Whats in your opinion the visually ugliest stadium out there?

[pmoehrin]

FedEx Field

I prefer FedEx field over RFK Stadium.

RFK at least seemed like a place that had some character to it, even though granted it probably wasn't the greatest place to watch a game.

FedEx just seems like giant concrete bowl in the middle of nowhere completely devoid of all character. Just doesn't seem like there is anything even remotely appealing about that place.

For a team with as many resources as the Redskins have that stadium is a disgrace.

[RedRenesis]

FedEx Field

I prefer FedEx field over RFK Stadium.

FedEx just seems like giant concrete bowl in the middle of nowhere completely devoid of all character. Just doesn't seem like there is anything even remotely appealing about that place.

For a team with as many resources as the Redskins have that stadium is a disgrace.

Having been through the dump a few times, FedEx had one goal, to shoehorn as many people inside of it as possible. The place isn't visually interesting, nor has anything to add to the fan experience, this includes the action down on the field, which in recent years has led to Snyder removing upper deck seating so that the place continues to sell out.

[The_Admiral]

I think FedExField is great. If Chicago were the footballiest football town that ever footballed like Bears fans and the media like to say it is, maybe we would have a stadium simply dedicated to getting the most people into the building as possible, not one dedicated to getting the richest people into the building like we have now.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

FedEx might be aesthetically okay, but the gameday experience is the pits. It's in the middle of nowhere, public transportation is nil, parking is stupid expensive, it takes forever to get there and back from DC, and the seats (at least the "cheap" ones) are super steep and uncomfortable.

If suite walls were a thing when FedEx was designed, it'd be all suite walls with bleachers 300 feet above the field. That place is a mess.

[The_Admiral]

It's in the middle of nowhere, public transportation is nil, parking is stupid expensive

But isn't the alternative a football stadium that's downtown and accessible but sitting empty for at least 325 days a year? Isn't that worse? I don't mind football stadiums being set aside a bit.

EDIT: Soldier Field is downtown but not very accessible and also doesn't get used very much. That's the worst.

[Gothamite]

"Set aside" doesn't have to equal "inaccessible." In a city with the public transportation system Washington has, for their football stadium to be so off the system is inexcusable.

[dfwabel]

"Set aside" doesn't have to equal "inaccessible." In a city with the public transportation system Washington has, for their football stadium to be so off the system is inexcusable.

Since it's essentially a half mile from where the Capital Centre used to be, the entire region knew any issues which a stadium there would cause and it doesn't help that it is next to a megachurch, the Jericho City of Praise.

[The_Admiral]

"Jericho City of Praise" is also what people called wrestling message boards circa 1999

[pmoehrin]

I'd also like to add Foxboro Stadium to my aforementioned list.

Maybe the only pro sports stadium in the last 50 years where you could argue that it was a piece of crap the day it opened.

Foxboro still isn't the greatest area, but its light years ahead of what it was 30 years ago which was a swamp with a glorified high school stadium in the middle of it.

[The_Admiral]

Swamp > Bed, Bath, and Beyond

[dfwabel]

Texas Stadium was awful for the last 10 years of its life. While it close in 2008, neither the city of Irving nor Jerry really cared about it after 1998. It was sad to go there, even with Blue (close) or Diamond (first 6 toes) parking passes.

The Crown Suites, above the upper bowl, were built in '85 and ruined the air circulation since it essentiality connected the roof to the stadium.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

"Set aside" doesn't have to equal "inaccessible." In a city with the public transportation system Washington has, for their football stadium to be so off the system is inexcusable.

Since it's essentially a half mile from where the Capital Center used to be, the entire region knew any issues which a stadium there would cause and it doesn't help that it is next to a megachurch, the Jericho City of Praise.

I wasn't sure if the church was still there. Do they still manage the parking? That's a pretty good deal for them.

I think building football stadiums in the middle of nowhere limits what you can do with them. CenturyLink isn't the best stadium in the world, but with the Seahawks, Sounders, random NCAA games, and concerts, it gets a good (but still not great) amount of use.

I'd rather see, say, U2 at the Nationals ballpark then driving out to Landover.

[goalieboy82]

"Set aside" doesn't have to equal "inaccessible." In a city with the public transportation system Washington has, for their football stadium to be so off the system is inexcusable.

Since it's essentially a half mile from where the Capital Center used to be, the entire region knew any issues which a stadium there would cause and it doesn't help that it is next to a megachurch, the Jericho City of Praise.

I wasn't sure if the church was still there. Do they still manage the parking? That's a pretty good deal for them.

I think building football stadiums in the middle of nowhere limits what you can do with them. CenturyLink isn't the best stadium in the world, but with the Seahawks, Sounders, random NCAA games, and concerts, it gets a good (but still not great) amount of use.

I'd rather see, say, U2 at the Nationals ballpark then driving out to Landover.

was at that show at Landover in 2009.

also i wonder why that church is still there (or wasn't torn down to make room for the stadium). it right there beside the stadium.

[dfwabel]

"Set aside" doesn't have to equal "inaccessible." In a city with the public transportation system Washington has, for their football stadium to be so off the system is inexcusable.

Since it's essentially a half mile from where the Capital Center used to be, the entire region knew any issues which a stadium there would cause and it doesn't help that it is next to a megachurch, the Jericho City of Praise.

I wasn't sure if the church was still there. Do they still manage the parking? That's a pretty good deal for them.

I think building football stadiums in the middle of nowhere limits what you can do with them. CenturyLink isn't the best stadium in the world, but with the Seahawks, Sounders, random NCAA games, and concerts, it gets a good (but still not great) amount of use.

I'd rather see, say, U2 at the Nationals ballpark then driving out to Landover.

was at that show at Landover in 2009.

also i wonder why that church is still there (or wasn't torn down to make room for the stadium). it right there beside the stadium.

The church as 100 acres property.

And another 80 acres is in the shadow of FedEx Field is part of the Prince Georges Sports & Learning Complex.

[1insaneguy]

I'm not talking about parking. I went there with my neighbor for an event once, and he ended up having to drive around the entire stadium twice just to park.

[Bmac]

Can someone please explain what made Old Comiskey and Tiger Stadium so wonderful? I constantly see people saying they were the greatest places in the world. Based on photos alone I don't really see it, so I'm curious as to what it was like to be there. I've read about the atmosphere in the outfield seating at Tiger Stadium, what else made it so wonderful?

That all might sound sarcastic or something, but as someone who didn't get to experience those stadiums I'm honestly just curious.

[RyanMcD29]

Until the recent wave of new stadiums, my favorite teams had quite the bad looks.

-Nassau Coliseum goes without saying. At least the great sightlines saved it some face.

-Giants Stadium was quite bland. Granted MetLife Stadium is super generic but at least it's modern looking.

-Shea Stadium was the best of the cookie cutters and had its charm, but man I would be lying if I didn't say Citi Field's a much better place to watch a game

Which leaves us to the last one still being used at the moment while the Coliseum's being renovated in the year 2021 given Nassau County's track record: the Carrier Dome. The roof's cool and you get some chills on I-81 heading down the hill into Downtown Syracuse and you see it on the horizon, but man, it fits with nothing on campus and at ground level the architecture sucks. Yeah, it's got great football sightlines and is a fantastic environment when you pack 30K in for basketball, but looking at it from the sides and it looks like something straight out of the end of the Soviet Union.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Dome. But when it eventually gets renovated or replaced I won't shed a tear about that design

[pmoehrin]

Can someone please explain what made Old Comiskey and Tiger Stadium so wonderful? I constantly see people saying they were the greatest places in the world. Based on photos alone I don't really see it, so I'm curious as to what it was like to be there. I've read about the atmosphere in the outfield seating at Tiger Stadium, what else made it so wonderful?

That all might sound sarcastic or something, but as someone who didn't get to experience those stadiums I'm honestly just curious.

If you've ever been to Wrigley or Fenway in recent years both of which I have you understand. The history that's built into the walls just can't be replicated in a newer park. That's not to say that a place like Camden Yards can't be just as nice. But these parks bring something to the table that an architect can't design and a fan base can't bring over.

All you really need for an MLB park is it for it to seat 40,000 people to go with a few suites and party areas. This could have been done with both Tiger and Comiskey Park. You may have had to get creative, but if you promote the area right, people will want to sit anywhere.

The cleanliness issue also plagued Fenway for decades, but if you go to it now its one of the cleanest looking parks in baseball despite its age. Also has all the modern amenities of a new park. Both Wrigley and Dodger Stadium the next two oldest parks are going down this path as well. If you're willing to put in the time and money you can fix those issues and if that was the worst parts of Tiger Stadium and Comiskey Park in addition to the lack of suites, you could have done something to fix those places.

Also someone took the time to do a great home movie tour of the park about a month before it closed in 1990. It's pretty clear the park had seen better days, but even through the video you get that "if these walls could talk" feel that you only get in older parks.

There's also no other park that looks even close to the Old Comiskey. No park, not even Fenway had as much green as Comiskey did. The picnic area built into the left field wall seemed like one of the most underrated places to watch a game from in all of baseball. The scoreboard still looked impressive as hell.

The worst thing I think you could say about it was that it the place was that it wasn't maintained well. But I didn't see anything that a new coat of paint or architectural adjustments couldn't have fixed. This wasn't like Crosley Field or Ebbetts Field where the park had clearly gotten too small to continue to play host to an MLB team. This was a plenty big enough facility to continue to have baseball played for decades to come.

Instead the White Sox traded it in for a stadium nicknamed "the cell", which I think also plays into why Comiskey is so missed. Plenty of history attached to both Cleveland Stadium and County Stadium when they were torn down. I don't hear any Indian or Brewers fans complaining about Progressive Field or Miller Park because both were more than suitable replacements for what they left behind. The White Sox didn't come up short in replacing Comiskey so much as they didn't even come close IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaepsBBHTh4

[Hat Boy]

The cleanliness issue also plagued Fenway for decades, but if you go to it now its one of the cleanest looking parks in baseball despite its age. Also has all the modern amenities of a new park.

Except it still has the tiny seats of yesteryear. I do not enjoy nine innings of my knees jammed into the row in front of me.

[BBTV]

Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon. I rode by it in a cab and was taken aback by how badly it stood out. Not sure what the big yellow supports are for.