Top 10 Most Incredible Sports Stadiums On Earth (And 10 That Should Be Demolished)

People travel hundreds upon thousands of miles to see their favorite sports teams play in person. They dream about the day they sit in the stands and witness the star player make amazing moves. From baseball and football, to tennis and soccer, the sports industry is a huge part of society and brings together all sorts of different people.

With so much heart and money poured into a single industry, people inevitably assume sporting arenas will be just as impressive as all the other areas of the sports world. Architects all over the world have pushed the limits and broke boundaries when it comes to designing sports stadiums. They have made unimaginable aesthetic choices to create the dreamland fans were searching for. Each stadium gives off a different vibe; some structures are built with a culture vision in mind, and others with getting in the most seats for fans. From China to Texas, Brazil to England, incredible sports arenas have been built all over the world.

Other stadiums, though, are less than appealing and leave fans uncomfortable and teams uninspired. They weren’t built with any sort of real vision or brilliance, and some of the older arenas began deteriorating after years of wear and tear. These stadiums ultimately become a real embarrassment for fans who are forced to call these places home. It’s not always fair to compare the best and the worst, but sometimes it’s impossible not to. Here are 10 of the most incredible stadiums on earth and 10 that should be completely demolished.

20 Incredible: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena (Shanghai, China)

This beautiful tennis arena in Shanghai seats 15,000 people. It’s unique, petal-shaped roof design was made to imitate a blooming magnolia, the city flower of Shanghai. Overtime, the Qizhong stadium has become one of the most famous sports stadiums in the world.

It was originally built to host the ATP World Tour Finals from 2005 to 2008 and cost $200 million. Japanese architect Mitsuru Senda designed the building with an eight-piece retractable, sliding roof to accommodate weather conditions that only takes eight minutes to open. Each leaf of the roof weighs about 4,500 pounds and was built on the ground before being elevated to the top of the structure.

19 Demolish: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (Washington, DC)

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium was once a “national treasure,” but the once-popular stadium has been through a lot and lost a lot over the last few decades. After opening in 1961, the RFK Stadium has been the home of several different professional sports teams. When it was built, the stadium was one of the first major arenas made for hosting both football and baseball games.

Overtime, the railings began to rust, and the paint started to chip. Lack of use correlated with a huge lack of upkeep, and an era was put to rest. New plans for the site and the old stadium have been put into motion and expect to cost around $490 million.

18 Incredible: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)

One of the largest NFL stadiums in the U.S., the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is home of the Dallas Cowboys. The 3 million square foot structure boasts its 100,000-seating capacity and its more than 14,000-ton roof, the largest of its kind in the world, that opens and closes in under 18 minutes.

Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones worked hand in hand with architects and engineers in creating the building’s design. As one of the most expensive sports venues ever built, the AT&T Stadium, sometimes referred to as “Jerry’s World,” cost around $1.2 billion to build and took three years to complete.

17 Demolish: Tropicana Field (Petersburg, Florida)

The Tropicana Field has been called the worst stadium in baseball. When people think about the arena, they think of doom and gloom. According to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist for USA Today, the Tropicana Field is “a bad facility in a bad location.”

The Tampa Bay Rays have been playing as well as the other teams in recent times, but attendance at their games is still way low. The musty, dome stadium seems to be the blame for that. Sports fans everywhere seem to agree that the Trop’s impractical catwalk and serious lack of atmosphere make it a very unfeasible stadium.

16 Incredible: Ericsson Globe (Stockholm, Sweden)

This massive structure is the world’s largest spherical building. The Ericsson Globe, or Globen, serves as Sweden’s national hockey arena, but has played host to several other events and concerts, including UFC fights and Britney Spears concerts. Visitors can ride an outside gondola, known as “The Skyview,” along the side of the curved walls to get the best view of southern Stockholm.

The stadium opened in 1989 after just two and a half years of construction. It was designed by architects Lars Vretblad and Svante Berg. The huge globe also represents the sun in the Sweden Solar System, the world’s largest permanent scale model of the planetary system.

15 Demolish: Candlestick Park (San Francisco, California)

The historic Candlestick Park of San Francisco stood for 55 years before it was knocked down. The stadium was designed as a home for the new San Francisco Giants in 1958. The structure was built entirely of reinforced concrete and became America’s first modern stadium, according to The Atlantic. In 1971, the San Francisco 49ers began playing in the park. Then came several awkward seating and field adjustments.

Due to the field’s location next to the bay, strong winds often made for some unfavorable playing conditions. After both big teams left to find better fields, the Candlestick Park no longer had a permanent tenant. Demolition of the park began in 2015 to make room for an urban outlet center.

14 Incredible: FNB Stadium (Johannesburg, South Africa)

The FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa is often referred to as “Soccer City.” This grand stadium seats more than 94,000 people and is known as the largest stadium in Africa. The FNB will always be remembered for hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup final and as the place Nelson Mandela made his first speech after being released from prison in 1990 and the place he made his last public appearance in 2010.

The $440 million structure was built in 1987 by South architects Boogertman and Partners and international firm Populous. The has kindly been called “a wonderful, exuberant design that seems almost uncannily to represent the continent in which it is constructed.”

13 Demolish: Chase Field (Phoenix, Arizona)

Chase Field has been called one of the worst MLB stadiums, according to Forbes. The stadium was built in 1998 for the Diamondbacks’ very first game and was one of the first built in the United States with a retractable roof built over a natural-grass playing field. The final cost for the once-innovative stadium came around $364 million.

The stadium has become known for one of the “weirdest and most cavernous outfields in all of baseball.” Though the stadium boasts a swimming pool, there is a lot shoved into the facility. Just recently, the Diamondbacks were given the okay to leave Chase Field and find a new home, after the county was unable to pay $187 million in stadium upgrades.

12 Incredible: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Located in Seattle Washington, this amazing sports stadium is home to NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC. The CenturyLink Stadium seats 72,000 people and cost $360 million to build. The project took two years to complete, but it was way worth it. The North Side of the Stadium offers a truly stellar view of the Seattle Skyline.

Seahawk’s owner, Paul Allen worked closely with the design team. According to Allen, an “open-air venue with an intimate atmosphere” was very important. The field’s site is quite a bit smaller than most of the newly developed NFL stadiums, but the unique seating angles allow for a view of the field unlike most stadiums.

11 Demolish: Montreal Olympic Stadium (Montreal, Québec)

The Olympic Stadium seats 56,000 people in the stands and is the largest covered stadium in Québec. After being designed by French architect Roger Tailliert to be a “unique monument,” the facility opened in 1976. It’s become an international symbol for Montréal. However, “The Big O’s” dim lights and awful long-distance sight lines made it a real bad baseball field, and it’s echoes don’t help during other events.

According to The Globe and Mail, it costs Québec’s provincial government around $32 million a year to run the facilities. Its current roof has thousands of patched holes all over and needs a serious replacement. So, the province now plans on spending near $300 million to replace the 20-year-old roof.

10 Incredible: Amsterdam Arena (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

The largest stadium in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Arena was built from 1993 to 1996 and cost more than $160 million to create. The stadium hosts a retractable roof and seats about 54,000 people. The classy and effortlessly cool design was unlike anything built during that time. Many arenas have since mirrored the architecture of the Amsterdam Arena, but very few have matched the feeling fans get when they attend a game there.

Home of the AFC Ajax, the stadium will soon become the Johan Cruijff Arena, named after the legendary Dutch footballer and greatest Ajax footballer ever, who passed away in 2016.

9 Demolish: Arthur Ashe Stadium (Queens, New York)

The Arthur Ashe Stadium is the main stadium of the US Open and the largest “tennis-specific” stadium in the world. It seats 23,000 people, but for an intimate sport, the ginormous size isn’t something to brag about. It’s been continuously referred to as a dump and the worst sports venue in America.

The best tennis venues host intimate seating arrangements. The Ashe stadium has a ton of seats, but a lot of these seats are known as “bad seats” and put fans in places they can barely see the game. According to The Guardian, “clumsy design, tepid atmosphere and just plain bad luck have all conspired to hasten Ashe’s life cycle from sparkling newcomer to loathsome dinosaur.”

8 Incredible: Wembley Stadium (London, England)

The new Wembley Stadium is a football stadium that opened in 2007 after the former Wembley Stadium was torn down. The new facility is currently the second biggest stadium in Europe. According to Wembley Stadium, the structure could hold seven billion pints of milk. It boasts a seriously high standard playing surface and opens itself up to be used for football, rugby, American football, and concerts.

The stadium was designed by international U.K.-based architectural firm Foster and Partners and end up costing $1.3 billion, making it one of the most expensive structures of its kind. The iconic Wembley arch is the world’s largest “single-span roof configuration,” according to Sports Management Degree Hub.

7 Demolish: BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

The Bradley Center opened in 1988 as a $90 million gift to Milwaukee in honor of Harry Lynde Bradley of the Allen-Bradley company. At the time, the home of NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks was one of the hippest NBA arenas. But since then, larger and more innovative facilities have been built and the Bradley Center doesn’t stand up in comparison.

The Buck’s owner, Herb Kohl started recognizing the center’s issues and tried making a plan for new renovations. However, they’ve since opted for a completely new venue. The new Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center will open in September 2018, and the old Bradley Center is currently auctioning off its greatest memorabilia in preparation for its coming demolition.

6 Incredible: Heinz Field (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Heinz field has been ranked one of the top five NFL stadium in the U.S. The new stadium was opened in 2001 after the previous arena was torn down. The massive stadium cost $281 million to build and included 12,000 tons of steel to represent Pittsburgh’s history of steel production.

The stadium’s stunning skyline and beautiful view of the river make it an experience worth remembering. The structure seats 68,000 people and brags about their 47 concession stands. Heinz Field even appears in the 2012 Batman flick, The Dark Knight Rises, as the home field for the Gotham Rogues.

5 Demolish: Maracanã Stadium (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Brazil’s once wonderful and iconic football stadium opened in 1950, but has now been left to sit and rot. The grounds now cost nearly $700 million to renovate and frankly, none of Rio de Janeiro professional teams can afford to fix it up and play there. Even though the arena stadium was packed during the 2016 Summer Olympics, it was in desperate need of an overhaul then, too.

In 2000, the facility had to launch an “anti-urine” patrol to protect the historic stadium from football fans relieving themselves on the terraces during games. Due to so much urine, the concrete and steel bits were starting to corrode.

4 Incredible: Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China)

The Bird’s Nest of Beijing is one of the most stunning buildings of the world. With a volume of three million cubic meters, the Beijing National Stadium seats 91,000 people and is often considered the largest enclosed space in the world.

According to Just Fun Facts, the structure was a joint venture among several architects, including Swiss Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and chief architect Li Xinggang. Construction of the stadium began in December 2003 and finished in March 2008. The entire project cost an estimated 33 million dollars! The stadium was designed for use of the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be used again during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

3 Demolish: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Also known as “The Dome,” the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was built to provide Minnesota sports teams a bigger and better venue. For 31 years, the $55 million Dome served its purpose. Its 10-acre, air-supported dome roof took four months to build and way shorter to completely collapse. In 2010, the city’s massive winds and snow fall caused three panels to tear open and the roof to cave in.

The stadium did get the roof repairs it needed, but it wasn’t enough to keep the facility running strong. Overtime, fans started realizing all of the downfalls of the stadium, including congested halls and not enough bathrooms. Demolition of the Dome was approved in 2013 to make way for the Minnesota Viking’s new stadium.

2 Incredible: Olympic Stadium (London, England)

The Olympic Stadium, often referred to as the “London Stadium,” was built within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park over the course of three years for the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The project was lead by international sports-specialist architecture firm Populous. It seats 80,000 people and cost $809 million to create. After the stadium was completed, a lot of people felt the structure was truly magnificent, while others felt it was a little underwhelming. When the exterior lights up at night, though, it is truly a stunning sight.

The facility has since been renovated as a multi-purpose stadium with its primary tenants being the West Ham United Football Club and British Athletics.

1 Demolish: Sleep Train Arena (Sacramento, California)

After nearly three decades of life in Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena, the lights went out toward the end of 2016. For years, owners of the Sacramento Kings and the stadium have talked about renovating the “sleepy” facility, but nothing happened. The first mistake for the sports structure was that it wasn’t built near downtown Sac.

It was reportedly built for $40 million and opened in 1988. According to Sactown Royalty, “the seats are mediocre. The aesthetics of the building are pitiful. The landscape is dire. The concourse smells bad.” Many believed the fate of the Kings franchise rested on getting their selves a new arena.