How the rankings work
Every score is computed from the venue records behind our guides, with the same 9 factors for every venue. Nobody sets a rank by hand. When a record changes, its score and rank change on the next build.
These scores rank how much gluten-free food and planning information is documented, from research dated September 22 to October 31, 2026. A high score does not mean food is safe for a person with celiac disease. A label is not a kitchen check, so ask staff about ingredients and cross-contact.
Factors and points
| Factor | Points | What earns them |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed gluten-free items | 30 | Items the venue, team or food provider names as gluten-free. A food sold at several stands counts once. Club, suite, restaurant-only and group catering items count half. Points rise on a logarithmic scale and reach the maximum at 25 items, so the first items count most. |
| Range of food | 15 | 3.75 points for each kind of confirmed item: a meal, a snack, a dessert, and a drink such as gluten-free beer or cider. |
| Confirmed locations | 10 | The share of confirmed items with a stand, section or service area a source names. A location that names no place, such as “multiple locations”, “all concession stands” or “throughout the building”, does not count. |
| Dedicated gluten-free stand | 10 | 10 points when the record reports a dedicated gluten-free stand or cart. |
| Outside food for dietary needs | 10 | 10 points when outside food is generally allowed, or the venue's outside-food rule makes a medical, dietary or allergy exception (case-by-case approval, or approval or permission asked for ahead, counts) or its allowed items name food for that need. 3 points when the only medical exception is in the bag policy or an items list without naming food, when the rule bans outside food and only tells guests with a dietary need to contact the venue, naming no exception, approval or permission for that food, or when the food rule has no exception. 0 when no rule about outside food is published. |
| Guest services contact | 5 | 5 points for a published phone number or email address to ask about food; 2 points for a web page only. |
| Venue-published gluten-free or allergen information | 10 | 10 points when the venue, team or its food provider publishes a gluten-free or allergen page for the venue. A single vendor's allergen chart or a general campus dining page does not count. |
| Our research confidence | 5 | The rating our researchers record for each guide: high when current venue, team or food-provider pages agree on the items and where to find them; medium when the confirmation is partial or rests on fewer current pages; low when no current source confirms food. 5 points for high, 3 for medium, 1 for low. It is our judgment, not a statement from the venue, so it carries the fewest points. |
| Research recency | 5 | 5 points when the record was checked within 120 days of the ranking date (2026-10-16), falling to 0 at 365 days. |
| Total | 100 |
What we rank.
A score measures how much gluten-free food and planning information a venue, team or food provider publishes, as recorded in our research from September 22 to October 31, 2026. It does not rate taste, price, game-day stock, or how a kitchen prepares food. Our records do not hold a structured note of each venue’s cross-contact procedures, so those are not scored; ask staff before you order.
Outside food.
Every venue is read the same way. Full points when outside food is generally allowed, or when the venue’s outside-food rule makes an exception for a medical, dietary or allergy need (even one that needs approval case by case, or approval or permission asked for ahead), or a list of allowed items names food for that need. 3 points when the rule is unclear or makes no exception: a medical exception that appears only in the bag policy or a list of allowed items, without naming food; a rule that bans outside food and only tells guests with a dietary need to contact the venue, naming no exception, approval or permission for that food; or a rule with no exception at all. No points when the venue publishes no rule about outside food. Ask guest services before you bring food either way.
Who is ranked.
Each NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and college football team’s regular home is ranked against its league once a current source confirms at least one gluten-free item there. A home with none documented yet is listed by name under “No confirmed gluten-free food documented yet”, with its gaps, and is not ranked: NFL 22 ranked, 8 not yet; MLB 27 ranked, 3 not yet; NBA 17 ranked, 13 not yet; NHL 23 ranked, 9 not yet; College football 19 ranked, 119 not yet. An arena shared by an NBA and an NHL team is ranked once in each league, with that league’s own record. Neutral-site games are not ranked: Accor Arena (NBA, Spurs vs. Pelicans: Jan 14, 2027); Arena CDMX (NBA, Pacers vs. Nuggets: Nov 7, 2026); Co-op Live (NBA, Pelicans vs. Spurs: Jan 17, 2027); Moody Center (NBA, Spurs home games: Oct 23, 2026; Feb 26 and 28, 2027).
- College basketball: Only a few college basketball arenas list confirmed gluten-free food, so most would tie at the bottom.
- Concerts: Concert guides reuse venue-wide food records and do not confirm food for a specific show.
- MLS: MLS stadium guides were added after the ranking date, so MLS is not ranked this year.
- Minor League Baseball: Minor league ballpark guides were added after the ranking date, so minor league baseball is not ranked this year.
Ties and rounding.
Each factor is rounded to one decimal place and the total is their sum. Venues with the same total share a rank, shown with a T before the number, and are listed by name (so 3.75-point steps show as 3.8, 7.5 and 11.3); the next venue takes the rank after all of them. Score labels: Well documented from 70, Partly documented from 40, Least documented from 0 points. A low score means the least documented, not the worst food.
Research recency separates no venue this year: every ranked record was researched September 22 to October 31, 2026, within 120 days of the ranking date, so each earns the full 5 points. It will matter when records age before the next refresh.
Data and updates.
The research date on each guide is the date its record was last checked. Download every score and its breakdown (JSON). Venue, team or food-provider staff can send updated menu information from the venue’s guide: use Share a food find or Add your menu photo. We check each submission against the venue’s own published menu, update the guide, and the scores change on the next build.