The Best Sports Venues In The World

Friends,

Yesterday, I posted this question on Twitter:

While I expected a wide array of answers considering the differences in geographical location and preference in sport, three venues were mentioned more than the rest.

• Fenway Park

• Camp Nou

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Today, we'll run through ‘em — summarizing the key features, some of the history, and a few fun facts that make each location unique.

First up — Fenway Park.

Fenway Park

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Opened: April 20, 1912

Capacity: 37,755

Team: Boston Red Sox

Original Construction Cost: $650,000 (Inflation adjusted ~$20 million)

When it comes to Major League Baseball, there are two active ballparks that carry a history and tradition unlike any other:

Fenway Park & Wrigley Field.

Currently the oldest Major League Baseball stadium in use, and now a registered national landmark, Fenway Park has served as home of the Boston Redsox since it opened in 1912.

The interesting part?

Despite seeing several football franchises come and go—think Redskins, Yanks & Patriots—and undergoing multiple renovations, Fenway Park has largely remained unchanged as a baseball venue throughout its 100-year plus history.

Quirky features include a 37-foot-high left field wall nicknamed “The Green Monster” and a hand operated scoreboard, which was installed in 1934 but is still used today.

You can read more about the history of Fenway Park here.

Fun Facts:

• In the right field bleachers, there is a single red seat, which signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway Park: A 502-foot blast by Ted Williams in 1946.

• Despite being the smallest and oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, Fenway Park has the largest press box of any stadium. Built in the late 1980s, the Fenway press box can hold more than 50 journalists from local & national media outlets.

• You can also get married at Fenway Park—costing a rumored $25,000—but be careful. While filming “The Town” at Fenway Park in 2010, Ben Affleck says:

Camp Nou

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Opened: September 24, 1957

Capacity: 99,354

Team: FC Barcelona

Original Construction Cost: ~$2 billion

Opening in 1957, and home of FC Barcelona since, Camp Nou is the largest stadium in Europe and the fourth largest soccer stadium in the world — seating a capacity of almost 100,000.

The short version of the story goes like this…

Barca signed Ladislao Kubala in 1950, but as his popularity continued to grow, their current stadium—Camp de Les Corts—couldn’t accommodate their larger fanbase.

After completing multiple renovations to increase the capacity of Camp de Les Corts from 48,000 to 60,000 over the subsequent 7 years, the club found a new home in 1957 — officially opening Camp Nou.

As they say, the rest is history.

Fun Facts:

• Pope John Paul II celebrated mass for a congregation of over 120,000 people at Camp Nou in 1982, setting an attendance record that has yet to be broken.

• Given that Barca is one of the few clubs in the world which is owned by its members, Camp Nou is actually owned by a group of individuals — over 144,000 to be exact.

• Camp Nou might soon be the largest soccer stadium in the world, as they plan to increase their seating capacity to 130,000 through a renovation project set to be completed in 2025.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Location: Speedway, Indiana

Opened: August 12, 1909

Capacity: 257,327 permanent seats (400,000 grand total)

Key Events: Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 & IndyCar Grand Prix

Original Construction Cost: $3 million (Inflation adjusted ~$84 million)

Ok, you caught me. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was only mentioned a few times, but it’s a personal favorite of mine. I’ve been to a handful of Indy 500 races and they never seem to disappoint.

One thing that sticks out?

The sheer size of the venue.

Check this out — the infield alone could fit the following historical landmarks:

• Yankee Stadium

• Vatican City

• The White House

• Roman Colosseum

• Rose Bowl Stadium

• Churchill Downs

• Liberty Island

• Taj Mahal

• Liberty Island

Simply put, the place is massive.

Outside of the racetrack being enormous, the amount of history felt throughout the property is unparalleled to most venues in sports.

The properties flagship event, the Indianapolis 500, is a 500-mile race which started in 1911 and has traditionally been held over Memorial Day weekend each year since (excluding 2020).

Below is a good visual of how the race looked in 1911 vs 2019.

For context, the inaugural race in 1911 had an average speed of 75 mph, compared to 175 mph in 2019.

Fun Facts:

• With more than 250,000 permanent seats, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the world’s largest spectator sporting facility.

• The Borg-Warner Trophy, which is presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 each year, costs $1 million.

In the end, it’s impossible to pick certain historical venues over others — everyone has their own list that is influenced by location, fandom, and personal experience.

I simply wanted to dig a little deeper on a few popular responses.

Other popular responses included:

• The Colosseum (Rome)

• Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers)

• Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke)

• Anfield (Liverpool F.C.)

• Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)

• Madison Square Garden (NY Knicks)

• Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Indiana)

• Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne, Victoria)

• Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas)

• Croke Park (Dublin, Ireland)

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