Arenas gone wrong: The 6 biggest stadium flaws in professional sports
Every stadium looks pristine in architectural renderings. It isn’t until the venue takes shape that we start to see the design flaws, those little things that make a building perform a little wonky or those gargantuan issues that can define an entire stadium. Here are six of our favorite flaws.
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. AT&T Stadium
Arlington, Texas
. Metrodome
Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Arlington Stadium
Arlington, Texas
Arlington, TX gets the dubious honor of appearing twice on our list. Arlington is no stranger to three-digit temperatures, but the builders of Arlington Stadium didn’t take that much into account. The stadium opened in 1965 as a draw to bring the MLB to the area. When the Texas Rangers did arrive in 1972, they showed up to what was essentially a minor-league stadium with absolutely no canopies or roof to protect fans from the blistering heat. Day games were out of the question and the fans sat exposed to the blazing sun completely unprotected until an upper deck in 1978 provided at least a few fans with a little relief, in one of the few examples in history when the nosebleeds were the most desirable seats in the stadium.
. Kingdome
Seattle, Washington
For the unaware, Seattle has a little reputation for rain. When the Kingdome opened in 1976, it apparently wasn’t able to handle multiple decades of that precipitation. By the mid-1990s, Mariner outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. was complaining the roof was leaking, making center field a slippery mess. But then in 1994 his complaints came crashing down in the form of three 15-pound 32-inch by 48-inch fiberglass panels that fell from the ceiling, breaking apart on the seats below just hours before the gates were to open for a game. The entire waterlogged ceiling was then removed from the Kingdome.
. Arthur Ashe Stadium
New York, New York
Row Z can’t be a good thing for any sporting event, but it’s downright laughable in a venue designed to watch tennis. Opened in 1997, the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium stands as the largest tennis venue in the world, but with Row Z 120 feet above court level, the stadium rarely fills. A double-stack of luxury boxes above the lower bowl starts the second level so high that Row Z grows taller than many MLB parks. Finally, you can recreate the experience of watching tennis on your tiny smartphone screen while sitting in an uncomfortable plastic stadium chair. Truly the best of both worlds.
Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, design and gear for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb, and follow Extra Mustard at @SI_ExtraMustard
