High School Football Countdown: Five stadiums to see a game at this fall

The Allen Texas Football Experience 316,953 views 2:39

Video: The Allen football experience
Eagle Stadium cost $60-million to build, but the experience to play and watch a game there is priceless.

MaxPreps High School Football Countdown
Today — Best stadiums to see a high school game
Aug. 12 — Coaches to follow on Twitter
Aug. 13 — Teams logging frequent flyer miles this season
Aug. 14 — Players to follow on Twitter
Aug. 15 — Coaches nearing landmark wins
Aug. 16 — Best highlight tapes
Aug. 17 — Big time players flying under the recruiting radar
Aug. 18 — High-octane offenses

Much of the appeal and charm of watching high school football is simply the view.

Every stadium carries a bit of nostalgia, a piece of one's adolescence and a whole bunch of history for every individual.

That's because just about everyone, on a Friday night, attended a high school football game somewhere in time. Somewhere in America.

Here are five unforgettable venues where high school games will be played in 2016.

5. Stadium Bowl, Tacoma (Wash.) Considered the "Eighth Wonder of the World," upon its completion in 1910, the home of aptly-named Stadium (Tacoma, Wash.) offers a breathtaking view of the Puget Sound. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson spoke there before 40,000 people even though its capacity was 32,000. Many celebrities and concerts followed and it was featured in the movie "Ten Things I Hate About you." More stunning shots from the Stadium Bowl

4. Washington High School Stadium, San Francisco Home of the Washington (San Francisco) Eagles, there may be no more breathtaking view that that of the Golden Gate Bridge. That's if the fog isn't rolling in, which happens often in the Bay Area. People travel the world to see the bridge, but only a few hundred gather for most Washington games despite the fact that the stadium is accented by a stunning 2,500 square foot frieze with panels that depict both ancient and modern sports in Olympics. Quotations from Plato and other philosophers are also displayed. See more shots from this stadium

3. The Pit, Cincinnati (Ohio) A mere five yards from the sidelines, the horseshoe-shaped Pit gives home team Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) a huge advantage. The 10,000-seat stadium is filled with history and passion. The field itself contains a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which contains names of 11 Elder graduates who died in the war. It seats 10,000 and sits in the middle of a neighborhood, surrounded by trees. Like Wrigley Field, some fans have built decks on their homes to watch home games from a distance. The Pit was started in the 1930s by student and parent volunteers, but due to World War II was not completed until 1947. In its 70th season, it is truly a jewel to behold. See more photos from The Pit

2. Roosevelt Stadium, Union City (N.J.) Where do you look to build a football stadium in the nation's most densely populated county? Up. That's what Union City (N.J.) did in 2009, when it opened its new facility — Roosevelt Stadium — on the roof of its school building. The high school, a combination of two now-defunct schools, Emerson and Union Hill, drew inspiration from a field on the campus of Georgetown University that lies on top of a parking garage. The stadium is not without its unique set of challenges. Balls occasionally sail out of both end zones and onto the streets below. Given the space limitations, the band is located in close proximity to the visitors' sideline, making it sometimes difficult to hear. They also have to deal with precautions that most fields normally don't encounter: fire drills. View the full photo gallery of Union City's Roosevelt Stadium

1. Eagle Stadium, Allen (Texas) It's known as the $60-million high school stadium, but it's hard to put a price tag on the experience of playing and watching a game at Eagle Stadium, home of the Allen (Texas) Eagles. MaxPreps was lucky enough to watch Allen's 2015 opener. Here was part of our description then: "More than 20,000 filled the pristine facility, but no one felt cramped. The concourse is about 20 yards wide three-quarters of the way around, and the stadium-style seats are spacious and on the field. You could park several 18-wheelers on the sidelines and end zone. The latter is important because Allen's 800-person Escadrille — not merely "school band" — along with couple hundred spirit squad members has to march in, out and around. There were endless images of Americana around the venue: tailgates, concessions, student bodies, flags and banners. There were back flips, front flips, soda sips, deep fried chips and big, magnificent bright, vibrant scoreboard clips." See more images from Allen Stadium here and here

Correspondent David Krider and former MaxPreps football editor Stephen Spiewak contributed to this report.