What better way to start off this thread than with the largest stadium in the world. Rungrado May First Stadium, or simply May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, seats 150,000. It opened May 1, 1989. It plays host to the North Korean national soccer team, but is most famous as the site of massive performances and shows celebrating Kim Il-sung and the Korean nation. These annual performances are recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world. It hosts events on a main pitch sprawling across over 242,200 square feet. Its total floor space is over 2.2 million square feet across eight stories, and the 16 arches that make up its roof peak at more than 197 ft from the ground (which is about the height of the Quorum Center in downtown Raleigh).




The image in the stands is actually being made by thousands of people holding up cards. Some of the performances have over 100,000 people involved.

11/20/2008 8:41:55 PM

fst

11/20/2008 8:43:17 PM

ooh ohh, I hope Dorton is next!!!!!!!1

11/20/2008 8:47:43 PM

What is the smallest stadium that still has the word "dome" attached to it?

11/20/2008 9:16:25 PM

That's fucking awesome!

11/20/2008 9:18:45 PM

Another image where you can make out the individual cards being held up. Incredible.

11/21/2008 7:46:37 AM

I'll be in Raleigh tonight through Sunday, so I won't really be on here over the weekend.

Today though I profile the new Meadowlands Stadium which will be home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets (can they really both be called New York teams when they play in New Jersey?). It will be built in the parking lot adjacent to Giants Stadium. Ground was broken on the new stadium on September 5, 2007 and it will be completed in time to be opened in August of 2010. The capacity of the new stadium will be 82,500, an increase of 2,258 over Giants Stadium. It will be a complete 50/50 partnership between the two clubs. Giants Stadium only cost $78 million to build back in the 1970s. The new stadium will cost $1.4 billion . An outer skin of aluminum louvers will be able to be lit different colors depending on which team is playing. This is similar to Allianz Arena in Germany that can be lit a number of colors. Four 40-by-130-foot scoreboards will hang from each corner of the upper deck. Inside the main entrance there will be a gigantic wall that will be 400 feet long and 40 feet high that will show panels of images that will rotate between photographic murals of the Jets and Giants on game days and different pictures for concerts and other events. There has been some criticism that the new stadium does not have a roof. A roof would allow the stadium to host Super Bowls and Final Fours.

11/21/2008 8:31:34 AM

Dallas new stadium is better......look at it. Although that is pretty sweet.

11/21/2008 10:33:19 AM

Well the new Meadowlands is nice, They are screwing the Fans with PSL's. My family has had 2 seats for the Jets for 20 years 45 yard line 4 rows back. We should get a refund for 18/20 years. Yet the Jets are charging us 50k just for the rights to keep those seats. IT IS BULLSHIT. Shouldn't you have to go to a super bowl before charges like that, Just once in the past 40 years is all I ask. FUCK YOU Woody Johnson

11/21/2008 11:02:03 AM

never knew stadia can be a plural of stadium

11/21/2008 11:10:18 AM

There used to be two stadiums in Major League Baseball that didn't have yellow painted foul poles. Which stadiums were they and what color were their foul poles? Here's a hint, one of them was in MLB up until 2004 when the team decided to relocate to a "monumental" city. The other is a piece of shit across the street from the airport and is watching it's team move into a stadium 50 feet or so away next year.

11/21/2008 11:35:03 AM

Expos
Mets

11/21/2008 12:03:36 PM

Were the "hints" suppose to be that easy?

11/21/2008 12:08:57 PM

^^ What color were the foul poles? I didn't want the question to take a couple of days for someone to figure out what the answer was.

11/21/2008 1:18:57 PM

Shea was Orange.

And I find it funny that a Yankees fan (I think you are?) can call Shea a piece of shit. The post-70's renovation of Yankee Stadium made it equally as shitty. Both interiors were fucking nasty and both looked like shit on the outside and were in shitty locations.

Citi Field >> New Yankee Stadium. Unless of course you like the way the giant toilet bowl on the Bronx looks. Also when Willets Pt is fixed up and developed (which just passed 65 votes to 2) the Citi Field gameday experience will be awesome. Bars ftw.

[Edited on November 21, 2008 at 1:25 PM. Reason : x]

11/21/2008 1:25:01 PM

bump for the dupe thread

12/7/2008 2:27:11 PM

12/7/2008 2:28:26 PM

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 2:43 PM. Reason : ]

12/7/2008 2:42:41 PM

Legion Field, named after the American Legion, in Birmingham, Alabama was completed in 1926 at a cost of $439,000. It once had a capacity of 83,091, but removal of the aging upper deck brought capacity down to 71,594. It was expanded many times over the years and had an original capacity of 21,000. Although it opened in 1926, the stadium did not see it's first action until the following year when a football game between Birmingham-Southern College and Howard College (now Samford University) was held on November 19, 1927. The current playing surface is Field Turf.

From 1948 to 1988 the stadium hosted the legendary college rivalry between Alabama and Auburn known as the Iron Bowl with a 50/50 split of the ticket allotment. The Iron Bowl is named such due to Birmingham's major industry of iron and steel manufacturing. Auburn hosted the first game not to be played at Legion Field when they hosted the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 1989. 1990, 1991, and 1992 would see the game played at Legion Field. Beginning in 1993 the two teams would alternate hosting the game, but since Legion Field was larger than Bryant-Denny Stadium up until the east upper deck addition in 1998, Alabama would continue to make Legion Field their home stadium for the game. Beginning in 1999 the game would alternate locations between Jordan-Hare Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium. The last Alabama game at Legion Field was a 40-17 victory over the University of South Florida on August 30, 2003. Both teams regularly scheduled their home games against Tennessee at Legion Field, especially for Auburn in the first half of the 20th century when transportation to Auburn was difficult.

The last time NC State played at Legion Field was during the 1990 All-American Bowl when NC State defeated a Brett Favre led Southern Miss team 31-27 in front of 44,000 people. This was also the final All-American Bowl game. The city of Birmingham chose to host the SEC Championship game and abandoned the All-American Bowl game. This was a stupid move, because unfortunately for them the SEC Championship was only held at Legion Field for two years (1992 & 1993) before it was moved permanently to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. This left the stadium and city without post-season football until 2006 when the PapaJohns.com Bowl began being played there.


Bear Bryant Monument on the stadium's grounds









Old upper deck

12/7/2008 3:16:36 PM

Additionally, it's decrepit and in the middle of the hood...

12/7/2008 3:18:15 PM

It looks pretty crappy but there's a lot of history on that field

12/7/2008 3:31:49 PM

In honor of our upcoming game with Clemson I'll preview Littlejohn Coliseum. It was named for the 1908 Clemson alumnus James C. Littlejohn, who was the school's first business manager. He was instrumental in many of the school's early building projects including Memorial Stadium and the Fike Recreation Center (formerly known as Clemson Field House) which housed the basketball team prior to the opening of Littlejohn Coliseum. Littlejohn Coliseum opened on November 30, 1968 at a cost of $3.1 million. It currently has a capacity of 9,749, making it the 8th largest arena in the ACC. A $31 million renovation completed at the beginning of 2003 gave the facility it's current look including the notorious purple seats. Other notable improvements included the baseline seats where the students sit being made into a sharper incline (which is what I think VT should do to Cassell Coliseum) and a new 700 ton roof.










Littlejohn during the renovation


Littlejohn pre-renovation (what a crackerbox looking piece of shit)

1/5/2009 8:43:05 PM

Every time I see a Baylor home game on TV, their arena looks so dark. This picture makes it look otherwise. Maybe it's just where they put the camera.




btw it's called the Ferrell Center, and it seats 10,284.

1/29/2009 8:30:49 PM

the roof reminds me of a gym my team used to play in back when i played ball in middle school. i got bad memories of that place. i actually had to play center one game in there cause all our bigs were getting fouled out and i was the shortest guy on the team

1/29/2009 10:03:51 PM

Dallas Cowboys New Stadium Live Construction Web-Cam (View is from the inside - watch as they work)

http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/newstadium_cam.cfm
DALLAS COWBOYS STADIUM
Design Statistics

Total Square Footage: 2.3 million square feet. The entire Statue of Liberty and its base could fit into the stadium with the roof closed. The stadium is also the world's largest column-free room. The American Airlines Center in Dallas could fit entirely into the new stadium at field level.

Interior Cubic Volume: 104 million cubic feet. (By comparison, Reliant Stadium in Houston measures 90 million cubic feet.) The Dallas Cowboys stadium will be the largest enclosed stadium (in cubic feet) in the NFL.

Seating Capacity: A capacity of 80,000 plus standing room or additional seating in the end zones, along with ticketed areas in the end zone plazas can increase total capacity to 100,000.

Suites: There will be 200 suites in eight different locations on five separate levels of the stadium. Field-level suites will be available on the sidelines as well as in the end zone for up-close and personal viewing of the games. The Hall of Fame level suites will be 20 rows from the field, making them the closest in the NFL.

Domed Roof: At 660,800 square feet, the stadium will be the largest domed structure in the world.

Retractable Roof: The open roof design that was a unique feature of Texas Stadium will be carried over into the design of the new stadium, with the improvement of a new retractable feature, revealing an opening that measures 256 feet wide and 410 feet long. Two bi-parting mechanized roof panels – each measuring 63,000 square feet – will be driven by a rack-and-pinion drive system consisting of 64 7.5 HP electric motors, making it the first of its kind in the world. The open/close time is 12 minutes.

Arches: The roof is supported by two 35-feet deep and 15-feet wide boxed arch trusses. Each truss spans 1,290 feet – nearly a quarter mile – making the roof the longest clear-span structure in the world. The arches are more than twice the length of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Glass Retractable Door: Each end zone features a five-leaf clear glass retractable door measuring 120 feet high and 180 feet wide, making it the tallest moveable glass wall in the world.

Parking: It is estimated that between parking owned or under control of the Dallas Cowboys as well as the entrepreneurial lots in and around the stadium area, that there will be 30,000 parking spaces available to fans on game day.


[Edited on January 30, 2009 at 12:09 PM. Reason : facts]

1/30/2009 12:01:52 PM

^^^ looks like a temple

1/30/2009 12:06:30 PM

L'il Jon Stadium?

Arizona's recent (NFL) stadium is pretty cool. I think it's badass that the field is on a track and can be moved outside to give the grass surface sunlight.

1/30/2009 6:18:38 PM

this lost all credibility when you put that shithole of a stadium that is legion field in a thread about "badass" stadiums

thou after going to the senior bowl in Mobile this year, i can say that at least it's not THE shittiest stadium in america

historic =/= badass

[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 3:46 AM. Reason : .]

1/31/2009 3:45:35 AM

Well it's not about badass stadiums, it's just a badass thread with a ton of information. I need to get better about updating this thread with profiles of stadiums and arenas.

1/31/2009 10:23:24 AM

time to start a badass stadia credibility watch thread

1/31/2009 10:48:56 AM

^ or a Brass Monkey credibility watch?

Camp Nou home of FC Barcelona. This legendary soccer pitch seats 98,772. Yeah I called it soccer, so what? I live in America where football means 22 guys play on a 100 yard field with an oblong ball made of pigskin. It opened September 24, 1957 at a cost of 288,000,000.00 pesetas, which is 2,216,095.79 US dollars. Camp Nou is a UEFA 5-star rated stadium (aka Elite rated). A stadium must be categorized as a 5 star to host the final of the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Cup. It held 120,000 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, but the outlawing of standing sections at the stadium brought the capacity to below 99,000 in the late 1990s.

Quote :

"To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the stadium, the club issued an international tender for architects to develop a project for re-modeling the stadium. The aim of the project was to turn the stadium into an integrated and highly visible urban environment. Whilst not aiming for a substantial increase in seating capacity, proposals must accommodate a minimum of 50% of seats to be under cover. On September 18, 2007, British architect Norman Foster and his company was selected to "restructure" the Camp Nou. The plans include an extra 10,000 seats to be added and the estimated cost is €250 million "

Future stadium

1/31/2009 11:14:11 AM

as a ginger, i wish american football stadiums would adopt shaded seating like so many futbol stadiums do.

1/31/2009 11:25:12 AM

Huh?

Am I mistaken in thinking that "ginger" is English slang for queer?

(no homophobe. but just don't see why that'd make you a fan of shaded seating)

[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 11:28 AM. Reason : and I can't believe they are replacing the Nou Camp with that atrocity!]

1/31/2009 11:26:54 AM

Well a lot of the German and English stadiums put covers on their stadiums b/c of the frequent rain, similar to how the stadiums in the Pacific Northwest (Qwest Field, Husky Stadium, Autzen Stadium, Reser Stadium, etc.) have covers.

^ it's still the same stadium, they are just adding seats and renovating it.

[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 11:29 AM. Reason : ]

1/31/2009 11:27:03 AM

Camp Nou

1/31/2009 11:43:23 AM

Quote :

"Am I mistaken in thinking that "ginger" is English slang for queer? (no homophobe. but just don't see why that'd make you a fan of shaded seating)"

get up w/ the times dude, ginger means redhead.

3 hour football game and i'm fucking toast.

1/31/2009 11:55:25 AM

Estadio Mestalla is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Valencia C.F. With a capacity of 55,000 seats, it ranks as the fifth largest stadium in Spain. It is also renowned for its steep terracing and being one of the most intimidating atmospheres in all of Europe in which to play.





Valencia's new stadium will be complete this year.

Nou Mestalla is a football stadium under construction in Valencia, Spain for Valencia CF. Work began in August 2007, and is due to be completed in January 2009. The stadium will also be capable of hosting athletics. The stadium will have a capacity of 75,000. It replaces their current stadium Estadio Mestalla.




[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 12:06 PM. Reason : yo]

1/31/2009 12:05:32 PM

Quote :

"There has been some criticism that the new stadium does not have a roof. A roof would allow the stadium to host Super Bowls and Final Fours."

Because God forbid FOOTBALL BE PLAYED UNDER REAL WORLD CONDITIONS or BASKETBALL BE PLAYED IN A GYM

1/31/2009 12:12:46 PM

That's what I say. The fact that the Super Bowl can only be held in outdoor stadiums that have climates that average no less than 50 degrees during the winter shows the pussification of America that is going on. And the fact that the NCAA will now only hold the Final Four in a football dome that can hold over 70,000 despite few people being actually able to see what is going on shows they only care about the almighty dollar.

1/31/2009 12:19:48 PM

^ yeah i have to agree

football was meant to be played outside

1/31/2009 3:26:41 PM

jesus christ man, the credibility is load shedding around here

super bowls in warm climates is pussification? lol

more like they're there because 70k people don't want to go to green fucking bay in late jan/early feb

1/31/2009 4:14:22 PM

Well I don't think they should hold it in Green Bay either, but why can't it be held in Charlotte, Philly, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Kansas City, NYC, etc.?

1/31/2009 8:06:03 PM

the idea of a super bowl at Heinz field makes me sad

[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 8:08 PM. Reason : more like Campbells Soup field, AMIRITE?!]

1/31/2009 8:08:12 PM

I wish they'd hold it at the Rose Bowl at least, but they have a stupid rule about not holding the SB at a stadium that doesn't play host to a NFL team. I mean come on that stadium seats close to 100,000 people. Think of all the money that could be made, and it has a pretty large area for luxury boxes as well.

1/31/2009 8:14:46 PM

^^^ are you serious?

the superbowl will sell out anywhere.

1/31/2009 8:15:19 PM

In honor of the #4 Pitt vs. #1 UConn game tonight, I'm gonna profile the Hartford Civic Center (I refuse to call it the XL Center). The HCC opened January 9, 1975 and seats 16,294 for basketball, making it the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. As originally built in 1975, it seated 10,507 for hockey, and served as the home of the then-New England Whalers for three years. The roof collapsed during a heavy snowstorm in the early morning of January 18, 1978, causing serious damage to the seating bowl area. The building was heavily renovated and re-opened January 17, 1980 and now seats 15,635 for hockey (I can hear Brass Bonanza right now ). Many government officials have discussed constructing a new downtown arena, possibly even tearing down the HCC and building the new arena on the site. I've got to say it has an interesting design. The sideline seats are just one giant set of stands, with a small break in the middle for the entrances to the seating bowl and walkways. Then the baseline seating has the design of a lower bowl and an upper deck. It's reminiscent of Penn State's Beaver Stadium and the Pittsburgh Penguins








Whalers banners that still hang


[Edited on February 16, 2009 at 7:40 PM. Reason : ]

2/16/2009 7:30:07 PM

The HCC has definitely hosted mens games. I went to the first two rounds there during UConn's "dream season" in 1989-1990. They played Cal in the 2nd round...

2/16/2009 7:38:54 PM

Really? I didn't find any info on it hosting men's games. I know you would know better than me obviously. I'll look deeper.

2/16/2009 7:41:34 PM

This is what I've found in terms of years that the HCC has hosted NCAA Tournament games:

1985 1st and 2nd Round
1988 1st and 2nd Round
1990 1st and 2nd Round
1998 1st and 2nd Round

2/16/2009 7:55:33 PM

Quote :

"It's reminiscent of Penn State's Beaver Stadium and the Pittsburgh Penguins"

Gah I was too busy hunting for good pictures that I forgot to finish this sentence. It should say

It's reminiscent of Penn State's Beaver Stadium and the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mellon Arena in terms of the look of the stands.

2/16/2009 8:28:31 PM