Best and worst stadiums (aesthetically)

[Ark]

These are from the "Teams in the Wrong Stadium" thread 

 

(LA Coliseum)

 

I love the way this looks, with all those people and the arches in the background.

 

(Radio City Music Hall)

 

And this is so cool. The bottom one especially is absolutely picturesque.

[chcarlson23]

CHS Field (St. Paul Saints)

I've only been to one game here, so far, but pictures don't do it justice. If you look it up online, all of the pictures are really missing something... It's a beautiful field. The best spots though, believe it or not, are corners of the large black wall in center field. It's all standing room over there, but still a fantastic view! 

 

Also, some of my other personal favorites... Maybe a little bit biased however...

Mariucci Arena (Golden Gophers Men's Hockey) 

 

Xcel Energy Center (Minnesota Wild) {Although this is the State High School Hockey Tournament... Any doubts about the State of Hockey now?} 

[Ray Lankford]

I don't think any stadium in baseball can match PNC Park:

 

[Bruins]

Best park in baseball:

 

 

The turf looks like a suede couch from 1973 and the roof commits more interference penalties than a cornerback. But at least they wear those fauxbacks there, so it kinda cancels everything else out.

 

 

I have been known to turn on Boise State vs. Wyoming at 11:15 at night just to catch a glimpse of the Smurf Turf. It can be 35-3, I'll still keep watching. Blue. Blue turf. I love it.

 

[Jungle Jim]

The Cincinnati Bengals have done a lot of things wrong in their history, but I think they got it right with Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

 

 

I know the cookie cutters are widely ridiculed today, and they were not great places to watch sports, but from a purely aesthetic standpoint, Riverfront Stadium was a beautiful structure.

 

 

 

[goalieboy82]

the MCG

not a fan but:

Yankee Stadium (old one)

 

[Ark]

Old Yankee Stadium definitely >>> New Yankee Stadium

[Dynasty]

10 hours ago, Jungle Jim said:

The Cincinnati Bengals have done a lot of things wrong in their history, but I think they got it right with Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

 

 

I've never been inside the structure, but from the outside... it was a little underwhelming. Too much concrete. Still, the roof template is a pretty nice touch.

 

8 hours ago, Kaz said:

Barclays is the worst looking arena in major sports, even though their court is among the NBA's best.  Love the herringbone pattern; it's a shame it is housed in such a craptastic structure.

 

I thought it was made of wood for a a short second, until I realized it's actually metal. WTF? Is it rusted out or something?

[dfwabel]

Sorry, but none of these,  best and specifically the worst, really compare to the mess of older facilities globally.

 

Props to @goalieboy82 for at least mentioning one outside the US.

 

http://stadiumdb.com/

 

http://worldstadiums.com/

 

http://www.stadiumguide.com

[The_Admiral]

2 hours ago, Dolphins Dynasty said:

I thought it was made of wood for a a short second, until I realized it's actually metal. WTF? Is it rusted out or something?

 

Steel designed to rust on the outside, also seen on the old Atlanta Omni and the Daley Center in Chicago:

 

 

It's something I find absolutely hideous. It's even worse when a major government building symbolizes the inexorable decay of a once-powerful substance.

[Tigers6884]

Both are/were spectacular ballparks:

 

 

[DTConcepts]

On 3/18/2017 at 0:57 PM, Kaz said:

Barclays is the worst looking arena in major sports, even though their court is among the NBA's best.  Love the herringbone pattern; it's a shame it is housed in such a craptastic structure.

 

 

 

I'm actually a fan of Barclays' architecture. I'm especially a fan of the oculus in the front.

 

 

The interior looks gorgeous when the Nets are playing. I love the non-circular feel of it, I think the seating looks good, the scoreboard fits, and it's just a good looking arena. However...

 

 

When the Isles are playing, everything takes a turn for the worst.

 

 

The scoreboard is offcenter, the good looking seating disappears on half the arena, and the perfectness of it all falls apart.

 

On a different note, I love the Pepsi Center. I go for hockey games every now and again, and I love the way it all works. Maybe it's because I grew up watching hockey there, but the arena is just pleasing to me.

 

 

Even the weird glass entries on the outside of the arena look good to me. It's unique.

 

[ImmortalChef]

BMO Harris Bradley Center, home of the Bucks. It is horrible, from the outside it looks like a warehouse. The inside isn't bad, it almost looks kind of cozy, but the jumbotron sucks

[DTConcepts]

37 minutes ago, ImmortalChef said:

BMO Harris Bradley Center, home of the Bucks. It is horrible, from the outside it looks like a warehouse. The inside isn't bad, it almost looks kind of cozy, but the jumbotron sucks

 

 

I agree that the exterior is bad, but the inside and jumbotron look fine, at least to me.

[ImmortalChef]

Just now, Zeus89725 said:

 

I agree that the exterior is bad, but the inside and jumbotron look fine, at least to me.

The Jumbotron really looks bad looking from the bottom, it looks like a scrap heap

[The_Admiral]

The Bradley Center is a little plain on the outside, but I never bought that it was in desperate need of replacement.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

On 3/18/2017 at 1:39 PM, Jungle Jim said:

The Cincinnati Bengals have done a lot of things wrong in their history, but I think they got it right with Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

 

 

I know the cookie cutters are widely ridiculed today, and they were not great places to watch sports, but from a purely aesthetic standpoint, Riverfront Stadium was a beautiful structure.

 

 

 

 

I was in Cincinnati last summer to catch a Reds-Tigers game and GAB was great, I don't understand the flak it gets. Beautiful riverfront as well. I took a stroll down to Paul Brown, which I'm sure is awesome inside, but from the outside it's very dull and generic. Aside from a few flags on lampposts, there's not much around to tell you that it's the home turf of the Bengals. 

[raysox]

On 3/18/2017 at 0:45 PM, Bruins said:

The turf looks like a suede couch from 1973 and the roof commits more interference penalties than a cornerback. But at least they wear those fauxbacks there, so it kinda cancels everything else out.

 

 

I think aesthetically, the Trop has gotten a lot better. This pic is from 2007ish, and they installed new turf this year, and it's looking a lot better. The Rays got their own contract with the turf company, rather than going through the MLB. Working here has made me appreciate the building a lot more because it looks really playable, in comparison to the way it used to be. Definitely not the best, but I don't think it is as bad as people say, complete bias.

 

 

 

[PrimalCookie]

A bit of homerism here, but Orlando has some of the best-looking (both outside and inside) stadiums in the country.

(I'm putting in spoilers due to the size of all the pics)

Amway Center External:

Spoiler

Amway Center Internal:

Spoiler

Magic Basketball:

Solar Bears Hockey:

Predators Indoor Football (RIP):

Orlando City Stadium is so new that I can't find any real pictures of it, but we all know the beauty of our new palace.

Citrus Bowl Exterior:

Spoiler

Citrus Bowl Interior:

Spoiler

CFE Arena Exterior:

Spoiler

CFE Arena Interior:

Spoiler

Bright House Networks Stadium is ugly as  and should not be mentioned in this thread.

[2001mark]

Home bias aside, Air Canada Centre has since day zero felt like both the biggest small pro arena & the smallest big pro arena at once.  Inside feels both intimate & yet never too much.  I really don't think a giant Bell Centre building would work well for Toronto... we can get loud, just not 41 games worth.

 

Spoiler

 

(2013 photo)

 

re. Tropicana, I'll always remember when they debuted, the Jays broadcasters would say it's a great little park if you just keep your eyes trained from the outfield scoreboard/lights & down.  By far the ugliest roof ever, like it could be a giant Costco warehouse.  SkyDome's roof isn't much nicer, though it is out of eye sight if you don't crane up.