VIDEO: The staff of the New York Mets fire the t-shirt cannon.

When the Pontiac Silverdome was built for $55...

No real snow and poor air quality.

As the Oakland Raiders seemingly plot a move to...

The Major League Baseball season is scheduled...

Demolition crews have arrived at Candlestick...

On Saturday, Citrix invited us down to...

Calls for common sense reforms.

Ten years later.

These things are incredible.

The San Francisco 49ers held a ribbon-cutting...

Despite construction delays and cost overruns...

São Paulo's Itaquerão stadium...

Construction work continues on the...

With a week and a half to go until the World...

The Pontiac Silverdome, longtime home of the...

Coors Field is covered in snow after a...

It's only been 12 years since the Detroit Lions...

The future of the Sochi Olympic venues is...

Still behind schedule.

What has happened to the Olympic venues from the 2004 Athens Olympics is the nightmare scenario for Sochi. Unlike the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic venues, which were destroyed during the Bosnian War, there was no catastrophic event that led to the abandonment of the Athens arenas. Greece simply has no use […]

Temporary billion-dollar venues.

The Seattle Seahawks have the loudest stadium in the NFL, CenturyLink Field. It set the noise record for an outdoor stadium back in December, and every time the Seahawks have a nationally televised game the sideline reporter brings a decibel reader and compares the noise level to that of a […]

A 61-year-old Marine Corps veteran is being hailed as a hero today for breaking a woman’s fall after she jumped from the upper deck at yesterday’s Raiders game. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda Country Sheriff’s Office told the Mercury News that the woman made the 45-foot leap 15 minutes after […]

For the first time since 1984, the Winter Olympics are returning to eastern Europe in February. Those 1984 were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia — a decade before the the city was put under siege in the Bosnian War. Today, while the city continues to recover, many of the venues from […]

The designs and budget for the new $US1.2 billion Atlanta Falcons football stadium were approved by the Georgia World Congress Center this week. The building looks like a piece of metal origami. Taxpayers are on the hook for $US200 million, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.The team and the league will […]

According to the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, soccer giant Real Madrid is in talks with Bill Gates about a deal to grant Microsoft naming rights to its storied stadium, the Bernabéu. Opened in 1947, the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is named after the man who served as Real Madrid president for […]

American professional sports is now in its third generation of sports venues. There were the cozy neighbourhood stadiums of the early 20th century, the utilitarian monstrosities of the ’70s, and now the vintage revival/space age dichotomy of 2013. The Library of Congress has a fantastic collection of awesome old photos […]

Artist renderings.

These things are incredible.

The biggest glass roof in the world.

Space-age stuff.

It might not be ready in time for the World Cup.

[credit provider=”AP” url=”http://www.apimages.com/Search.aspx?st=k&remem=x&kw=burj+al+arab+tennis&intv=None&shgroup=-10&sh=10″] A major college basketball game will be played on the deck of an aircraft carrier for the second-straight year this weekend.The game generated huge TV ratings last year, and is part of a growing trend of sporting events being held in outrageous venues.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons”] In a recent study, UFE.com rated each stadium in Major League Baseball based on a set of cleanliness standards. And in what is likely no a surprise to those that have attended Chicago Cubs games, Wrigley Field was crowned dirtiest of them all.”The main issue that really […]

[credit provider=”Elsa/Getty Images”] Olympic host cities have long struggled with putting stadiums to use after the games have come and gone.Athens spent $15 billion on permanent stadiums for the 2004 Games, according to the Christian Science Monitor, and now many are abandoned and in various states of disrepair.

Beijing spent inordinate amounts of money on their venues and now they serve as little more than reminders of the past. London spent a lot more than they wanted on theirs and hope these two weeks aren’t the end all be all.

[credit provider=”en.wikipedia.org” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium”] We may have to add China to the list of Olympic hosts that got a raw deal.Most of the $3-billion in new stadiums, renovations and training centres prepared for the 2008 games are empty and losing money, according to Caixin’s Wang Yuqian.

[credit provider=”AP Images”] Major League Baseball will play its All-Star game tomorrow night in Kansas City, 79 years after the first All-Star game was held at Comiskey Park in Chicago.In 1933, there were 16 teams in Major League Baseball, and none were farther west than St. Louis.

AEG has announced a naming rights deal on the proposed Los Angeles stadium that has not even received final approval to be built yet.

[credit provider=”@okcthunder”] There are a lot of imposing stadiums in sports — places where the opposing team has virtually no chance of winning.But have you ever wondered what venue is the toughest to win in, across all sports?

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fenway_Park_Panorama_1914.jpg”] Fenway Park turns 100 years old today when the Red Sox take on the Rays.Over the last century, the ballpark has seen a bunch of minor tweaks and changes.

[credit provider=”Cliff_Baise | Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffbaise/4479440032/”] 20 years ago, the Baltimore Orioles did something that at the time ran counter to every trend in stadium construction: They built their new ballpark right in the heart of downtown Baltimore.That not only proved beneficial to the Orioles, who continue to draw crowds to […]

[credit provider=”AP”] Last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton stood alongside some state lawmakers and Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf to proudly declare a deal had been reached for a new Vikings stadium. However, it’s far from a done deal. More like the latest plan. The question is- who will have […]

[credit provider=”Flickr Creative Commons”] OK, to call Twerton Park a “stadium” (right) is a bit of a stretch. After all, there are only 1,006 seats. But if you have ever dreamed of having a professional sports park named after you, this is your chance.According to The Guardian, Bath City Football […]

[credit provider=”Sun Sports”] While sponsors on sports uniforms and playing surfaces is an accepted part of sports throughout the world, the major sports leagues in North America have so far resisted the temptation, likely fearing backlash from the fans who consider the uniform and courts/ice/fields a sacred items that should […]

[credit provider=”AP”] There’s a well-known phenomenon that bad things happen to companies that put their name on a stadium.The most notorious example was in 2000 when Enron bought the rights to Enron Field in a $100-million, 30-year deal. Just two years later, the defunct company would sell the contract back […]

The University of Washington is just beginning a $250-million renovation of Husky Stadium in Seattle.

The San Diego Chargers have taken the stadium naming business to an entirely new level that will certainly annoy sports fans.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baylor_Line.JPG”] As most football fans can attest, the NFL is an investment from just about any perspective. There’s the emotional investment of watching your team once a week on the national stage and the inevitable ribbing the following morning from that guy in accounting.There’s the investment of […]

Corporations can spend hundreds of million dollars just so they can put their name on a major league sports stadiums. 24/7 Wall St. looked that the 13 largest stadium-naming rights deals and found several unrelated reasons for these extraordinary investments.

The Miami Marlins will unveil their new state-of-the-art retractable roof baseball park next year. in fact, the Marlins will be the 20th Major League Baseball team to open a new stadium since the Baltimore Orioles debuted Camden Yards 20 years ago.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_111111-N-SB672-768_The_University_of_North_Carolina_and_Michigan_State_University_play_a_basketball_game_on_the_flight_deck_of_the_Nimitz-c.jpg”] Last Friday’s Carrier Classic on board the USS Carl Vinson is yet the latest sporting event to be held at an outside-the-box venue.Whether its basketball on the deck of an aircraft carrier, hockey in a historic baseball stadium, or tennis 700 feet above the ocean, the […]

[credit provider=”AP Images”] Some of the largest stadiums in the world house American college football teams. But they are not the only teams to push the capacity of their arenas past 90,000 spectators.So we took a look at the largest stadiums in the world, excluded horse and car race tracks […]

[credit provider=”Edwin Lee/Flickr” url=”http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-2811299532″] The stadium-building frenzy that took over China in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics hasn’t stopped.The glitzy new Shanghai Oriental Sports centre opened earlier this summer, and more venues are currently under construction in cities and towns across the country.

[credit provider=”AP”] Mercedes-Benz has bought the naming rights to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, according to Pro Football Talk.From PFT:

[credit provider=”Tony Manfred”] There are four huge MLB playoff games today.Typically, Fenway Park is the centre of the baseball world on days like these.

[credit provider=”islandcasino.com” url=”http://blog.islandcasino.com/ic/wordpress/01/nfl-playoffs-washington-redskins-at-seattle-seahawks”] The NFL’s new security measures call for all fans attending games this season to be frisked from the ankles up.The new “enhanced” regulations were supposed to be in place from Week 1, but obviously did not help in New Jersey, where a Dallas fan snuck a stun […]

[credit provider=”Eric Molina/Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamagenious/2863510647/”] Stadium concessions are a huge part of the business of sports as franchises clean up on the high profit margins and lack of competition.$7.50 for one hot dog? What choice do you have? (Pretty tasty, though.)

[credit provider=”vikings.com” url=”http://www.vikings.com/stadium/new-stadium/index.html”] Up in Minnesota, the Vikings management is sounding the alarm again, suggesting that if they don’t get a new stadium soon, they’re going to leave. (The only real move they could make would be to LA, but they’re not going to be building a stadium anytime soon.)”I […]

[credit provider=”Sports Illustrated” url=”http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0806/nba.finals.game.6/images/opex-14795-mid.jpg”] If the NBA lockout starts to cancel games, teams will starting losing millions in ticket revenue.But the blow will be felt even harder for arena owners, who won’t have time to schedule new events on the days their buildings are dark.

[credit provider=”emeraldcitycenter.com” url=”http://emeraldcitycenter.com/”] Building a new stadium or arena is tricky business.They’re expensive, hard to maintain, and become obsolete as soon as you open the door.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorldSeries1903-640.jpg”] Under America’s cities lie the ruins of the country’s first generation of sports venues.These parks, arenas, and square gardens were home to the growth of professional sports as we know them. They hosted some of the country’s most iconic athletes, and saw the country’s great franchises […]

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cincinnati-paul-brown-stadium.jpg”] The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating look at Hamilton County, Ohio, which is being crushed under the weight of the worst stadium financing deal ever.Back in the mid-’90s, the Cincinnati Bengals threatened to leave town unless they got a new football-only stadium.

[credit provider=”Twitpic: @djwesnight” url=”http://twitpic.com/5mgc22″] UPDATE: Reports of one dead, 16 injured according to Michael van Poppel.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Bull_Arena_grand_opening_stands.jpg”] Romy Varghese over at Bloomberg has an in-depth look at how the construction of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey has contributed to the town’s $6 million budget gap.Essentially, Harrison had a plan to jump-start development by building a soccer-specific arena in 2006.

[credit provider=”Flickr Dave Newman” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/groovysoup/4491543545/”] It may not seem like it, but we’re living in a golden age of sorts: There have never been more fantastic sporting venues than there are right now.For years, many fans across the world had to travel to terrible stadiums whenever they wanted to see […]

[credit provider=”Flickr Allan Chatto” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/besighyawn/5789101227/”] If stadium luxury boxes were listed on a restaurant menu, they’d be in the form of prime grade dry-aged steaks.Both of these expense account-friendly items help drive the revenue trains for establishments from the Staples centre to Portland’s new JELD-WEN Field.

[credit provider=”Dashiell Bennett/Business Insider” url=”http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sportspage”] The New Jersey Nets will not be in New Jersey for long.That’s because starting in 2012, they will take up residence in the brand new Barclays centre, the basketball arena currently under construction in Brooklyn, New York.

Nearly 20% of the teams in the four major sports leagues have the name of a financial services company affixed to their home building.

Curbed

[credit provider=”LA Live via Curbed”] By Carter RubinAs discussions with AEG about an NFL stadium in Los Angeles continue, we’re starting to think this thing actually might happen! (If the NFL wants it to, of course.) But amid all the talks, here’s a list of 10 recommendations — a mix […]

AP

[credit provider=”Eric Molina/Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamagenious/2863510647/”] Stadium concessions are a huge part of the business of sports as franchises clean up on the high profit margins and lack of competition.$7.50 for one hot dog? What choice do you have? (Pretty tasty, though.)

[credit provider=”Courtesy of LA Stadium” url=”http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/our-team.html”] Billionaire Philip Anschutz’s plan to build an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles could leave city taxpayers on the hook for millions despite his insistence that no public go towards the project.The Anschutz Entertainment Group subsidiary behind the stadium will not provide any additional […]

AEG announced today it’s picked Gensler to design its maybe-gonna-happen Farmers Field/Event centre. Gensler beat out other finalists HKS and HNTB; all firms unveiled designs last year.

[credit provider=”Birmingham Mail” url=”http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2011/03/11/aston-villa-homeless-man-found-living-under-the-holte-end-stand-in-shanty-town-house-97319-28316901/”] A DESTITUTE man has been living rough in a makeshift secret shelter hidden inside one of the main stands at the home of football giants Aston Villa. While thousands of fans flocked to see the team’s highly-paid Premier League stars perform on the pitch, the ‘hermit […]

[credit provider=”Courtesy of Planning Korea” url=”http://www.planningkorea.com/”] If you’ve gone to a game at any of the new stadiums erected over the last decade, you’re well aware of the differences between them and the older, more traditional stadiums.Today’s teams are not only trying to create more visually appealing buildings, but they’re […]

[credit provider=”AP Photo/Matt Slocum”] The 2011 baseball season is just weeks away and Tug Haines will be doing something that most baseball fans only dream of. He will spend his summer traversing the eastern United States, driving to 106 different ballparks, to watch 107 different minor league teams play 113 […]

[credit provider=”Business Insider/Adam Fusfeld”] When former Lehman Brothers executive Jeff Vanderbeek bought his favourite hockey team, the New Jersey Devils, in 2004 he wanted to make sure the team could afford to stay in the Garden State.Despite consistent on-ice success, the Devils struggled at the gate and rumours abounded that […]

[credit provider=”Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. (via Slate)” url=”http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/123037/2279927/2286745/2286744/01_West_Side_Stadium.jpg”] In 1970, construction began on Seattle’s Kingdome. 30 years later, the 55,000 seat stadium was destroyed. Its implosion, the largest demolition of its kind in recorded history, was a national event, broadcast live on ESPN Classic. You can still buy Kingdome implosion […]

[credit provider=”kthypryn/Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/897414900/in/photostream/”] Do you like baseball, reading out loud, and soul-destroying heartbreak?Do you also have 81 free days this summer?

The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission has release new security camera footage, taken inside the Metrodome on December 12, when the roof of the stadium collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowstorm. (Via Star-Tribune)

Engineers inspecting the collapsed Metrodome roof are expected to report that repairs will not be enough to make things right again and that the entire roof will need to be replaced before the stadium can be used again.

On the one hand, they should probably wait until LA gets a team. Then again, AEG already took $700 million for naming rights, so why stop there?

More than 100,000 fans will have access to free Wi-Fi throughout Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl on Sunday, but that’s just a small taste of a mammoth info-tech marvel.

[credit provider=”ap”] The Houston City Council approved plans yesterday for an $80 million soccer stadium to house Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamos. The decision comes as Houston struggles to pay for the three professional stadiums it already has (four if you count the Astrodome).Bond Buyer reports that the stadiums’ owner, […]

[credit provider=”DiaryStar.com” url=”http://sanfrancisco.diarystar.com/att-park/”] In San Francisco, the big-market Giants spend $100 million on player salaries annually.17 miles away, in Oakland, the Athletics can only afford to spend half that.

DOWNTOWN LA: This morning AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke gave the first public presentation to the city on his company’s proposed downtown stadium/convention centre renovation, presenting the plan to a subcommittee chaired by City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and City Councilman Tom LaBonge.

[credit provider=”AP” url=”AP”] Dallas, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and New York City have all opened glistening new stadiums over the past couple of years, but not every sports town is so fortunate.There’s still plenty of teams out there languishing in horrific venues across the country. They’re outdated, unprofitable or just plain ugly.

[credit provider=”SI”] One week after being forced to admit their bracelets don’t work as advertised, Power Balance will get the naming rights to the Sacramento Kings’ basketball stadium.ARCO Arena will soon be named Power Balance Pavilion.

[credit provider=”Freedom Enterprise, Inc.” url=”http://www.freedomenterpriseinc.com/images/stadium/pages/citrus-bowl_jpg.htm”] The historic Citrus Bowl fears its future is doomed unless Florida follows through on its $150 million promised upgrade to the football stadium, according to FOX Orlando.The 72-year-old landmark has three years remaining on contracts to host the Capital One and Champs Sports Bowls, two […]

[credit provider=”AP”] After collapsing under 20 inches of snow earlier this month, The Metrodome roof will need three months of repairs that figure to shut the venue down until at least March, FOX Sports reports.Though the Vikings have played their last home game of 2010, the Metrodome hosts more than […]

There’s concern that weather may disrupt the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, but everything else seems ready to go for the big game on Saturday.

[credit provider=”Yahoo! Sports” url=”http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Schalke-s-stadium-had-another-snow-induced-cave-?urn=sow-300639″] The Metrodome collapse got all the press in the United States, but it wasn’t the only stadium affected by snow this year. For the second time this year, Germany’s Veltins-Arena, home of the UEFA soccer club FC Schalke 04, caved in under the weight of snow.  The […]

[credit provider=”AP” url=”AP”] After practicing at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe declared the field “unplayable” and said that anyone who hits their head on the frozen ground during tonight’s Monday Night Football game will get a concussion.Workers have spent the last week clearing snow from […]

[credit provider=”Flickr/Ed Kohler” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkohler/3999507911/in/photostream/”] UPDATE: Bears player representative Robbie Gould told ESPN that the team will not file a complaint.EARLIER: Paul Allen, the play-by-play voice of the Minnesota Vikings, suggested on his daily radio show that the Chicago Bears might file a protest about Monday night’s game at TCF Bank […]

[credit provider=”Curbed LA” url=”http://la.curbed.com”] Here is a look at the initial designs submitted to AEG for its downtown NFL stadium. These are the images of the three firms that were chosen today (a total of nine firms submitted plans.)The three firms that are finalists are: Gensler, HKS, HNTB.

[credit provider=”Flickr/Ed Kohler” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkohler/3999507911/in/photostream/”] The University of Minnesota is asking Vikings fans to help the team shovel snow at TCF Bank Stadium so that it’s ready to host Monday Night’s game against the Bears, ESPN reports.Some areas of the stadium are covered in five feet of snow, and workers at […]

[credit provider=”Flickr/Ed Kohler” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkohler/3999507911/in/photostream/”] In the aftermath of the destroyed roof of their stadium, the Vikings stand to lose millions in ticket, merchandise, concession and parking revenue for every game they outsource to another stadium.In other words, they need to fix that roof. Now.