Upcoming Arizona Cardinals dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
A franchise older than the NFL itself
The Arizona Cardinals play their home games at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a west Valley suburb of Phoenix, with a regular season that runs from September into early January. The team competes in the NFC West against the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
The franchise traces its roots to 1898, when it began as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago, and it is the oldest continuously run professional football franchise in the United States. The Cardinals and the Chicago Bears are the only two teams left from the league's founding in 1920. The club moved to St. Louis in 1960, came to Arizona in 1988 as the Phoenix Cardinals and took its current name in 1994.
The Cardinals won NFL championships in 1925 (a title still disputed by supporters of the old Pottsville Maroons) and 1947. Their lone Super Bowl trip came after the 2008 season, when they lost Super Bowl XLIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27–23, in a game decided late in the fourth quarter. As of 2025, the team carried the longest active championship drought in North American major pro sports, a fact local fans tend to wear with dark humor rather than embarrassment.
Inside State Farm Stadium: roof, field and seating levels
State Farm Stadium opened in 2006 (as University of Phoenix Stadium, a name it carried until 2018). It seats about 63,400 for football and expands to roughly 72,200 for major events. Two features set it apart from every other NFL building:
- A retractable roof of translucent fabric that opens in about 12 minutes, so the bowl can be sealed and air-conditioned on hot days.
- A roll-in natural grass field that sits on a tray and is moved outside the building between events to get sunlight, then rolled back in for games.
The bowl has four tiers: the 100 level (the lower bowl closest to the field), the 200 level (the club tier with indoor lounge access), a suite level, and the 400 level (the upper deck). Because the roof is usually the deciding factor in comfort, the sun-side versus shade-side question that dominates outdoor stadiums matters far less here. The team publishes roof status on game days; check it if an open-air afternoon matters to you.
Where to sit for a Cardinals game
Sideline seats in the 100 level
The best football view in the building is the lower bowl between the 20-yard lines, about row 15 or higher. That height lifts you over the players and staff standing on the sideline. The front rows look tempting on a map, but from row 1 to roughly row 8 you watch helmets and backs more than plays. Confirm which bench is on which side using the seat map for your specific game before paying extra to sit behind the home team.
Club seats in the 200 level
The club tier costs more because it bundles wider seats, climate-controlled lounges and shorter concession lines. In Glendale that comfort counts most at early-season games and on the rare day the roof is open. For a family or a client outing, the 200 level sideline is the most predictable experience.
The 400 level for value
The upper deck holds most of the lower-cost seats. The first several rows along the sidelines give a clean, high angle that shows formations and routes developing, often a better read of the game than a low end-zone seat. The top rows of the corners and end zones are the weakest seats in the stadium: a long climb, a steep pitch and a flattened view of the far end.
End zones
Low end-zone rows put you close to red-zone action and scoring celebrations, but plays at midfield and the far end are hard to judge. Pick end-zone seats for atmosphere and price, not for following the whole game.
Which Cardinals games draw the biggest crowds
The NFL calendar runs from preseason games in August, through a 17-game regular season from September to early January (eight or nine of them at home), to playoffs in January. Demand for Cardinals tickets follows the opponent and the date far more than the standings.
- Teams with traveling fan bases: Phoenix draws winter residents and transplants from across the country. Games against the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and other national brands often turn the stadium into a split crowd and push resale demand up.
- Division games: the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks are close enough for road fans to drive or take a short flight, and those games carry standings weight late in the season.
- Prime-time games: Thursday, Sunday and Monday night dates attract more interest than a standard Sunday afternoon slot.
- Late-season home games: November and December dates line up with peak snowbird season and the best desert weather, which keeps demand steady regardless of the record.
Preseason games and early-season matchups against small-market opponents are usually the easiest seats to buy. Prices on the resale market tend to soften in the final days before a low-demand game and climb for rivalry and national-brand matchups as kickoff nears.
Getting to Glendale and planning gameday
State Farm Stadium sits in the Glendale Sports and Entertainment District off Loop 101, about 30 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport without traffic, beside the Westgate Entertainment District and its restaurants and hotels. Most fans drive. The stadium's own guidance lists general parking (blue) reached from Glendale Avenue or Cardinals Way, preferred parking (red) entered at Maryland Avenue and 95th Avenue, and a rideshare and drop-off area south of the stadium in the Black Lot.
Tailgating is permitted in designated lots once they open. As of the 2025 season, the published rules limit each group to one space behind its vehicle, require above-ground weights instead of stakes for tents and prohibit saving spaces for friends who arrive later. Gates open two hours before kickoff for NFL games.
Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so Cardinals kickoff times in local clock terms shift by an hour relative to the rest of the country between November and March. Double-check the local start time on your ticket, especially if you are flying in from another time zone.
Entry rules and stadium policies
As of the 2025 season, State Farm Stadium enforces a clear-bag policy (bags must be clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, with only small clutches allowed if they are not see-through). The stadium is cashless, with cash-to-card kiosks inside, and Cardinals tickets are fully digital. Check the venue's current policy before you go, since these rules change between seasons. The stadium's bag policy page is the authority.
Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee, so a game-day mix-up with a transferred ticket is covered.
Moments that define the Cardinals
The Cardinals' story spans three cities and more than a century. In Chicago they played at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field and won the 1947 title. In St. Louis they shared Busch Stadium with baseball's Cardinals. In Arizona they spent 1988 through 2005 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, an open-air college stadium where early-season heat was a real problem, before moving into the climate-controlled building in Glendale in 2006.
The 2008 season remains the high point of the Arizona era: an NFC championship and a Super Bowl that went down to the final minutes. State Farm Stadium itself has become one of the league's busiest event buildings, hosting Super Bowls XLII, XLIX and LVII, the Fiesta Bowl every year since 2007 and the men's Final Four in 2017 and 2024. Team news and schedules are on the Cardinals' official site.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the Arizona Cardinals play?
The Cardinals play at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, a retractable-roof stadium off Loop 101 that opened in 2006 and seats about 63,400 for football.
Is the roof closed at Cardinals games?
The roof can open or close, and its status is decided on game day. When it is closed, the bowl is climate-controlled, which matters most at early-season games. The team posts roof updates before each game.
What are the best seats for a Cardinals game?
Sideline seats between the 20-yard lines in the 100 level, about row 15 and up, give the best view. The 200-level club seats add comfort, and the front rows of the 400 level sidelines are the strongest value.
Which Cardinals games are hardest to get tickets for?
Games against national brands with traveling fans, such as the Cowboys, Packers or Steelers, division games against the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks, and prime-time dates draw the most demand.
Have the Arizona Cardinals won a Super Bowl?
No. The Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII after the 2008 season and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27–23. The franchise won NFL championships in 1925 and 1947, before the Super Bowl era.
Can you tailgate at Cardinals games?
Yes, in designated lots once they open. As of the 2025 season, rules limit groups to one space behind their vehicle and require weighted tents. Check the stadium's current policy before you go.