For most fans, a day at Lambeau Field begins long before kickoff. Fans in parking lots, driveways and front yards around the stadium each game day enjoy brats, beer and bean bags to get ready to cheer on the Green Bay Packers.
That pregame atmosphere is getting national buzz as the 2025 season approaches.
For the third year in a row, the sports betting website bookies.com determined the Packers have the top pregame experience in the NFL. To create the rankings, the website used an algorithm factoring in location, tailgating, entertainment around the stadium and family sentiment.
The website writes:
Lambeau Field is a bucket list destination, more so than any other NFL stadium. It’s an oasis of modern football surrounded by old-school charm. Green Bay ranks No. 1 for family fun, No. 2 for overall vibe and atmosphere and No. 3 for tailgating, ensuring a scene for anyone. A full-sized football field for fans to play their own games is a unique treat. The only ding is the relative remoteness of Green Bay, roughly 100 miles north of the nearest major airport in Milwaukee. That isn’t enough to knock Lambeau from the top spot for the third year in a row.
Accordingly, in the rankings among all 32 teams, the Packers finished third in tailgating, 16th in location, second in entertainment and first in family sentiment.
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The top three remained unchanged from 2024, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming in second and the Dallas Cowboys coming in third.
As for the Packers’ NFC North rivals, only the Minnesota Vikings finished in the top 10 — tied for ninth. The website said tailgating limitations and concerns about crime in the area around Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium contributing to the team’s fall from seventh in the 2024 rankings.
The Detroit Lions finished 28th, with crime concerns taking a bite out of their ranking. Ford Field in downtown Detroit was ranked in the top 10 for location, however.
The Chicago Bears’ pregame experience was not noted on the website, meaning it fell somewhere between 11th and 27th place.