If it's a major pro sports facility, chances are AllNight host Todd Wright has visited it and passed judgment. Here's the 107 he's visited so far.
| The List | |
| AA Arena (Miami) | Parking in the arena garage actually cost more than my lower level seat. |
| AA Center (Dallas) | Love the No. 7 Club, but inability to take drinks to arena seats reeks of lame liquor licenses. |
| Air Canada Centre (Toronto) | Easy place to watch a game is a plus. Easy place to play for Leafs and Raptors opponents is not. |
| Alamodome (San Antonio) | Okay...so was it built for football or to host the Final Four every six years? |
| America West Arena (Phoenix) | Only seen the Coyotes in this place, but it was always meat-locker cold in there |
| Anaheim Stadium | Better today than those Ram days, but there still is no true club level. |
Arco Arena (Sacramento) |
Super-strange location doesn't stop Kings fans from making it the top social event in the NBA. |
| Arrowhead Pond (Anaheim) | So plush that it feels out of place in SoCal suburbia. |
| Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City) | Tremendous atmosphere would not be hurt by much-needed concourse renovations. |
| Astrodome (Houston) | Tanner Boyle was actually running from one of this building's famous rats. |
| Bank One Ballpark (Phoenix) | More ads than the game program, but the pool remains a refreshing idea. |
| Ballpark (Arlington, Texas) | Everything's bigger in Texas and this place fits that description. |
| Blues Center (St. Louis) | Building plays well in the post-season, now about the Blues |
| Bradley Center (Milwaukee) | Just a vintage Sidney Moncrief shot from the still-standing Mecca, the building is big enough to get around but small enough to get loud. |
| Busch Stadium (St. Louis) | Virtually all that can be done here, has been done here for the most loyal fans in baseball. |
| Camden Yards | Proof that in more than just movies, the original is always better than its sequels. |
| Candlestick Park (San Francisco) | The Niners had to be that good for so long to make people ignorant to the rotten surroundings. |
| Coliseum (Nashville) | TiTan fans love this place, but I found nothing unique nor special at all. |
| Coors Field (Denver) | Rocky Mountain oysters are to Coors what the garlic fries are to Pac Bell |
| Comerica Park (Detroit) | If you build it ... well, maybe not. |
| Comiskey Park (Chicago) | The Fleet Center of new ballparks |
| Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis) | The rich tradition of Indiana basketball meets modern amenities, without losing a thing. |
| Dolphins Stadium (Miami) |
Name change came shortly after Sooners
and Ashlee Simpson trashed the place.
|
| Dome at America's Center (St. Louis) - | Playing on the Final Four hardwood might be softer for Rams than that old school Astroturf. |
| ENRON Field (Houston) | Even though it's baseball-
only, sitting behind first base feels strangely
like a seat on the 25-yard-line. The freshly
grilled cheeseburgers on the club level are
outstanding.
|
| ESA (Raleigh) | 2002 Stanley Cup Finals proved its worth as a unique venue built for noise and comfort. |
| Expo Hall (Tampa) | The Lightning played here in the early years and good tickets were extremely cheap. |
| FU Center (Philadelphia) |
Absolutely comical in its size next to the
neighboring Spectrum. Think of the movie
"Twins."
|
| Fenway Park (Boston) | A mid-20th century baseball experience at late 23rd century prices. |
| FleetCenter (Boston) | The new Comiskey of new arenas. |
| Ford Field (Detroit) |
Since its so big and so nice...why didn't they just go a step
further and build it to scale of all
downtown.
|
| Forum (Los Angeles) | Perfect showcase for the "Showtime" Lakers championship era of the 70's. |
| Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta) |
There was a fire in the press box once,
unfortunately it did not spread to burn the entire place
down.
|
| Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) | Better chance of Florida-Georgia game going dry than a Super Bowl encore. |
| Georgia Dome (Atlanta) |
For all the drawbacks of domes, it's really
not that bad.
|
| GM Place (Vancouver, BC) |
Seems outdated already,
so renovations for 2010 Olympics need to do more
than just accomodate a bigger ice surface.
|
| Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati) - | The Reds replaced Riverfront with a very creative design where no part of the park is like another. |
| Great Eastern Forum (Tampa) | XO Club ticket includes all the food, beer and wine you can handle. No additional charge. No kidding. |
| Gund Arena (Cleveland) | Knowing it would cost too much to change the old uniform inspired light blue seats, can we at least get the lettering style on the building updated? |
| Hartford Civic Center | Gives malls across North America a bad name. |
| Heinz Field (Pittsburgh) | As basic as any modern venue, but the fans made it a home-field advantage for the Steelers quickly. |
| Hoosier Dome (Indianapolis) | One of those domes that just don't survive the test of time. |
| Husky Stadium (Seattle) | Setting and atmosphere are excellent but parking is a major pain. |
| Igloo (Pittsburgh) |
The Penguins are much worse for the NHL than
this old building with sweet sightlines.
|
| Invesco Field (Denver) | The top of this place is as crooked and bothersome as Woody Paige. |
| Jacobs Field (Cleveland) | Big fans of the toothbrush lights, Nicole between innings on the scoreboard and the I-shaped soft pretzels. |
| Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego) | It is what it is ... old. |
| Joe Louis Arena (Detroit) |
Best damn NHL experience period. However, Red
Wings Stanley Cups seem to outnumber restrooms.
|
| Kaufman Stadium (Kansas City) |
Most underrated place to watch a game in
North America, and not just because of free Krispy
Kremes.
|
| Kemper Arena (Kansas City) |
The Golden Ox next door is a better stop. No
wonder the Kings moved to Sacramento.
|
| Key Arena (Seattle) |
Sightlines are good. Concourses are bad.
|
| L.A. Sports Arena | Seemingly never cleaned after the '84 Olympics |
| Lambeau Field (Green Bay) |
A college atmosphere without
a campus or a student section. Recent exterior
renovations enhance the entire experience
without sacrificing traditional elements.
|
| Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia |
Club lounges are enormous and so are the
restrooms.
|
| Litter Box (Charlotte) |
Panthers home is conveniently right downtown
but the enclosed bowl was not the way to go.
|
| Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) |
May be the best big-game setting in North
America. The airport is unquestionably the worst.
|
| Madison Square Garden | Makes any event feel prime-time, even when the Knicks and Rangers suck. |
| Maple Leaf Gardens (Toronto) | With a better buisness model, the NHL would never have had to leave buildings as special as this one. |
| MCI Center (Washington, DC) |
Surrounding area
evolving like the Wizards inside . . . so it's time
to lose those Mystics attendance banners hanging
from the rafters.
|
| Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) | Neighborhood ballpark that was an unfortunate victim of circumstance. |
| Metrodome (Minneapolis) | A canker sore of the mouth of a really good city. |
| Miami Arena | What were they thinking? More of a permanent setting for the TV show Cops than the NBA. |
| Mile High Stadium (Denver) | On second thought, can we tear down Invesco and just rebuild this college-like classic? |
| Miller Park (Milwaukee) | Bash Bud if you must, but his building is the best of the retractables. |
| Nashville Arena | Even though designers forgot to build a hockey press level, it's effectively unique with spacious concourses and a perfect location in a social downtown. |
| NO-rena | As in no, it's not much better than the Charlotte Coliseum. |
| Oakland Coliseum |
It may be Halloween
every Raider gameday, but the experience is a good
time had by all.
|
| O-rena (Orlando) | As in no, its not much better than the Charlotte Coliseum. |
| Omni (Atlanta) |
This place was known for the Human Highlight
Reel and bird droppings on seats. Yes, it was indoors.
|
| Orange Bowl (Miami) | A major reason the Canes have won five titles and the Dolphins have won none since they moved out. |
| Pac Bell Park (San Francisco) | The new gold standard but get in line for garlic fries early. |
| Palace of Auburn Hills |
The premiere indoor facility when it originally opened, but that
was when Rodman had no tattoos.
|
| Panther Center (Sunrise, FL) | Food courts in the upper level and plenty of everything. Parking, concourse width, empty seats. |
| Pepsi Center (Denver) |
A loud modern arena like this is about as
rare as a positive Denver hotel experience.
|
| Philips Arena (Atlanta) | With all the suites and club seating on one side, the upper deck benefits from being very low. |
PNC Park (Pittsburgh) |
Downtown buildings and Clemente Bridge provide a gorgeous backdrop on the view from the infield seats. |
| Pontiac Silverdome |
No halftime lines
since 50,000 people went outside to
smoke.
|
| Raymond James Stadium (Tampa) | Open end zone terraces populate with good-looking people forgoing upper level seats. |
| Reliant Stadium (Houston) |
Tremendous when
full,
otherwise it loses its atmosphere.
|
| Reunion Arena (Dallas) |
More like Rundown
Arena.
|
| RFK Stadium (Washington, DC) | Most go someplace
five-star on a honeymoon, but Nats are at this
rundown truck stop and its actually a lot of fun.
|
| Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati) |
First place I ever saw the Big Red Machine...so I was
too
young to know any better about the building.
|
| Rose Bowl |
Sightlines are among the
best
anywhere even though the majority of seats
are in the end zones.
|
| Rose Garden (Portland) | Can't find
anything to
rave about nor anything to complain about.
|
| SBC Center (San Antonio) |
Too remote from the
downtown Riverwalk, but the building itself
scores with intimate seating, Headlines bar
downstairs, Fan Fiesta upstairs and a HemisFair
look to the sidelines.
|
| Safeco Field (Seattle) | Did what Junior, Unit nor A-Rod could ... solidify Seattle as a baseball city. |
| Seahawks Stadium (Seattle) |
A solid NFL-meets-World Cup look.
|
| Shark Tank (San Jose) | Big arena without the cavernous feel but the tap beer was as bitter as an expensive divorce. |
| Shea Stadium (New York) | The subway car
to get you there will probably be nicer.
|
| SkyDome (Toronto) | A cookie cutter with a big-screen television and an umbrella. |
| Slopicana Field (St Petersburg, FL) | From I-275, it looks like it's sinking into the earth. That's just wishful thinking. |
| Soldier Field (Chicago) | One of the toughest to get in and out of in North America. |
| Spectrum (Philadelphia) |
Lowest upper
deck
of its era and
Bullies is still a good stop on gameday.
|
| Staples Center (Los Angeles) | Just ask Springsteen, it's just too damn big. |
| Summit (Houston) | No wonder the champion Rockets of the mid 90's didn't draw. |
| Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, Ariz.) | Seriously, they played Super Bowl XXX here? As bad a site as Neil O'Donnell's picks. |
| Tampa Stadium | The big sombrero wasn't so bad and the beers were sold in milk cartons. |
| Target Center (Minneapolis) | Strong downtown location, vast food selection, and trough urination. |
| Texas Stadium | The hole in the roof is just part of the reason this venue should never be replaced. |
| Tiger Stadium (Detroit) | Right-field
overhang seats
were
some of the best anywhere in sports.
|
| Toyota Center (Houston) | Yao-sized
lowel
level
inside with street-side accessibility outside.
|
| Turner Field (Atlanta) | Lousy location doesn't do post-Olympic renovations their due. |
| United Center (Chicago) | The house that Michael built is big, comfortable and ages much better than most venues built around the same time. |
| Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia) |
Players
don't miss it, but for some odd reason I do.
|
| Wrigley Field | Statue of Harry Caray on Addison looks like something out of Tales From the Darkside. Other than that, it's still the best day-game experience in all of baseball. |
| Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul, MN) |
Seems
too
cavernous
for
its throwback WHA city setting.
|
| Yankee Stadium | A true classic in every sense of the word. |
