Best/Worst Stadiums you've visited (stories appreciated)

I like vintage ballparks and hate Sparty.

Worst for me was Philadelphia Veterans Stadium.  I went to a baseball game there, saw Curt Schilling pitch, and mostly marveled at how awful the stadium was.  I'm not from Philly, so I thought the rumours of how sterile and run-down the stadium were hyperbole.  Nope, they were understated.  56K seats for baseball, and few if any seemed like they'd be good.

Bad venue!  BAD Venue!!

Best would be a tie.  Yost was a fantastic venue when i was in school (b/f the recent renovation).  Felt like I was on top of the ice, and the best energy I've felt at sporting events.  Also, Ned Skeldon Stadium - home to the Toledo Mud Hens until 2001 - was just fantastic.  You felt like you were going back in time, and there were no sideshows to speak of.  Just great baseball, with players on the fringe of making it to The Show.  Best baseball experience I've had.

Spartan Stadium. I had wet paper towels thrown at me in the bathroom. I can only hope they were wet because of water and not urine. I was also asked by a spartan fan which Michigan campus I was a student at.... I'm not a Michigan student or alum. I was then told that my opinions and comments don't count because I wasn't a student/ alum. The infamous Walmart Wolverine blast.

Best: Camp Randall, Wrigley Field, and Petco Park

Other than Michigan, Wisconsin has been my favorite college gameday experience so far.  I have been there twice, once drunk and once sober, and enjoyed myself both times.  Petco Park is on this list simply because it is a nice stadium in a city with nice weather.  I went to a Padres game two days after breaking my elbow on vacation (trying to jump over a tennis net and failed miserably) and still managed to have a great time.  Went to Wrigley with my dad when I was younger and watched Sammy Sosa hit two HR's.

Worst: The Metrodome and The Oakland A's Stadium 

Had Vikings season tickets with my dad and that place is just a dump.  Also, there was always  just the wrong combination of farm boys and rich kids at the games that led to alot of fights in our section.  It was fun at first, but not when you are interupted every game.

The Oakland A's stadium sucked when I went.  The place was empty, I got awful sunburn and the stadium was far from nice.

Welsh-Ryan Arena (Northwestern) might be the most jaw-dropping embarassment of an arena in D1 athletics.  Bar none.

I know a few high schools with better facilities....

Wrigley field blows. However it was great watching the tigers destroy them there last year.

Worst: Crisler pre renovation

Best: Crisler after renovation

Tropicana Field and the Rogers Centre are two of the worst baseball stadiums. They both are nothing but plastic. Also, walking around the concourse at "The Trop" made me feel like I was in a comic book.

University of Washington Husky Stadium. Opinion is probably skewed by time, but when they were a powerhouse it an unbelievably cool atmosphere on gameday.  Beautiful campus, strong, strong tailgate effort (I mean where else could you sample fresh sushi, salmon and shellfish, in the company of countless gorgeous Amerasian women, with giant volcanos looming in the distance?). 

My experience there was a life changer.  I always represented Michigan, and NEVER had an impolite comment. It was usually  something like "great school, my dad went there", or "my second favorite school anywhere".

In addition to dozens of other great games, I saw U Dub absolutely TRUCK Ohio State - and it was one of the best days of my life. 

Just driving up to the stadium you can tell it is a nightmare. You can't miss the misshapen thing when you are coming from Tampa into St. Pete. I always tell my friends who havent visited it is like watching a baseball game in a Sam's Club. If you sit on the first or third base line you have to shift your body towards home plate and if you don't your neck will hurt for a week. I was at a game were a player hit a pop fly and it hit a steel beam and fell back into play.

Personally, I like Turner Field in Atlanta. Michigan Stadium and seeing the Va.Tech vs Michigan Sugar Bowl in the dome was cool as well.



Worst so far: Vanderbilt Stadium is a bit of an embarrassment for a SEC stadium. Purdue isn't great either, but at least 25,000 Michigan fans make the trip.

I'm not going to give into my bias and say the Big House, even though I should. Outside of Michigan, best stadium experience is either been Wrigley or AT&T Park in San Fran (watching a game on the Bay is awesome). Both are just amazing ballparks. Only pro football stadiums I've been to are Raymond James (shitty acoustics and even shittier video boards) and MetLife (cool but nothing special to me). Busch Stadium in St. Louis is pretty great, too, with downtown and the Arch in the backdrop.



Worst experiences? As far as football goes, Ryan Field at Northwestern. Not that Northwestern fans are assholes, but its just a terrible place to watch a college football game. Its a glorified high school field at best, and I don't really feel like I'm getting the full college football experience. Basketball without question is Value City Arena (OSU). Sat in the student section this year during the Michigan game with all my gear on. I won't do that again. I think the only time I wasn't getting heckled was during the national anthem.

I went to see Dontrelle Willis pitch while I was stationed in Florida. He pitched 8 and 1/3 innings of shutout ball with an 8 run lead. Then the bullpen came in and lost the game 9 to 8. The venue sucked, it was empty, and the fans were terrible.

Baseball Best: AT&T Park is an awesome modern park. It also helped that Matt Cain threw a perfect no hitter last time I was there.

Baseball Worst: Metrodome, what were they thinking with right field. I was a teenager and could tell the place sucked.

Best:

• PNC Park- the most ideal setting for a baseball game to be played,  gorgeous sightlines, beautiful backdrop of the Alleghaeny, plus it has Primanti Bros as a vendor.
   
• Kauffman Stadium- The renovation of Kauffman has done wonders for the park, I was there last year to watch the Tigers get swept all 3 games by the likes of Guthrie, Chen, and Mendoza, but it's certainly a great place to spend a few hours with friends. Who doesn't like fountains anyhow?
   
• Camden Yards- The first of the new breed of stadiums in baseball and it stands out (or stands in if you prefer launching pads.) The walk to the ballpark is certainly something to behold as it sits right next to the B&O Warehouse.
   

Worst: 

• Fenway Park- Now before people jump all over me on this I want to say this is more against the way the field is set up rather than the stadium and the location. I dislike the Green Monster and the Pesky Pole with a monumental passion. These dimensions scream more of a chapter in "Alice in Wonderland" rather than actual dimensions of a baseball stadium, seriously 302 down the right field line and then rounding out like a carousel as you get farther from the pole? And of course the monster turns doubles into singles and if you hit the scoreboard in one of the nooks and crannies you can even leg out a triple of off an easy fly ball in any other park. It's kitschy and stupid.
   
• Beaver Stadium - Happy Valley sucks, prepare to get verbally assaulted like you've never been before. 

at Illinois is the worst experience for me and their fans had much to do with it.  Just aweful fans, slack jawed, not very knowledgeable about football.

Pre-renovation but the whole trip sucked and I will probably never return to that place.

Worst Experience ever ! Believe it or not the IU fans were bad, really bad. Old lady's cursing at me, old men talking all sorts of smack, it was like I was in the twilight zone. After we won the game in the final moments it was even worse, me and the group of 5 I was with were just walking back to our car minding our own, discussing how bad our defense was and a group of about 8 or so IU fans pretty much jumped us, spit in my buddy's wife's face and pretty much attacked her while cursing us!! Lets just say it ended ugly for them, but this is the last thing I would ever want at a game, I had never felt more disrespected and shocked at another teams fan-base , it was unreal ! I am the most non-violent dude you could meet and the last thing you want while at an opponents stadium is to be jumped. They got what was coming to them, that day changed my view on IU fans forever and I don't think it will ever change.

Spartan stadium was pretty turrible. People were threatening to kick my ass after the choke job/Brady Quinn show in 06 while walking out with recruits. Bunch of drunken morans. I regret getting a picture with Jason Richardson too.

Never had a bad seat.  I once sat two rows from the top for a '92 game against the Blue Jays and I could see everything without ever losing sight of the play.

Worst: Houston Astrodome.  Great for little leaguers to run around on the field and upstage the major leaguers.  Terrible for actually watching a game, unless you like the stale environment of baseball played inside a storage facility.

When I was living in NYC in 2007, I attended Army-Tulane at Michie Stadium in West Point.  It was a Michigan bye week, and having nothing better to do my buddy (Notre Dame Naval ROTC grad) and I wandered up the Hudson River for the game.

Visiting the USMA campus on gameday is one of the few times you can walk the campus unescorted, as long as you stay out of the posted off-limits areas. The "post" - don't call it a campus to a Cadet - is fantastically beautiful on an autumn afternoon:

We sadly missed the game day Cadet Review (hungover) , but apparently its fantastic: 

Great tailgating, we were invited to more tents than I can remember. Great people, nearly all USMA alumni, their families, and proud parents.  20 minutes before kickoff the Cadet Regiment marches on the field - 1000 Cadets, it takes more than 5 minutes. Then the Army Band play the National Anthem. Spine tingling. 

Michie Stadium itself is one of the most dramatic places to watch a game, especially during the autumn colors:

It's intimate and fun. The level of play is (obviously) lower than you find at Michgan Stadium, but the fact that every player on the field was (is) headed to war on graduation, and the passion that the Cadets had made it one of the greatest sporting events I have attended. Oh, and it was an amazing game - Army scored on a last second, deflected, desperation touchdown throw to tie the game then won on a field goal in OT.

Highly recommended, a close second game-day experience to Ann Arbor.

When I was 14 in 1994, my good friend Mark, who is a Buckeye fan from a Buckeye family, invited me to see the Buckeyes mutilate Houston.  My first trip to the Horseshoe.  I wore a white shirt and khakis.  Black socks and Michigan boxers.  My view was partially blocked by a pillar.  There were advertisements everywhere.  The people were rude and vulgar.  They were still taunting the Houston team during the 4th quarter, when the third string was in.  We had Donato's pizza for dinner after the game.  Not interested in going back to Columbus for a football game.  Would not take my wife and four kids.  Would even pick Camp Randall over the Horseshoe if forced.

...that I really dislike because I find them all to be interesting in some way or another.

As for favorites, yeah, the obvious ones like Tiger Stadium but I'll also add the Pontiac Silverdome as perhaps my favorite underrated stadium.  During the heyday of the Barry Sanders era, it was pretty fun and I've never heard any place louder than when that old dome was rocking.

I am just an overall fan of the stadium experience, but my favorites include:

1.  The Big House (No other stadium can just match up to the overall experience)

2.  Dean Smith Center (Easily one of the best arenas/domes in the nation)

3.  Great American Ballpark (Saw the Tigers play there last year, and the experience was phenomenal... Fans were very nice as well)

Best can range from the Big House and Comerica (obviously) and my alma mater (Falcon Stadium, AFA) but I really do love Wrigley for the history of it.  Even the old Tiger Stadium was classic in that respect.

Worst places all deal with the fans, such as Fenway, even though it's considered a classic.  But THE WORST was also in Boston...went to see UM play Boston College in the early 90s.  I had full beer cans thrown at me from behind in the stands.  Worst fans anywhere.  

Best: Michigan Stadium (let me count the ways). My homerism notwithstanding, seeing so many people in one place is a shock to the senses. I love the simplicity of the design.



Worst: Superdome. My only visit was the 2012 Sugar Bowl. While we all loved the outcome, I was not impressed with the venue. Many of the seats far from the field, poor lighting. Artificial atmosphere for college football.

The Best ... Obviously.

The Worst ... I have to go with Wrigley Field

/ducks

I think the game experience at Wrigley as well as the surrounding neighborhood are some of the best anywhere, but the physical building is pretty thread bare. Even Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, Tiger Stadium and Comiskey Park were replaced. Time for a new ballpark. 

The Van Andel arena in Grand Rapids is a nice small arena. It has a nice number of bars surrounding the area and it brings in some decent concerts.

We road tripped to the game last year and I was the odd man out for our groups sweetheart ticket hook up. Having no fear I purchased a single endzone seat about 50 rows up and sat in a sea of red. But unlike our classless neighbors to the southeast, I was surrounded by enthusiastic, knowledgeable football junkies. It was a great experience where I must have shaken hands with 200 complete strangers. Even as the game got ugly post Denard, the Husker fans stayed classy and friendly. I think I got asked 25 times..."did you really drive this far to come to a football game?"

I would recommend the trip to all road warriors, extra caffiene drinks required for driving through Iowa...yawn. The Nebraska Masonic Grand Lodge is near the stadium as well for my fellow Mason Wolverines.

I think I am a bit against the grain, here.

First, I really like going to games at MSU.  Their stadium is just okay, and yes, their fans can be real jerks (in 1993, I went to see UM-MSU there and as we were leaving the student section at the end of the game several full-on punches were thrown at us, to which I was like, "dude, you won?  Why you mad?").  But most are okay, and overall I think they have the best tailgating scene of anwyere I've been.

Second, Northwestern is probably my favorite place to see Michigan play (not counting A2).  It's a virtual home game, you can take the El to-and-from, and after the game you can party in Chicago.  Yeah, the stadium is rinky-dink, but I don't mind that so long as I have a good view of the game--which I always have.

I also like Bloomington.  The last time I went to a game there, we paid $5 for tickets in the parking lot and wound up sitting basically around row 20 on the 35 yard-line.  And Bloomington is an attractive college town with lots of fun stuff to do.

...the old King Dome in Seattle. Saw the Mariners in front of several thousand or so. The place had a cement roof. As dreary as you can imagine. Like watching a game inside a crypt.

Best: Michigan Stadium, Cowboys Stadium
Worst: Purdue, Lucas Oil Stadium( only because the one game I went to, with company tickets, was in nose bleeds and I watched the game on a TV)

Best: Nationals Park in DC is dynamite. Good sight lines and very well done.



Worst: Can't really say. I've never been to a truly awful venue, but I'm sure that will change when I finally make the trip to Columbus.

Best: Michigan Stadium. I was a student from 1995- 1999, and memories of those games are some of my most cherished. Next I would have to say AT&T Park- great sightlines, the fans enjoy the game, and the setting is beautiful.

Worst:  RFK in DC. I went to see a Nationals game there before they left for their current stadium. We had cheapo upper deck seats. The game was delayed by rain, during which I ran to the men's room. The upper deck men's room was flood due to rain. It was disgusting.

It was built for boxing, so no matter where you were you had a great view of mid court.  We were in a loge-type section with the deck above us hanging over so close that every shot at the other end of the arena disappeared from view.  To check out a score board you bend down below your knees to see, which made verything upside down.

I went to the 2011 game at msu. This is the year before they got new scoreboards, so they only had one actual replay screen which was ridiculously small. The outside of the stadium reminds you of a parking garage with all the concrete, and the visitor's side actually has a gas station attached to it. The inside is just generic. Everything is gray. The wall around the field, the rim around the top of the stadium, the seats, all gray. At least the new press box looks pretty good. 

I will admit it got pretty loud as it should for their biggest game of the year, but the atmosphere was like minor league baseball. They even had the which helmet is the ball under game on the scoreboard. Lame. 

Spartan stadium, whatever miami's stadium is called proplayer or land shark or whatever, the silverdome for a pistons game!, jou Louis from the outside



Best: not sure if best, but most unique was seeing the expos at estade olympique in like 2002 or something on Tim Raines night. Such a weird fun night in a wierd fun city. And I will admit that ND stadium delivered.

Best stadium: Michigan stadium by far but the rose bowl is like no other went there in 04, 05, 07. Games weren't all great but the walk to the stadium the seventy and the atmosphere is amazin.

Worst stadium: Ryan field in Chicago was more like a home game for Michigan lol also the sugar bowl in 2012. Great game but terrible seat configuration could barely see a thing and we were at the 20 yard line

I have a feeling we will all have a new addition to the worst list come September- the Rent in East Hartford

Best- The Rose Bowl. Not sure how this wasn't mentioned. Great stadium, great games, and maybe the most beautiful venue to play football. Honorable mention: Notre Dame Stadium, because it was based on Michigan Stadium.

Worst- The environment at Ohio State is awful, and the stadium looks like a prison, but it's still special to play there. MSU is a pro stadium on a college campus. Indiana is a high school stadium on a college campus. The Cap 1 bowl is pretty rundown inside and the neighborhood. But the worst was probably the Alamo Bowl. Great city, but horrible stadium; like playing in an arena league field.

FedEx is an abomination. There are more accurate words but aren't appropriate for this (or any) forum.

Horrible location. Erector Set construction. Generally obnoxious and drunk fans.

Best Stadium is Comerica, Michigan Stadium, Tiger Stadium, and ACC in Toronto

Worst are Rogers Centre (Skydome), Olympic Stadium, McMahon Stadium(Calgary Stampeders home)

Best (Homer Edition):

Wrigley Field - As an 8 years die hard, it was the best game I have ever been at. As a young 20something now, it is enjoyable for other reasons

The Big House - dah

Ford Field - ya the team sucks, but I love the place and for that 2011 run, it was rocking 

Best (Non-Homer)

Great American Ballpark in Cincy - very cool and right on the river and replaced the dump before it

The Pit (New Mexico basketball) - The only sport that school cares about is basketball. The fans are a bit rough but I liked that and it is LOUD.

Miller Park - I haven't been since '04 but I really liked it as a young teen

Worst

That God awful pace in Fort Wayne where we had to watch the biggest hockey screw job ever (spring 2010)

Penn State - People talk up Happy Valley but i hated it and the city for that matter. The game (2010) pry had something to do with it, but it felt like a cheap pro stadium and the sight lines sucked

Metrodome (for baseball) - it was a bad football stadium that was even worse for baseball

It is nothing in comparison to Michigan or any of the other great college stadiums out there but for a MAC school I really enjoyed The Doyt. I did go to BGSU so I am bias but I believe it is the smallest stadium in the MAC and it provides a very intimate feeling for college football. I think I heard they are doing some renovations to the offices and training center so I hope they don't distrust the stadium itself.



When the Toledo-BG game was played the day after Thanksgiving the stadium would be packed and everyone would be freezing their asses off but those games were fun. Also enjoyed the middle if the week MAC game. Gave us something to do during the week other than study. Miami in 2006 is memorable just because it was a mud pit, last year they had grass.

My three favorites are:

Tenessee - Neyland Stadium

Tailgating is the SEC is awesome. Was there for a Florida-UT game and some of the tailgaters were grilling aligator (kinda rangy and tough) Neyland is a great stadium in the heart of Campus and is a big stadium. The Pride of the Southland Band playing Rockey Top was just terrific.
 

Oregon - Autzen Stadium

Lloyd Carr called it the loudest stadium he ever coached in, and the announcer proclaims in never rains in Autzen, but it sure did drizzle when I was there for the Cal game a few years ago. Only 60k fans but they were intense and it was a Thursday night game. Good tailgating outside the stadium, but really the excitement of games there is nearly impossible to match.

Alabama - Bryant Denny Stadium

I was there for the Iron Bowl, so it may have been crazier than normal, but damn those are some passionate fans. It's amazing how much people (especially the girls) get dressed up for the games. The student section is open seating though, so we had to get there 3 hours before the game, but got great seats. But that does kinda kill your buzz before kick-off so we snuck in about 6 single shots of Jim Beam each. The entire stadium stood for nearly the whole game. But the one weird thing about Bryant-Denny is that they had a seperate area of the student section reserved for the fraternaties and sororities.

I'm going to go with Lambeau Field as my bestie. Can't beat the atmosphere as far as NFL stadiums go. Awesome tailgating, although I'm not a huge fan of the current seating expansion they're putting in. (Too Beaver Stadium-ish for my tastes).

Unfortunately, Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti is probably my worstie. Not much personality to it. 
 

Best - Obviously the Big House...no need to explain why.

Worst - Ryan Field (Northwestern) Could not hear the PA guy or the ref the whole game so we never knew what penalties were called or anything. Couldn't see the screen from where we were sitting (and they weren't bad seats). Had to go on a LOOOONGGG walk just for the bathroom/concessions. Just a terrible experience.

Worst: Spartan Stadium. Fandom aside, it's seriously a dive. Then you fill it with 70,000 a-holes (or 50,000 for the other half of the season) and it's an awful place to be

Worst: Georgia Dome. In many ways it is like the Sliverdome, but the Silverdome actually had good sightlines and was a fun venue. The Georgia Dome is kind of a generic dome and the gameday atmosphere is pretty much non-existent.

Joe Louis Arena. For all the history and awesomeness that is JLA, it has some bad seats and is just old. Some of the things like the boards and the stairs up to the entrance are iconic to the point where I wouldn't mind them renovating it for a few years and having the Wings play at the Palace, or something.

Best: Mile High/Sports Authority Field. Denver has some awesome sports fans and the stadium (while lacking good scoreboards) is filled with nice, loud, and funny people that seem to know their football. At halftime there is a rush to the concourses where they openly pass joints around and the beer and food is not terribly expensive.

Michigan Stadium. Biased, yes, but there is just so much history and the stadium looks and feels amazing. There is something missing from some places like Tiger Field at LSU and DKR in Austin and Michigan Stadium has it.

Is the biggest shit-hole in the entire NHL. Via my travels with work I have been to about 3/4 of NHL venues and JLA is by FAR the worst I have been to....embarrassing for place called hockeytown.

For football it would have to be spartan stadium...do I need to list the reasons?

Best:

Michigan stadium (of course). Love my club seats and the ammenities.
Fenway Park - saw many a game from the center field bleachers and those were great seats
Wrigley Field - probably because it reminds me of Fenway.
Arrowhead Stadium - it's a bit dated, but it was totally built for football. Great sight lines and you feel close to field.
And...a tip of the cap to Comerica Park. Saw a game there last year and really liked it.

Worst:
Memorial Stadium in Cham-bana. What an ugly POS with ugly fans too.
Ryan Field - yes, both college teams in Illinois play in shitty stadiums. I prefer the visitor side to the home side. Lots of crap to interfere with the sight lines and you are so far away from their mini Jumbo-tron it's a micro-tron. I was there for the Justin Fargas monsoon game and you needed hip waders to get to the bathrooms and concessions under the stands.
Yankee Stadium...the previous one. Similar to the old Tiger Stadium with even less charm. They might have been better off with an upper deck all the way around the field. The monuments weren't even easy to see.
Comiskey Park - upper deck was a joke and I think they had all of 2 toilets for everyone up there.
Tiger Stadium - for football. Most of you never had the chance to see the Lions play the Rams on Thanksgiving day when Roman Gabriel was the Rams QB and Alex Karras chased his ass around the field. I assume there were a few decent seats for football, but I never got near any of them. Football was not made to be played in baseball stadiums. It should be forbidden by law.

I will exclude from the "worst" list venues being used for a sport it wasn't designed for (e.g., I won't list Ford Field as the worst hockey stadium I have been to, even though it is the worst place I have ever seen a hockey game.

Baseball:  Best--Wrigley Field.  My first game there was in 1978, before they were trendy.  Like watching a major league game at Fisher Stadium.  I have been back several times recently, and unfortunately the team's popularity has filled the stadium with hipsters and d-bags (also see Fenway Park).  Still a great stadium, though.  Worst--Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.  Seriously, what were they thinking?  Was there some committee telling the architects, "well, that design is ok, but could you move the seats further from the field?  And make it more saucer-shaped.  Everybody knows all baseball stadiums will be saucer-shaped in the future."

Football:  Best--Michigan Stadium, obviously.  Close runner up:  The Rose Bowl.  Not because it's a great place to see a game (it isn't), but because of the atmosphere.  It's like stepping back in time to the '40s or '50s, when college football was the only sport they cared about in California and before half the LA basin turned into a parking lot.  The sun setting during the fourth quarter of a Rose Bowl and the Pasadena sky turning from blue to orange to black is quite possibly the best thing in sports.  If only you could see the game from the end zones.  Second runner up:  Ford Field.  Worst--The Superdome.  That place is just sad.  See Riverfront Stadium above.  The 1970s weren't exactly the proudest moment in stadium design.

Basketball:  Best--The Crisler Center.  Worst--Crisler Arena.  Yes, I'm aware that is the same venue.

Hockey:  Best--Xcel Energy Center, St Paul.  Wonderfully designed, huge concourses, great atmosphere for a college hockey game.  Close runner up:  Tampa Bay Times Forum, believe it or not.  Worst--Joe Louis Arena, and it's not even close.  It's the Comiskey Park of hockey arenas--built just a few years too early, before they figured out how to build them right.

EDIT:  I just noticed that all 4 of my "worst" venues were finished in the time period 1967-1979.  I'm certainly glad we put that trend behind us, and we are back to building arenas and stadia with the fan in mind.

Football best:

1) Michigan

2) Notre Dame - nice stadium and the fans were OK.

3) South Carolina - Williams Brice Stadium is OK, the fans were nice and M won 34-3.

Football worst:

1) Orange Bowl - Smelly, sticky and hot.

2) Landshark/Joe Robbie/Your Name Here Stadium - Sterile, with obnoxious fans

3) EMU - Plenty of good seats available.

Baseball best - Tiger Stadium

Worst - Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Almost got Johnny Bench's autograph, though.

Hockey best - Olympia. Was 12 years old in the first row behind the Flyers bench.

Worst - Munn. Full of Spartans.

Basketball best - The new Crisler.

Worst - The Superdome, three rows from the top.

Football:  Big House of course

Baseball:

Home of the Giants

I haven't attended too many sporting events at different stadiums, but...

BEST

1. Wrigley Field - I was there for the first ever night game (even tho I was younger) and still remember the buzz when the lights came on and the sky went black and it was just this scene out of time. Been a bunch of times and even though the stadium foundation is shit, the overall feel of the place can't be duplicated.

2. Michigan Stadium - Went for the first time a couple of years ago and I've never had chills like I had walking down the train tracks towards the tailgate and then going into the stadium and seeing this awesome mass of people all waiting for the same thing.

3. Madison Square Garden - Great place to see a hockey/basketball game and the way it just opens up into the middle of New York is fantastic. The amenities aren't there, but otherwise it doesn't feel like a crumbling structure.

HONORABLE MENTION: Comcast Center at University of Maryland. Beautiful facility for college basketball. Petco Park. Great location, nice stadium. Nobody gives a crap about the team though.

WORST

1. Qualcomm Stadium - Old, decrepit, there's nothing around there within walking distance and it's impossible to get to. The sight lines are awful if you aren't at field level and the extras simply don't exist. Just awful.

2. FedEx Field - If you are in the second or third level be prepared to duck your head to see anything like you're looking under a car for spare change or something. Why they built it all the way out in the burbs is beyond me, but I want my stadiums to be SOMEWHERE, if that makes sense. Considering they ditched RFK (another dump) for this place is at best, a mild upgrade.

3. The Meadowlands - Ugh. New Jersey. Haven't been there since the renovation, but it was always cramped and drafty and there was nowhere to use the bathroom or get a beer. I only went twice, and both times I had zero fun.

Would love to check out AT&T Park, PNC Park, some of the SEC stadiums, and

Baseball - nothing compares to Fenway it's like turning back the clock. Wrigley is a good pregame experience but once the game starts the fans and park are shitty. Wrigley would be the same if a A team played there.

Football - Michigan stadium is like nothing else on a Saturday. Ohio stadium has blocked views, seating is confusing with too many small hallways and everyone who has been there can tell you about the fans although they were calmer than expected. Head down and do not respond to taunting is the best idea.

I will say I have been to over 20 baseball parks and ones I liked are Tiger, old San Fran, Dodger Stadium and the best new park is Comerica. I am a Reds fan and Comerica > GABP

Best

• Michigan/Detroit Bias - Michigan, Olympia, Tiger; not to be cliche, but really, how do you not put these iconic venues at the top of your list? 
• Rose Bowl - saw a USC/UCLA game and a couple of UM Rose Bowls here. Classic football stadium design in a beautiful CA setting with the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. 
• Camp Randall - best College Football pre-game atmosphere ever (sorry UM, but gotta be honest here).
• Camden Yards - first of the new "retro parks", they got it right the first time and provided the gold standard for all ensuing new baseball stadiums.
• Superdome - OK, it's a dome, but great NOLA vibes, music, food and drink.  They really know how to throw a party, which more than compensates for the dome stigma.

Worst

• Kingdome/Metrodome - only saw baseball games at both muti-purpose monstrosities.  Both stadiums were grey, depressing, lifeless, soul-sucking.  Worst-ever venues for baseball.
• Silverdome - in the middle of God-Fersaken Pontiac MI.  Watched Bengals v 49ers in the XXII Super Bowl along with several Lions games and misc Stadium Concerts.  After 20+ years of vacancy, the CIty of Pontiac eventually sold the property to a Candian investor for $583K?!?
• Riverfront/Veterans - two God-Awful early 70s Multi-Purpose Stadiums (Pittsburgh and St Louis also come to mind) void of any personality, local character, unique  features or grass.
• RFK - saw a couple Redskins games and Grateful Dead shows too numerous to mention/remember.  Another early 70s multi-purpose stadium, conveniently located off the Metro but in a bad DC neighborhood.  The only improvement over Riverfront/Veterans was their natural grass field.

Worst: The superdome is absolutely horrible, also MSU

where they hold the Capitol One and former Citrus Bowl. A true pit.

Best - The Rose Bowl. Yet another mini version of Michigan Stadium. The hills of Pasadena in the background make a great view. 

Yost Ice Arena - I have gone to a few michigan away hockey games and no other ice arena compares to Yost (pre-renovations). The fans were on top on the ice, packed in, and crazy. The renovations have changed things a bit and the Children of Yost are still getting used to the new setup. I think by the end of the season the fans started to regain their mojo. 

Williams-Bryce Stadium (Columbia, South Carolina) - There is something special about southern football. The atmosphere is great with southern BBQ, the CockaBoose, the gamecocks and Cocky coming out to the band playing 2001. 

Lousiana Superdome - The atmosphere around the Super Dome makes for a great atmosphere. I had the time of my life "tailgating" on Bourbon Street before the Sugar Bowl. I was in the executive 2nd deck for the game around the 30 yard line and had a great view. The Super Dome can get loud as hell when the fans go crazy. 

Camp Randall - Went for the Wisconsin/Michigan outdoor hockey game. Had a great time pre-gaming in Madison. Even a half-full stadium got rocking for the "4th period" with jump around. I actually got hasseled more for being a Wings fan than Michigan (got a lot of F the Red Wings chants even though I was wearing a Michigan hockey sweater). 

Worst 

Raymond James Stadium - By far the worst stadium I have been visited. The sightlines are terrible. The jumbotron malfunctions and only shows the top of the camera view. There is no atmosphere around the stadium. 

Joe Louis Arena - I hate to say it as a die hard Wings fan, but they deserve much better. The Joe is a complete dump. It looks way too industrial inside and outside. However, the Joe gets bonus points for serving very large Molson Triple XXX. I cannot wait until the Joe is built near Tiger Stadium. One of my favorite hockey memories was celebrating with other Wings fans at Joe Vision and in Joe parking garage after the Wings won the cup against the Pens. 

Memorial Stadium (Champaign, Ill) - Good lord that stadium is depressing. Went my senior at Purdue. Illinois was doing decent that season. However, only about 1000 students showed. Man their students sucked. F Purdue was their most creative cheer and student t shirt. 

Best: Safeco Field - I like to arrive early to games to take in batting practice, when I do I try to find a location with bad sightlines/ bad experience in general.  I have not found that yet after numerous attempts.  I wish they could have included more of the skyline into the stadium but overall I give it an A.

Memorial Stadium (Portland, Or.) The Portland Winterhawks of the WHL play most of their games here.  The place is old and terrible in most every way, but the fans and atmosphere make it a great place to watch hockey.

Big House

Worst: Oakland Whatever It's Being Called This Year Stadium.  Went in late July on a hot day and it was freezing and windy beyond belief.  Fans were great but that place needs to be demolished.

Civic Stadium (Eugene, Or.) I played a game here in high school and while it was cool to play in a minor league stadium the place is terrible.  The club house/locker room lights and power were not working and there was only cold water for showers.  It felt like a cave.

On the good side, Camden Yards is all it's cracked up to be.  Loved that place.

I mentioned it above, but IU's grass tailgating lots are excellent.  The stadium is OK, nice, not great, but the tailgating was better, I think, than just in a parking lot, and one thing it's definitely got on the Big House is that you can get in and out in less than 45 minutes each way.

Probably my least favorite stadium was the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.  There aren't concourses per se.  The "upper deck" is a totally separate structure - just a huge concrete skeleton built over and around the lower bowl - and the whole thing is concrete, concrete, concrete.  The concourse, such as it is, is just the pavement outside the stadium ringed by a chain link fence.  Bathrooms are basically cement-block sheds.  The place where we sat used to be bleachers, but they had decided to staple seat bottoms to them.  Which I suppose is nice if the game is a sellout, but it really limits your moving-around options - you can't scoot a couple inches to the right or left because then your butt is between seats.  Place is a dump.

Worst: the old Memorial Stadium in Cleveland

O"Harra Stadium, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD.

How do you top a triple-tiered, drive-in football stadium?

Never have to choose between continuing the tailgate party or being late for kickoff!

!

Obvious faves are obvious: Yost & the Big House

the old Chicago Stadium, torn down in 1993. It had insane acoustics and was ear-splittlingly loud. When I was in the 5th grade, when the bulls were heading towards the title and the blackhawks to a cup appearance vs Pittsburgh, my dad took me to two games there in one weekend, a Bulls one on Saturday and the Hawks on Sunday. My ears were still ringing on Wednesday. I miss that place, it was so good.

Welsh-Ryan in Evanston sucks for college hoops. I love Wrigley, the tradition, the ivy, etc, but there are parts of that place that smell like piss.

Seen baseball, football and basketball there and it sucked for all three.

Many years ago, I walked inside the Kingdome on a beautiful Seattle summer evening, blue sky, sunshine.  Found nothing but gray walls made of poured concrete.  Plus, the field was surrounded by a wall about 8 feet high of--what else--poured concrete.  And of course the game was played on the bad astroturf of the 80's. It was the single most depressing venue for watching a baseball game I have ever seen. 

Some nice ones:  Beaver Stadium, ND Stadium, Ohio Stadium, Xcel Energy Center, United Center (fans suck), Nationwide Arena  

Not so nice: Ross-Ade, Ryan Field, Munn Ice Arena 

I can take or leave Wrigley.  The actual watchability of the game suffers without replay, but it is a fun place to be for a game (I was there but on a rooftop last night in the fog-out).  

Same thing goes for the Joe.  We have a lot of tradition there, but it is just time to get a new rink.  

Worst - Baseball in the old Seattle Kingdome.   Only went to catch Willie Horton as DH.

Best - Rose Bowl for 1979 Phantom Touchdown game.

I haven't traveled to a lot of stadiums/arenas so I can't comment on much but I have been to MSG. Not a whole lot to complain about except for the fact that you have to walk a mile and a half to get to your seats. Or at least it seemed that way. East side, tower 5, section 240, row 30, seat 12.

Best - ( Non Michigan Stadiums) Great American Ballpark in Arlington- beautiful stadium,nice fans.

Indiana - Memorial Stadium - great tailgate, nice fans, Bloomington has nice bars also, but the stadium was nice. I'd go back again.

Wrigley - I love the old school feel to the park, if they get the renovations done right, it will be a gem again.

St. Paul - The Hockey Arena is beautiful, have been their twice, once for the national title game game in hockey and once for a wings/wild game. Beautiful arena, heck they even give you seats for standing room. And not far froma  cool italian place to eat at also.

Worst - Camp Randall - The fans are assholes, no parking anywhere, and the fans are assholes. It's just a big block of trash !

Ryan Field - What a dump, they ran out of Coke at halftime, the Video Boards don't work, the PA system sucks.Hell they don't even have lights connected to that dump, they gotta bring them in from the outside portable.

Klotsche Center - UW-Milwaukee - The Panthers moved from US Cellular Arena back to campus for the 12-13 season. This place makes Welsh-Ryan look like the United Center.

Miller Park - Great tailgate atmosphere. thats about it. Brewers fans are assholes, but not as big of ones as White sox fans are. The stadium is as cookie cutter as it gets inside. It has no real baseball feel inside.at least there is a TGI Fridays in the stadium so you can get hammered.

U.S. Prison Cell Field aka White Sox stadium - The Amenities around it suck, the bar across the street from the stadium sucks- the bacardi one, and the fans are the biggest assholes of any baseball fans i have met. And they make you stop tailgaiting as soon as the game starts.

I really enjoy the environment at Beaver Stadium at PSU.  The tailgating is great, the fans are a lot of fun and very inspired, they are also fairly understanding of other fans as I have seen UM play there a number of times and wore UM gear and didn't get too much crap, and the student section is really big.   All in all for college football it's the best place I've gone to a game, and it's super easy to get in and out of as it's in the middle of nowhere.  FYI I haven't been to Michigan Stadium since I was a child and don't remember it.  

For baseball I really like Fenway.  The fans are great, the stadium is old but has a lot of history, and Boston is a great city with lots to do and tons of sports bars around the stadium.  Parking sucks, but if  you take the train in it's awesome.  For a small venue, I love Hadlock Field where the Portland Sea Dogs (Portland, Maine) play, who are the AA affiliate to the Red Sox.  I used to work for them, but it is an awesome place to watch baseball if you like baseball.  There aren't many minor league experiences better than the Sea Dogs.  

I never liked the old Yankee Stadium, but I haven't been the the new one yet.  I didn't really like the Old Three Rivers Stadium either or the old Vet in Philly, but Three Rivers was worse IMO.  But, Camden Yards is also a great place as is Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  The University of Phoenix Stadium is really nice and easy to get in and out of, but the fan experience isn't quite the same as it is in a college town.  The Phoenix area is cool, but is by no means a football town, but the stadium itself is pretty nice.

Having recently moved to the Bay Area, I have gone to Candlestick, the Coliseum, AT&T, and HP. Candlestick was awful. We were told that the lines were terrible so it would be wise to try and get a seat early. I remember getting into the ticket line about 50 or so minutes before kickoff and we didn't get to our seat until around 5 minutes into the 1st quarter. No organization whatsoever. The Coliseum was actually a much more entertaining gameday environment and Raider fans were generally more cordial and interesting than Niners fans. Though I detest the Sharks, HP is a really, really nice hockey arena and AT&T offers some of the most gorgeous views around. Of course, no gameday environment will ever compare to an Ann Arbor Saturday but I suppose that goes without saying. 

Best

Michigan Stadium

Wrigley

Rose Bowl

Worst

Ohio Stadium - Wear a rain coat to shed the beer or worse that will be dumped on or thrown at you.   But every Michigan fan should make the pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime.    Just to know who and what you're dealing with when it comes to Ohio.

LA Coliseum - Julius Ceasar would feel at home.  Flak jacket is optional.

Worst stadium (based on experience): Camp Randall in Madison.  I was there in the 70s my freshman year with the Michigan Band.  The students were either allowed to drink or smuggled in bottles, but there were lots of them.  By the second half, the bottles started raining out of the upper deck at the band.  Fortunately they were too drunk to have good aim as I don't recall anyone being hit.

The same year we went to the Horseshoe and as our buses were leaving following the Mike Lantry missed FG that cost us the victory, the line of C-Bus cops that was directing traffic stood in a line and flipped off our buses.  Class act.  The students there were the same mouthy, beligerent ones that attent today, but at least they didn't throw anything at us.

... Tiger Stadium, Fenway, and Wrigley, the Big House and the Rose Bowl. Not a fan of Oakland Coliseum, but AT&T park is wonderful.

One I haven't seen mentioned that I really like is the park that the Staten Island Yankees play in. It seats about 5000 (it's the Yankees Class A affiliate if I recall) and sits right on the water's edge, so you see the sun set over NYC as ships cruise by. It got a big renovation in 2001 and was clean and beautiful when I went - we had seats right behind first base in the first row, and were wondering if an errant throw would bean someone. A great experience.

One of my personal favorites was watching the Red Wings play at the old Olympia Stadium.  The place was a dump, but there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

Most people will probably hammer me for this. But I say Fenway. Get past the tradition for a moment.



1. Parking sucks and is expensive. Typically have to walk along ways to the stadium.



2. Horrible asshole fans! Probably worst in all of sports



3. Views being home, first and third suck!!!! Poles in way of view.



4. Shitty location outside of town.



5. Old as hell, bathrooms falling apart smell like hell.



6. Logistically is a nightmare walking around



Note: I get its old which makes it cool and but these are important to me above and Fenway does not have them.

And that's not being a homer. I've been there twice and both times was shocked at what a dump it is.

I expected it to live up to its reputation in stadium rankings and what I got was a cynder block. The whole thing is solid concrete, and what few parts aren't concrete are painted grey to match the concrete. Even the routunda was riddled with cracks and off-color patches to the concrete all around it, while the upper bowl looks like it has gotten zero maintenence since it was first put in. Its cracked, chipping, and ugly.

By far the worst stadium I've ever seen. This is out of Michigan Stadium, Spartan Stadium, Ross-Ade, Bryant-Denny (not for a game), and Bronco Stadium (also not for a game, loved the smurf turf though) for reference.

Haven't been to enough other venues of different sports or the NFL to make a call on any of those, although I will say I liked the Superdome when I went for the Sugar Bowl, and I thought Progressive Field was pretty nice when I went to the Frozen Diamond against Ohio, in terms of non-Michigan, non-Detroit venues I've been to.

The old Seattle Kingdome was the worst I've been in. Only stadium worse than the Metrodome in Minneapolis.