You people who put RFK Stadium on the list are nuts. Yes, it has falling concrete. Yes, it has raccoons. Yes, it has a horrible river right next to it (Anacostia). Yes, it is in the hood. But get 45k people in there for a World Cup Qualifier, with the East Side stands bouncing and there is no other stadium like it in America. It's a cauldron of noise. Awesome tailgating in Lot 8. A block off the Metro stop.
Sleep Train Area in Sacramento, and current home of the Kings is without a doubt the worst professional sports venue i've ever visited in the United States. Everything about it sucks, and you have to drive 10 minutes out of Sacramento to the middle of the cow fields to get there. I also nominate it as the worst named venue.
Whoever mentioned Dodger stadium is crazy. Chavez Ravine is amazing.
In a separate category from the soulless concrete multi-purpose stadiums of the 50's I'd add The Ballpark at Arlington or whatever it's current name is as an example of the Disney-fication of sports
Stadiums.
Ever since Camden Yards set the standard all new arenas have been a caricature of old time baseball stadiums, like Arlington with its fake buildings that create an irregular outfield despite being built in a greenfield site.
Don't build old things.
fenway park
what ever they call that place the oakland athletics play
the old boston garden
shaefer stadium (patriots first stadium in foxboro)
three rivers stadium
curranrun wrote:
fenway park
what ever they call that place the oakland athletics play
the old boston garden
shaefer stadium (patriots first stadium in foxboro)
three rivers stadium
I'm calling out an anti-Boston bigot. Stay where ya's belong in New Yawk at the aptly-named Bronx Zoo or the stinkin' Meadowlands in Joisey.
Rupp Arena has to be on this list. The place still has smoke in the air from 1954.
ScaryStuff....just because they are nostalgic venues does not mean they are good venues. You're crazy if you think Old Boston Garden was a good venue. It had no AC!!!! I'm surprised no player ever died during a game there.
I'd have to say that any of the multi-use stadiums built in the 1960s and 1970s were pretty bad all around. Just so...utilitarian...which is exactly what they were designed for..lol
Any High School track that is made out of that awful poured-on over concrete rubber.
E.G.
http://sustainablesurfacing.com/uploads/photos/tm150205162825.jpg
They're never in good condition, always patchy as hell. I've never run on one thick enough for the pins in my spikes to not get blunted. They also usually somehow manage to ding up the spike plate and smudge it black.
Old Man Runner wrote:
ScaryStuff....just because they are nostalgic venues does not mean they are good venues. You're crazy if you think Old Boston Garden was a good venue. It had no AC!!!! I'm surprised no player ever died during a game there.I'd have to say that any of the multi-use stadiums built in the 1960s and 1970s were pretty bad all around. Just so...utilitarian...which is exactly what they were designed for..lol
Modern day million dollar cry-babies iz what we got now. Saw the big bad Bruins in the fog in an April playoff game in the early 70s; rats so big near the food stands you could put a saddle on 'em; pigeons crapping from the rafters on the parquet floor (which had dead spots) during the Celtics many playoff games (talk about home court advantage); also a pall of smoke overhead during track meets; pissin in a trough in the Men's; John Kiley clobbering the Hammond; dem' were da' days. Ya's can have your antiseptic, WiFi theater seated sky domes.
Also, add to list of lousy venues: the now demolished Seattle Kingdom; saw a Mariners game there with only about 3K other people; yet we were so far from the field the players looked like ants. the place had an echo it was so empty.
I just came back from Cuba and saw where they hosted the Pan American games. That was really a dump that was much worse than anything you can imagine in the US.
Nippert Stadium at UC. Division I school with a football stadium that only seats 35k. And a very gradually sloping coliseum style stadium means that every seat is uncomfortable and has a terrible view of the field.
Boston Garden was horrific. You had to walk through a long urine soaked tunnel to get inside the stadium. Winos would sneak in and take empty seats. They would just stand for an entire hockey game with brown bag bottle in hand and yell obscenities at the rink.
Browns stadium, both new and old. The old stadium was sort of configured for baseball, sort of for football and had giant support beams everywhere that blocked your view. The new stadium is nice enough, but it is still open air, right by the lake and with barely any parking nearby. That means that in addition to freezing your butt off during the game, you also freeze your butt off walking back and forth to your car. But Cleveland was so hungry to get football back, they just built whatever stadium they could instead of waiting for the money to build a dome.
New Cowboys stadium. It is like going to a football game in the Mall of America. It is totally antiseptic and everything is over-the-top huge. It is not really a sports venue as much as it is a "look what I can do!" from Jerry Jones.
sub3over40 wrote:
I just came back from Cuba and saw where they hosted the Pan American games. That was really a dump that was much worse than anything you can imagine in the US.
This is what I mean when I posted what I did in my reply about the non USA soccer stadiums in CONCACAF (Caribbean/Central and North America) region.
If you've never seen an athletic event in a third world country, you have NO idea what a "bad" sports venue is.
I haven't been to many sports venue but I have been to Turner Field to watch the braves play and it was in a sketchy area but I enjoyed it a lot.
The stadium the Baltimore orioles play In is awesome. Nice area too a lot of festivities around the stadium going on
Precious Roy wrote:
New Cowboys stadium. It is like going to a football game in the Mall of America. It is totally antiseptic and everything is over-the-top huge. It is not really a sports venue as much as it is a "look what I can do!" from Jerry Jones.
Totally agree. Even as a lifelong Cowboys fan, I hate that place. Sterile and soulless. Why pay premium prices to go watch a big tv? I can watch on tv at home.
Riverfront Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium and (old) Busch Stadium...do those count as one stadium or three since they were the same design, just in different cities?
Hoosier/RCA Dome. Watched college basketball and Colts games in there. Terrible venue for both.
Wrigley Field. Lifelong Cubs fan, so it's kind of like an annoying family member. It's a dump but it's my dump. I thought renovating it was a good idea until I went to Target Field two summers ago, it was then I decided that I wished the Cubs would just build something new.
Yowsers wrote:
4. Royals Stadium in KC is bland, but I did see Bo Jackson hit a home run back in the day.
You obviously haven't been there in a long time. Kauffman Stadium is one of the nicest venues in the country. The crown vision and fountains are a beautiful site and there is not a bad seat in the house.
Dude, Duder wrote:
Whoever mentioned Dodger stadium is crazy. Chavez Ravine is amazing.
It's old, but doesn't have the charm of a Fenway or Wrigley.
It doesn't have the amenities of any of the newer stadiums.
Parking is horrible.
Because parking is horrible, fans arrive late and leave early.
Concessions are awful unless your diet consists completely of Dodger Dogs.
Once good thing:
The view of downtown LA is excellent when there is no smog.
obamaIsGreat wrote:
Because it is LA, fans arrive late and leave early.
Fixed your post.
LA Sports Arena (former home of Clippers, still used for USC basketball)
Just a complete dump. It's not really an arena, more like an abandoned barn, the entire interior smells of urine
LA Coliseum (former home of Raiders, still used for USC football)
Right next to the Sports Arena and just as decrepit. It's just basically a gigantic outdoor bleacher. Underneath you feel at risk just walking around, it feels like it's going to topple at any moment. You're constantly looking upward to make sure some piece of loose cement doesn't fall on your head
Dodger Stadium
Does this even qualify as a stadium? It's a half built husk and seats are so rusted you need a hammer to unwedge them and sit down. If you wait in con session line, take an umbrella, There'll be several leaks dripping on your head.
Madison Square Garden
Mecca of basketball my ahss. It's almost as disgusting as the NY subway system. It's pretty much an extension of it, rats and all. Take a date to a Knick name and play a game of what do you see more of? Celebrities or rats?
AT&T Stadium (Cowboy Stadium)
This thing is a monstrosity. Architecturally it is fine, but that giant screen just ruins the whole experience. It's so distracting, you can' t pay attention to the actual game. By the end of the first quarter you have a blinding headache, end of the game you have no more use of your eyes.
