Not every new sporting venue is going to be embraced by fans or hailed as a classic upon opening. However, they should not contain major flaws that render them old hat before ever hosting a game. That has proven to be easier said than done over the years.
With that in mind, here are 11 stadiums that were outdated before they even opened. Some of these have redeeming qualities and others were simply a victim of the era. Whatever the case may be, none of them were able to withstand the test of time. They didn’t even come close.
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11 stadiums that were outdated before they even opened
11) Ballpark at Arlington
The only reason the Ballpark at Arlington is on this list is because it was completed shortly before retractable roof technology became prevalent. Bank One Ball Park, Safeco Field and Enron Field would all open a few years later with roofs and climate-controlled atmospheres. Meanwhile in the Dallas Metroplex, Texas Rangers fans baked in the heat of summer.
Other than that, the Ballpark at Arlington is pretty snazzy to this day. It’s cool they still found a use for it because it doesn’t deserve to be destroyed. But the lack of a roof meant it was outdated before opening.
10) Gillette Stadium
Here is a list of NFL stadiums that opened in 2002, you tell me which one doesn’t belong: Seahawks Stadium, Ford Field, NRG Stadium and Gillette Stadium. It’s clearly the home of the New England Patriots. While the other three have withstood the test of time, the latter faces back toward what was built in the 1990s.
That’s because New England Patriots owner and sometimes Happy Tugs patron Robert Kraft wanted Gillette Stadium modeled after M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Unfortunately, that meant it was a relic of the past before a game was ever played. However, credit where credit is due. It was privately financed by the team.
9) Omni Coliseum
Omni Coliseum was a visual marvel. It was also a disaster on many fronts. For starters, the exterior began rusting as soon as it went up and never stopped. And while that was obviously less than ideal, it didn’t make the facility outdated.
The reason it makes this list is because Omni Coliseum had no club seating and a paltry 16 luxury boxes when it opened. This was a significant drag on the Atlanta Flames, in particular, who accumulated huge losses despite solid overall attendance. Their owner would sell the franchise because of the stadium’s inability to generate revenue.
8) Turner Field
Let’s stay in Atlanta but change sports. Converting Centennial Olympic Stadium into Turner Field was always going to be a marriage of convenience. Even with baseball elements incorporated into the design, the end result was underwhelming.
Sure, Turner Field boasted some of the retro-modern design features that have allowed many of the other stadiums built around this time to endure. But it also had the distinct feel of the old multi-purpose venues. If anything, the facility would have been better suited for football given what Georgia State managed to do with the place.
7) FedEx Field
Every time I look at an empty FedEx Field it’s impossible not to see Candlestick Park. The seat colors and the low scoreboard in one endzone are similar. At one point in time, both had exterior rampways. Sure, the Landover, Maryland facility has a middle deck and some luxury boxes. But these aren’t a million miles apart.
The big difference? Candlestick had been hosting football since 1971 while FedEx Field opened in 1997. That’s not a good thing. The stadium was disliked by Washington football fans upon opening, and it took all of a decade before the team began looking at options to replace FedEx Field.
6) Meadowlands Arena
If you opened a new NBA arena in the 1980s, it sucked. That is a trend that will become more evident as we proceed with this list. As for Meadowlands Arena, it was awash with contradictions from the moment it opened. The stadium was new but somehow looked outdated in the early 1980s. It was both cavernous and crowded.
There were no redeeming qualities about Meadowlands Arena apart from the fact that it allowed New Jersey to have teams.
5) The Dome at America’s Center
Opening a dome stadium in 1995 was a bad idea. That didn’t stop St. Louis from doing so. Whatever you prefer to call The Dome at America’s Center, it was a vast, ugly mistake that never looked modern. A half-hearted brick façade was not able to hide a freaking dome. Things weren’t much better inside where a raft of issues sprung up almost immediately and were never rectified.
4) Charlotte Coliseum
George Shinn is an idiot and a fraud. It was annoying that he constantly complained about the lack of premium seating inside Charlotte Coliseum. Everyone knew this was needed when it was being built. Instead, they jammed in a little over 24,000 seats which Shinn believed to be a good idea at the time.
Of course, it wasn’t even if the Hornets did manage to sell out the building on a regular basis. The thing was behind the times when it opened in 1988 and wouldn’t live to see 20 years in business. Shin left after 14 seasons which tells you all you need to know about him and the facility.
3) Arco Arena
Another 1980s NBA arena that was doomed before even hosting a game. Arco Arena was too small and too cheap when it opened. Too many corners were cut, and the result was an underwhelming building that was fractionally better than the temporary Arco Arena I it replaced.
Here’s the deal: I fondly remember countless Sacramento sporting teams playing here, including the Knights and River Rats. But even as a kid, it did not seem all that impressive and everything is impressive at that age. Things did not get better when the Maloof Brothers allowed a scam company to purchase the Arco Arena naming rights.
2) Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome looked like it was a product of the 1970s. Unfortunately, it was actually completed in 1992. That still baffles me. Who thought this was a good idea? Like all domed stadiums, the only thing this one had going for it was the sheer size of it. The roofing was a mess, and the venue had no distinct features apart from a ton of seats.
Developers, design firms and construction companies have made a ton of money in Atlanta building some of the crummiest stadiums known to mankind.
1) Miami Arena
Miami Arena was like Arco Arena, only somehow much worse. The project was rushed from the start and what time there was seemingly went to making sure the facility had an odd shape. It’s like someone placed a massive can of tuna on any business park built in America at the time.
Just how outdated was Miami Arena when it opened? The Heat could only manage 12 seasons there. The Florida Panthers had enough after five years. Work began on a new arena less than a decade after it hosted its first event. No stadium before or after has been as woefully outdated as Miami Arena.
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