Football Fans Pay 16% More in Rent to Live Close to the Action

If you’re a football fanatic who likes to be at the center of the action and plans their life around home games, then living near a football venue is for you. You’d never worry about parking on game day, out of town friends would be your best friends, bars and restaurants filled with fellow fans are all around you, and star players could be your neighbors. But chances are you’d also pay more for rent.

Our recent analysis of rentals located in the proximity of sports venues shows that apartment rents near 23 of the 31 NFL stadiums are at least 5% higher than the overall rents in those cities, and up to 70% more expensive near one stadium. On average, rents located within a 2-mile radius of NFL stadiums are 16% higher. Depending on the venue location and population density in the area, some football stadiums score more rent than others in their vicinity.

Overtaken by football fever — now that the Super Bowl is upon us — we looked at rent prices near all NFL stadiums. Here’s what you should know if you’re looking to rent near your favorite team:

3 Newest Stadiums Set Up Expectations for Area Real Estate 

City of Champions Stadium – Los Angeles Rams (Projected to open in 2019)

• Average rent near stadium $1,265
• Inglewood city average rent: $1,274

In the process of moving their quarters from St. Louis to Los Angeles, the Rams are getting the newest and biggest NFL stadium, which is being built in Inglewood, southwest of L.A. Inglewood is economically lagging behind the metro area in many ways. Rents are 38% lower than the L.A. metro rents.  Within a 2-mile radius of the stadium rents are 1% below the Inglewood average rent. But many hope that the construction of the cutting-edge stadium — along with the planned retail and commercial space to go with it – will give the area a much-needed face lift.

U.S. Bank Stadium – Minnesota Vikings (Opened in 2016)

• Average rent near stadium $1,444
• Minneapolis city average rent $1,399

A brand-new state-of-the-art stadium just opened in the downtown east area of Minneapolis. It’s the gigantic new quarters of the Vikings. Right now, renting in the vicinity of the stadium costs on average 3% higher than the city average. But unlike the Vikings’ performance this past sold-out season, there’s hope that their shiny new home is going to do better than average in terms of real estate values in the area. Real estate developers are betting on it, like the newly opened Edition Residences offering upscale apartments for rent in East Town, less than a half a mile from the stadium.

Edition Residences in downtown Minneapolis MN

Levi’s Stadium – San Francisco 49ers (Opened in 2014)

• Average rent near stadium $2,848 
• Santa Clara city average rent $2,604

The impressive home turf of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, which hosted Super Bowl 50 last season, scores high for real estate value. Rent prices within 2 miles of Levi’s Stadium are 9% above the city average. Rents were up 9% one year after its opening and they are expected to increase even more. Four major apartment projects are currently in the works in Santa Clara, projected to add about 1,500 new units to the rental market in the area.

*Apartment data was provided by Yardi Matrix, an apartment market intelligence source and RentCafe’s sister company, which researches and reports on all multifamily properties of 50+ units across 123 markets in the United States.