The 10 worst stadiums in EFL League One named and ranked by AI | OneFootball

Football League World has seen how ChatGPT rates League One stadiums going into the 2025/26 season

The EFL League One season gets underway soon, with fans all across the country looking forward to getting back to watching regular football week by week.

With the race for promotion looking as tight as ever, the prospective battle to avoid the drop is set to be contested by several teams, and those in mid-table are looking to put themselves in the hat for an outside play-off spot. There's always that hope among fanbases that something will be fought for across the entire division.

One thing that can be contested between all 24 sides each season, however, is the moniker of best stadium in the division. This specific list looks at the worst League One has to offer ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, and it's one that's tough to judge.

Therefore, Football League World has turned to popular AI-based service ChatGPT to list their top ten worst stadiums in the third tier this season.

10 Valley Parade

Bradford City

We kick off this list with Bradford City and Valley Parade, who are set to host League One matches for the first time since the 2018/19 season.

A capacity of 25,136 shoots them into the top four when it comes to the largest third-tier grounds this season, and the Bantams filled the ground nicely last season, with an average attendance of 17,877, which you'd assume will only grow now they're in a new division.

So, why do they make this list? Well, ChatGPT has blasted the ground for some of the sections dating back to the mid-1900s. Having been built in 1886, Valley Parade is one of the oldest grounds in the game, and parts of the stadium reflect that still.

Some fans view this as a good thing and respect traditional grounds; others, and in this case, AI, do not.

Lincoln City

Lincoln City's Sincil Bank places number nine on this list, for reasons similar to Valley Parade before it. First opening in 1895, ChatGPT believes that the older stadium means it's one of the worst in the league.

The ground underwent renovations in 1999, but the 26 years which have passed mean that their facilities are still rather limited and the matchday experience for away fans especially isn't the best.

For home fans, the comfort of those visiting you might be an issue, but it heavily impacts their rating on this season's list.

Blackpool

Yet another ground which has hosted the same club for over a century, Bloomfield Road, which has hosted Blackpool matches since 1901, ranks number eight in this list of the worst grounds in League One.

AI at least credited the historic nature of the ground, but that was as far as it got in terms of positives, with poor sightlines and outdated areas at the ground enough for a position on the list.

The sightlines arguably come from the temporary east stand, which has stood at the ground for 15 years now, since the beginning of the 2010/11 campaign, as the Tangerines needed to increase their capacity to compete in the Premier League.

The club did announce at the end of last season, however, that they have plans to invest into the stand soon, so perhaps Bloomfield Road will climb out of this unwanted top ten once that has finished.

Despite a season challenging for promotion, Wycombe's average attendance was the fourth lowest in the league, as only 5,413 came through the gate at the 10,000-capacity Adams Park on average per game.

The small capacity is one of the reasons it places number seven on this list, but unlike Stockport County's Edgeley Park, for example, which holds a similar number of people, the lack of atmosphere created in the mostly half-full stadium cements its place here.

Even their biggest game of the season, the play-off tie against Charlton Athletic, drew just 6,585, so large crowds and ergo loud atmospheres are a rarity at Wycombe.

Additionally, away trips to Adams Park are said to be among the least enjoyable in the league, so a poor away day adds to this rating, too.

6 The BetWright Stadium

Leyton Orient

Next up is another side that hosted play-off football in League One last season, and like 2024/25 standings, Leyton Orient place sixth on this list.

Brisbane Road, now known as The BetWright Stadium, is another ground with a capacity under 10,000, but the O's managed to fill it on a consistent basis last season. Despite this, once again, an older layout has detrimented its place on this list.

AI has stated that "cramped away sections and occasionally being cited as uninspiring" is why it earns its place on the list. Being a ground that just does the job is usually a positive thing, but ChatGPT is looking for better experiences and aesthetics in their rankings.

It is easy to forget that this ground hosted National League football less than a decade ago, though, so perhaps a place on this list isn't that unwarranted.

5 The Eco-Power Stadium

The second newly promoted side on this list, last season's League Two champions, marks the halfway point in this ranking.

Contrary to what we've become accustomed to throughout this list so far, the former Keepmoat Stadium still features despite being one of the more modern grounds in football, having been built in 2006 and used as Doncaster's new ground once Belle Vue closed.

Despite this, the location is in a highly industrial area in South Yorkshire, and AI states that the interior is dull, despite having the 'bowl' design that plenty of top-tier sides have.

And adding to that, there are poor acoustics for away fans in the North Stand. Doncaster lost just four times at home en route to the League Two title, so keeping the away end quiet may work on the pitch, but not on this list.

4 Vale Park

Port Vale

And rounding off the trio of sides who finished in the automatic promotion places in the fourth tier last season, Port Vale takes fourth place in the worst grounds in the 2025/26 League One campaign.

The main reason ChatGPT gives is low attendance, which leads to low atmosphere scoring by fans, and you can't really deny that.

Vale Park can hold up to 15,036, and Port Vale rarely broke 8,000 last season when they were consistently performing well in front of their home fans. The last time they were in League One, they averaged just 6,600 through the gate.

It's arguably just a case of a ground being too big for the club, an opinion which may crop up later on in this ranking too, but nevertheless, it places Port Vale just outside the podium spots on the list.

3 The Lamex Stadium

Stevenage have only been an EFL regular for the last 15 years, and most of that time has been spent in League Two, so it might come as no surprise that their ground doesn't rate as highly compared to others in the third tier.

The Lamex Stadium is the second smallest in the league after Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium, and, unsurprisingly, held the second-lowest average attendance ahead of the Brewers last season, too.

AI brands it 'bland and uninviting,' and similarly to Leyton Orient earlier in the ranking, a ground which is just there with little to really shout about doesn't bode well for these ranks.

Perhaps if Stevenage can continue to establish themselves in the third tier, then upgrades will be made. For now, though, they place third.

2 The Brick Community Stadium

Wigan Athletic

Ever since Wigan Athletic's relegation from the Premier League in 2013, their attendance averages have hovered around the 10-12,000 mark consistently, with a couple of dips below in the last couple of seasons.

Usually, that would be fine, and their average attendance of 9,946 last season placed them eighth-highest in League One. The bigger issue lies in that the Latics play in a ground with a capacity of 25,138.

AI described The Brick Community Stadium as "impersonal and lacking character", which may be untrue, as Wiganers know how to make noise. It's ultimately tough to generate a really loud atmosphere when the ground, for the most part, is half empty.

When Wigan were in the Premier League, they consistently welcomed crowds of 18,000 plus, and when the big games come about, the Latics still draw a large crowd, with 22,870 through the door for the FA Cup tie against Manchester United in the 2023/24 season.

But it seems like the days of that being a regularity once more are quite far away, so Wigan find themselves second on this list.

Taking the top spot on the worst stadiums in the 2025/26 League One campaign is Northampton Town, with Sixfields being named a "soulless" ground by ChatGPT.

It also describes the vibe as temporary, but with the East Stand's renovations finally finishing towards the end of last season, a first full season in the upgraded ground may see the Cobblers improve this time next year.

It is looking promising for Kevin Nolan's side, with a record crowd of 7,947 attending their game against Birmingham City in March, and the final day crowd against Wigan standing at 7,591. If Northampton can continue to average close to sell-out numbers, they look set to move from the top spot sooner rather than later.

The focus on the pitch will be to remain in the division after finishing just five points above the drop last season, then it will be to improve their ground rankings, I'm sure.