Best Sports Venues

[burnspbesq]

As an Everton supporter it pains me no end to say this, but any such list that doesn’t include Anfield is highly suspect.

[Pghdukie]

I agree with Roy white up thread- I've been to a few Whiteout games at Happy Valley. Very exciting atmosphere thru out the entire area. A bucket list event even if your not a Penn St fan !

[flyingdutchdevil]

As an Everton supporter it pains me no end to say this, but any such list that doesn’t include Anfield is highly suspect.

The only soccer arena is Estadio Azteca. It's a great arena, but having a Latin American stadiums and zero European stadiums for soccer is akin to including Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona (where the 1992 Olympics in basketball were held) and no US arenas for basketball.

The list is completely flawed internationally. Fun idea, but the criteria for the list is weird.

[Indoor66]

The only soccer arena is Estadio Azteca. It's a great arena, but having a Latin American stadiums and zero European stadiums for soccer is akin to including Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona (where the 1992 Olympics in basketball were held) and no US arenas for basketball.

The list is completely flawed internationally. Fun idea, but the criteria for the list is weird.

Maybe something about "eye of the beholder?"

[budwom]

The only soccer arena is Estadio Azteca. It's a great arena, but having a Latin American stadiums and zero European stadiums for soccer is akin to including Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona (where the 1992 Olympics in basketball were held) and no US arenas for basketball.

The list is completely flawed internationally. Fun idea, but the criteria for the list is weird.

as mentioned previously, the list is based on the experiences of the Post writers, and it's obvious they need to travel more...

[flyingdutchdevil]

as mentioned previously, the list is based on the experiences of the Post writers, and it's obvious they need to travel more...

Yeah. I get it. I also take it the writers are on the older side if they included 2 tennis arenas (one of which is international) and 1 soccer arena (the other international venue). I don't have stats in front of me, but the growth of soccer popularity is significantly higher than the growth of tennis popularity over the last 20 or so years, especially with the US not having a strong foothold on men's tennis (for the women, they clearly still dominate).

[blazindw]

as mentioned previously, the list is based on the experiences of the Post writers, and it's obvious they need to travel more...

Nailed it. I've been fortunate to have gone to sporting events in a metric ton of stadiums and arenas, and I still haven't scratched the surface of many of the legendary stadiums this world has. I wanna see them all.

[mapei]

I think that, to truly appreciate a sports venue, you have to attend the event for which the venue is best known. I would agree that RFK is lousy as a concert venue and mediocre as a soccer venue, but it was very, very special when the Washington NFL team was in its heyday and playing a rival in that stadium. By comparison, I was a season-ticket holder at FedEx Field for a decade, and the difference between the two NFL venues and the game-day experience is incredible. FedEx is awful, even if the team is winning.

I also want to defend Wimbledon from some criticism upthread. If you're a fan of tennis, the sense of history that overwhelms the place, and that is preserved in its well-kept traditions (including no blatant advertising), is unsurpassed in my opinion. Regrettably, I have only been there for one glorious week in the late 1980s, but I saw some great champions compete on Centre Court, including Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and I think even a soon-to-be-retired Chris Evert. And yet some of the real fun is in roaming the outer courts to watch lesser-known players giving it their all in front of smaller crowds in general-admission seating. My goodness, the excitement begins even getting on the tube on the way to the All-England Club.

(As an aside, someone mentioned that tennis isn't popular anymore; I would say that men's tennis remains quite popular internationally and women's tennis is quite popular in the US. Sadly, American fans tend to get involved with an international sport only when their fellow Americans are succeeding at it. What we call soccer is THE game internationally, but at the professional level it remains a cult sport in the US unless the USWNT is playing.)

Speaking of cult sports, allow me to give a shout to cycling, and I'll mention three special venues: 1) First on the list has to be the mighty Alpe d'Huez, where literally more than a hundred thousand people from all over the world gather each time a stage of the Tour de France takes place there. Its history is just as storied as that of Centre Court or Augusta National (I'm not a golf fan at all, but I know others here are); the world's best cyclists have struggled and succeeded and failed here for seven decades, frequently deciding the race on one of its toughest climbs. 2) The finish of each year's Tour on the Champs-Elysees, the world's most famous avenue. Generally the overall winner is decided by then, and the eight laps around the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde are mostly about celebration and pageantry, except for the last, which generally ends in a chaotic sprint. I was there for the last win by the great, classy champion Miguel Indurain, and it was so colorful and exciting. A special treat was watching some of the riders ride back to their hotels and team buses, right by my cafe table, after the race. 3) The cobbles on the route of Paris-Roubaix, the sport's most storied one-day race, perhaps especially in the Arenberg Forest. I haven't been there but it gives me chills every time I watch it on TV.

Finally, my all-time favorite? Definitely Cameron Indoor (edging out Wimbledon). An amazing experience.

[uh_no]

Speaking of cult sports, allow me to give a shout to cycling, and I'll mention three special venues: 1) First on the list has to be the mighty Alpe d'Huez, where literally more than a hundred thousand people from all over the world gather each time a stage of the Tour de France takes place there. Its history is just as storied as that of Centre Court or Augusta National (I'm not a golf fan at all, but I know others here are); the world's best cyclists have struggled and succeeded and failed here for seven decades, frequently deciding the race on one of its toughest climbs. 2) The finish of each year's Tour on the Champs-Elysees, the world's most famous avenue. Generally the overall winner is decided by then, and the eight laps around the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde are mostly about celebration and pageantry, except for the last, which generally ends in a chaotic sprint. I was there for the last win by the great, classy champion Miguel Indurain, and it was so colorful and exciting. A special treat was watching some of the riders ride back to their hotels and team buses, right by my cafe table, after the race. 3) The cobbles on the route of Paris-Roubaix, the sport's most storied one-day race, perhaps especially in the Arenberg Forest. I haven't been there but it gives me chills every time I watch it on TV.

my only regret the year i followed the tour was that they didn't do the alpe that year. I rode up it anyway. Then rode up the galibier the next morning with a 6 pack for when the race came through. People were offering me a good amount of money for those beers...none was enough given i had just biked up the galibier with a 6 pack. I was drinking every single one of those.

But I have to agree that the alpe is probably one of those great venues from a fan perspective.

[OldPhiKap]

Speaking of cult sports, allow me to give a shout to cycling, and I'll mention three special venues: 1) First on the list has to be the mighty Alpe d'Huez, where literally more than a hundred thousand people from all over the world gather each time a stage of the Tour de France takes place there. Its history is just as storied as that of Centre Court or Augusta National (I'm not a golf fan at all, but I know others here are); the world's best cyclists have struggled and succeeded and failed here for seven decades, frequently deciding the race on one of its toughest climbs. 2) The finish of each year's Tour on the Champs-Elysees, the world's most famous avenue. Generally the overall winner is decided by then, and the eight laps around the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde are mostly about celebration and pageantry, except for the last, which generally ends in a chaotic sprint. I was there for the last win by the great, classy champion Miguel Indurain, and it was so colorful and exciting. A special treat was watching some of the riders ride back to their hotels and team buses, right by my cafe table, after the race. 3) The cobbles on the route of Paris-Roubaix, the sport's most storied one-day race, perhaps especially in the Arenberg Forest. I haven't been there but it gives me chills every time I watch it on TV.

Absolutely agree with these, inspired choices.

When I retire, I'm putting on my blue devil costume and running alongside the riders up the Col du Tourmalet. Then eating and drinking wonderful food. (Shout-out for the Pyrenees).

[OldPhiKap]

^^ I was also just reminded that the U.S. has no extradition treaty with France. You never know when that little tidbit might come in handy.

[budwom]

Absolutely agree with these, inspired choices.

When I retire, I'm putting on my blue devil costume and running alongside the riders up the Col du Tourmalet. Then eating and drinking wonderful food. (Shout-out for the Pyrenees).

Pyrenees are Great, but that hair, oh my!

[OldPhiKap]

Oh, and Happy Bastille Day y'all!

[Steven43]

No mention of 'The Pit,' where the University of New Mexico plays its basketball games? Great venue.

A good part of my childhood was spent living in West Texas. In that part of the country The Pit was a well-known and feared graveyard for visiting teams. What an ominous-sounding name, too.

Incidentally, it was also the setting for the second-half collapse of the great University of Houston team led by Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler against NC State in the National Championship game — still one of my most painful losses.

[Tripping William]

Oh, and Happy Bastille Day y'all!

If you can keep your head about you while all around you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you . . . . .

[mapei]

uh_no: Very impressive! OPK: LOL.

I did go up Mont Ventoux once, but fortunately for me it was in a car.

[AustinDevil]

I think that, to truly appreciate a sports venue, you have to attend the event for which the venue is best known. I would agree that RFK is lousy as a concert venue and mediocre as a soccer venue, but it was very, very special when the Washington NFL team was in its heyday and playing a rival in that stadium. By comparison, I was a season-ticket holder at FedEx Field for a decade, and the difference between the two NFL venues and the game-day experience is incredible. FedEx is awful, even if the team is winning.

I also want to defend Wimbledon from some criticism upthread. If you're a fan of tennis, the sense of history that overwhelms the place, and that is preserved in its well-kept traditions (including no blatant advertising), is unsurpassed in my opinion. Regrettably, I have only been there for one glorious week in the late 1980s, but I saw some great champions compete on Centre Court, including Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and I think even a soon-to-be-retired Chris Evert. And yet some of the real fun is in roaming the outer courts to watch lesser-known players giving it their all in front of smaller crowds in general-admission seating. My goodness, the excitement begins even getting on the tube on the way to the All-England Club.

(As an aside, someone mentioned that tennis isn't popular anymore; I would say that men's tennis remains quite popular internationally and women's tennis is quite popular in the US. Sadly, American fans tend to get involved with an international sport only when their fellow Americans are succeeding at it. What we call soccer is THE game internationally, but at the professional level it remains a cult sport in the US unless the USWNT is playing.)

Speaking of cult sports, allow me to give a shout to cycling, and I'll mention three special venues: 1) First on the list has to be the mighty Alpe d'Huez, where literally more than a hundred thousand people from all over the world gather each time a stage of the Tour de France takes place there. Its history is just as storied as that of Centre Court or Augusta National (I'm not a golf fan at all, but I know others here are); the world's best cyclists have struggled and succeeded and failed here for seven decades, frequently deciding the race on one of its toughest climbs. 2) The finish of each year's Tour on the Champs-Elysees, the world's most famous avenue. Generally the overall winner is decided by then, and the eight laps around the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde are mostly about celebration and pageantry, except for the last, which generally ends in a chaotic sprint. I was there for the last win by the great, classy champion Miguel Indurain, and it was so colorful and exciting. A special treat was watching some of the riders ride back to their hotels and team buses, right by my cafe table, after the race. 3) The cobbles on the route of Paris-Roubaix, the sport's most storied one-day race, perhaps especially in the Arenberg Forest. I haven't been there but it gives me chills every time I watch it on TV.

Finally, my all-time favorite? Definitely Cameron Indoor (edging out Wimbledon). An amazing experience.

One tweak on RFK and soccer: it was a so-so venue for DC United. It was an absolutely exceptional venue for the 1994 World Cup.

[flyingdutchdevil]

One tweak on RFK and soccer: it was a so-so venue for DC United. It was an absolutely exceptional venue for the 1994 World Cup.

Yes. 100% yes. I watched Netherlands-Saudi Arabia and Switzerland-Spain there as a 9-year old. The Netherlands game is still a top 3 live sporting event for me.

[mapei]

One tweak on RFK and soccer: it was a so-so venue for DC United. It was an absolutely exceptional venue for the 1994 World Cup.

Good point. I didn't attend, but I remember the excitement in the city then, especially among international residents.

[peloton]

my only regret the year i followed the tour was that they didn't do the alpe that year. I rode up it anyway. Then rode up the galibier the next morning with a 6 pack for when the race came through. People were offering me a good amount of money for those beers...none was enough given i had just biked up the galibier with a 6 pack. I was drinking every single one of those.

Very cool story indeed and I'm jealous that you've ridden some of the legendary TdF climbs...should've told us that you did it on a singlespeed though . My wife and I have to get back to France someday for another edition of Le Tour and at some point, our first trip to Italy for the Giro (know one or two of you have been based on past threads).