoe design, with seating along the sidelines and behind the west end zone. Gallagher-Iba Arena fills in the space behind the east end zone. The stadium is otherwise open to the elements, with no roof or canopy over the stands. Only suites and some luxury seats have any cover.

Shade is sparse at Boone Pickens Stadium early in the afternoon. For a game that kicks off at noon, the sun is high above, and nearly every seat, aside from the luxury suites, is sun-soaked. Even if most seats start the game in the sun, more and more will become shaded throughout the afternoon. Shade seekers should focus on the south sideline. Sections 301-310 are your best bet for early-day shade. Seats in the back of these sections will become shaded first, and then the shade line will creep forward, eventually covering seats in Sections 201-210 and 101-108 as well.

The sunniest seats are on the north side of the stadium and behind the end zone. Barring a cloudy day, all rows in Sections 115-120, 222-228, and 328-334 are virtually guaranteed to be in the path of the sun for the entirety of an afternoon game. The angle of the sun early in the day means seats behind the end zone are also sun-exposed.

Seats in the Sun and Shade at Late Afternoon and Evening Boone Pickens Stadium Games

When the Cowboys are scheduled for a 3:30 PM or later game, shade is more abundant, but the same basic principles apply for finding it. Shade seekers should focus on south (home) sideline sections 101-108, 201-210, and 301-310. As the sun descends behind the stadium, fans in these sections will have the sun at their backs and shade covering their seats.

The sunniest seats are on the north (away team) side of the stadium. Sections 115-120, 222-228, and 328-334 are sun-soaked at the start of a mid-afternoon game. As the game progresses, the shade line will cross the field and begin covering seats on the east side from lowest to highest. The 100-level seats will become shaded first, followed by the 200-level, and finally the 300-level before sunset. Seats behind the end zone will be sunny at the start of a 3:30 PM game but will be shaded for a 7:00 PM game.

By late afternoon seats on the south side of the stadium (where the photo is taken) are shaded while seats on the north side (across the field) stay sunny the longest.
Credit: Wesley Fryer (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Ready to buy shaded seats at Boone Pickens Stadium?

Use the individual game links or click or tap here to see the upcoming game list for Boone Pickens Stadium.