My two counterparts have visited quite a few baseball parks through the years in their many travels. But, Tim didn't have to go very far to find one of his least favorite- The Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Granted, by the time Tim witnessed contests there, she was an old girl...but her charm was outweighed by her crappiness. The Mistake by the Lake saw her last Indians game in 1993, and was built a mere 62 years prior to that. Both the Browns and Indians called her home...and she was even depicted in a movie by County Stadium in Milwaukee.
The Muni saw one World Championship and three additional American League Champs, but is probably remembered more for the Curse of Rocky Colovito and the 30+ year slump that ended the stadium's time above the Erie. The structure was put out of its misery in November of 1996. It wasn't a great place to watch games, but at least a lot of people could be uncomfortable there- She initially seated 78,000, but in her later days, she only sat just over 74,400...not that you'd need that many seats.
J Money's least favorite venue out of the 40 he's visited is my hometown's first professional football stadium, the Hoosier Dome. This venue, born in the middle 80's during the lousiest of all lousy eras for stadium design was later re-named the RCA Dome. This multi-purpose facility became a lynchpin for the city's convention traffic and also served as a Final Four venue multiple times for both NCAA men's and women's basketball. The best moment of the stadium's run, many say, was the Colts victory over Pats on the way to the Super Bowl in 2007...I'd argue Purdue's surprise win over Notre Dame back in '84 (which I attended) was her most glorious moment. Her capacity was right around 60,000 for a football game and right around 50,000 for basketball. While J thought the sightlines were lousy for the Dome, I found it to be completely bland- neither bad nor good...Which is why so many stadiums from this era have already gone the way of parachute pants and glacier glasses.
The worst venue I've ever visited, far and away, would have to be the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. My hate affair with this place began when I first took my seats and realized I couldn't see the other sideline while sitting in my chair. My feelings only grew as I went to the men's room and took a leak on a black rock wall that they called the toilet. I was lucky enough to visit the stadium in the year that the Bears played there...so I saw her at her best; and she still smelled like the manure from UI's school of agriculture (which fittingly filled my nostrils for the entire contest. Her cost was a mere $1.7 million to be built back in 1923. Sadly, she still hosts Ron Zooks Illini each week and 71,000 can come to witness UI play there...too bad only about 50,000 will be able to see all of the action on the field. She is currently under renovation. Thank goodness.
(This is the intro to the Boiled Sports Best Sports Venue Series)
11 comments:
In it's final season hosting the Indians, it showed about as well as it could've. There's something very cool about watching baseball with 75,000 fans. It's so much louder than what you're used to. There's so much more electricity in the air. That was really cool. I'm glad that I was able to go to a game when it was packed once again.
my worst:
MLB - old riverfront stadium/cinergy field
NFL - m&t bank stadium (ravens)
NHL - madison square garden
NBA - n/a
NCAA FB - meh. either IU's stadium or pre-renovation ross-ade. neither were disastrous though.
NCAA BB - the kiel/savvis/scottrade center (st. louis universtiy) is pretty godawful, but that's a bit unfair since a small jesuit school can't be expected to sell out a 20,000 seat venue away from its campus - and it's been replaced anyway. so i'm going to go with the bryce-jordan center at psu, which was just as tomb-like but on campus.
I've got to go with the Metrodome for Baseball only. For football it's okay, almost exactly like the RCA Dome (which you must be a certified midget to sit in the lower level legroom-wise). Baseball is not meant to be played indoors, and the Metrodome is why.
For football I have to agree with Illinois. I have been there three times and each time I hated it. That or Louisville. The stadium is nice, but the fans are the rudest I have ever encountered. We went there to see Miami two years ago and fled for our lives early in the fourth quarter because we were wearing the wrong gang colors.
IU's Memorial Stadium is pretty awful.
Matt, you're right, but, their sightlines are pretty good. The ramp system blows and the completely open ends kind of reminds me of high school football; but that will soon change.
IU's isn't close to UI's. Their fans are kind of odd too. They were linked arm and arm for much of the game and were swaying back and fourth like a high school dance during time outs. The whole day was weird...that was the game that officials took a victory from Purdue ('04, I believe); so of course, I'm not a fan of the joint anyway.
IU's Assembly Hall has long been one of the WORST places to actually watch a basketball game that I have ever been to. It has atmosphere in spades, but no true student section combined with the worst sight-lines in history make it a tough experience for those that, you know, want to actually see the game.
My Maize and Blue's Crisler Arena isn't exactly too far above either, but the new lights have made a bit of an improvement.
man, i completely forgot about a terrible bball arena: UD arena at the university of dayton. that place is screwed up. the passageways are like 10 feet wide, and the ceiling is so low in the upper reaches that it gives you the sensation of staring down a narrow tube when the game is going on and the lights are out. plus it looks weird as shit from the outside.
All sporting venues are better if there are sideboobs there.
Oh well. I guess that is the price for growing up.
It's Friday... Where are the damn boobs?
Mo Boiler -- I'm definitely biased, but I don't see how you could list MSG as the worst NHL arena you've been to. That's sheer lunacy.
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