6 Vacant Stadiums in America

Vacant stadiums in 2023
My Twitter - / realpatrickmcl

[@dangerdare4114]

I’m surprised you didn’t put Oracle Arena on this list, that arena was ICONIC during the Warrior’s dynasty and the crowd atmosphere hasn’t been the same ever since they moved to Chase Center

[@lousanto1054]

Don't 4get about the Run TMC era as well!

[@jtfritz9169]

I’m a coyotes fan, and Desert Diamond Arena is still a nice arena. I still go and visit whenever I can. My cousin just had her graduation there.

[@jimbobogie8204]

The Palace of Auburn Hills was a beautiful arena as well...now it's dust...

[@jtfritz9169]

@@jimbobogie8204 what’s funny is that the scoreboard at DDA used to be at the Palace of Auburn Hills

[@jimbobogie8204]

Can the Coyotes sell out at ASU? I think that at long last Bettman is ready to toss in the towel.

[@darrellhall6622]

The old Rubber Bowl in Akron Ohio. They can't teardown some of the seats because it is support a road behind the stadium.

[@meternx01]

Forgot the Astrodome. Last Astros game was played there in 2000, Rodeo in 2002. Then was used as a shelter post-Katrina for the evacuees from New Orleans (2005). Now just vacant and rotting.

[@BrandonJXN2]

The Kia Forum in Inglewood sees regular use as a concert venue. One of the better places to see a concert.

[@Fakename70]

Really? I saw a show there in 2015 after the renovation and wasn’t as impressed as I was seeing a show before renovation in 2008.

[@gregsells8549]

Two venues that should have been in this video are Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Suns' original home and now used mostly during the Arizona State Fair, and the Cotton Bowl, likewise now used mostly during the State Fair of Texas. The Cotton Bowl was the original home of the Dallas Cowboys as well as the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts, as two iterations of the Dallas Texans, and more recently FC Dallas as the Dallas Burn.

[@larrysmith8926]

The forum is used quite a bit. They have 57 concert listed and that not counting other type of events.

[@patrickn8355]

Completely agree about St John's arena. Osu had the potential to make it Cameron indoor 2.0 and instead got profit hungry and can't fill 3/4 of the capacity

[@ajnboilerup]

The COW Palace at one point hosted a major Pay-per-view for WCW called SuperBrawl in 1997, 1998, and 2000.

[@AshtainOneal45]

Actually Legion Field DOES host high school teams. I'm telling you as an Alabama native

[@chandlerwhite8302]

And it hosted the entire USFK season last year, and Stallions home games this year.

[@mrbob8618]

You know, this Ginger doesn't know what hes talking about. He spends most of this time finding his wife dates for the weekend.

[@vansmack4972]

One thing about Depressed Ginger. He doesn’t post many KZbin videos.🤣

[@oakroyal]

The Cow Palace also hosted the infamous Evel Knievel jump where the police had to come to the aid of the Hell’s Angels.

[@jeffwebb2966]

The Oakland Coliseum is apparently abandoned now too!

[@joebarnes4427]

The Cow Palace was also the home venue for the Warriors during their 1975 championship run as the Coliseum was being used for another event. The Cow Palace is a legendary home for Pro Wrestling, known world wide. In the 60's and 70's promoter Roy Shire ran a very successful promotion featuring Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson. The annual Battle Royal was a huge success. In 82-84 Verne Gagne held AWA cards, but by late 84 the houses dwindled. In the mid 80's, prior to the Sharks and after the Seals, the NHL did hold preseason games there as well.😊

[@LordZontar]

You are dead wrong about Tad Gormley, on so many levels. The facility was built primarily to host high school football and is the home field for multiple teams in the New Orleans Metro area, including Catholic League rivals Holy Cross, Jesuit, Brother Martin and St. Augustine. It serves as one of the venues for the state high school football championships and is the field for the storied Holy Cross/Jesuit rivalry game which has been played for a little over a century. The stadium will get about 1/3 to 1/2 capacity through the high school season. As for its appearance, the workmanlike design remains a fairly solid one and has held up quite well through the years, and it was certainly far better built than that Dallas-area high school football stadium that cost $60 million and had to be closed for major renovations the year after it opened when large cracks developed in the concrete. Tad Gormley has never had any such issue in its entire 86 year history. "Pretty irrelevant stadium"?!? Uh uh, Skippy. Tad Gormley remains VERY relevant in local New Orleans football and state district playoff football, which was exactly what it was built for in the first place.

[@kellypringle9815]

Legion Field is an old stadium. I went to this stadium for The Magic City Classic. The stands are far away from the field. I have seen alot of good games for The Magic City Classic

[@jxhnnygoat]

Tad Gormley hosts a TON of high school football games and I’ve been there a lot because my school plays there a lot every season

[@jonstefanik9400]

The Cow Palace has a lot of pro wrestling history.

[@aidantyra3493]

St. John’s area wasn’t without a tenant for 20-25 years. The men’s volleyball team played there until the new volleyball arena got built.

[@vincentguccione1474]

Tad Gormley Stadium is a high school venue.

[@RobertDavis-db3fs]

Ohio State uses the Value City Arena as a multi-purpose facility (concerts, graduations, monster truck shows, student assemblies, etc.). Basketball makes up only a fraction of its schedule. OSU missed an opportunity to make its new arena better for sports, instead of a low level NBA arwna.

[@coryshannon3815]

In a way, I'm kind of shocked that Cow Palace isn't on the National Register of Historic Places (like the Kia Forum is) because of its history in the Bay Area.

[@Krobscorner2006]

Literally ZERO mention of the Great Western Forum being home of the Lakers and Kings? That building is iconic.

[@levimoore2344]

That’s the Kia forum now lol

[@abbyantweil2023]

The forum was redone to be a music venue. There’s concerts there pretty often. It’s a classic venue with classic, not outdated, architecture. Such an irritating voice.

[@jimspies2775]

Just curious, do you make a distiction between a stadium and an arena? Because I would have said most of these are arenas. Would one consider the STL Dome (at America's Center) vacant (ie, do the Battlehawks count)? Thanks.

[@nathanbrandli6827]

Camping World Stadium in Orlando is another 'vacant' venue used by the XFL.

[@bootsdocsandconspiracies6589]

Legion Field didn't UAB also play there? And the Birmingham Bowl?

[@jamesfields2916]

UAB did but built a 30,000 seat on campus stadium.

[@c-dogg9188]

Oh course, UAB played there until 2020 when we lost to Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. They moved to a new stadium the next season. Go Blazers !🐉

[@c-dogg9188]

​@@jamesfields2916 Stadium is not on-campus, but it's nice. It's next to Top Golf ⛳

[@jamesfields2916]

@@c-dogg9188 as long as it's next to Top Golf! Lol

[@RobertDavis-db3fs]

St. John Arena is now mostly used as a training facility for Olympic type sports. No events there except for the football pre-game "Skull Sessions".

[@matthewsmith2241]

Unfortunately true I hear. Wish St. John area could be rennovated somehow to house the women's hockey team that's next door at the ice house there since that's only at ~5,000 or 7,000 seats currently. Fun fact: the men's hockey team use to be at ice house before Value City Area was built.

[@CreightonRabs]

0:23 For some reason, I thought that the Ohio State band used St. John's Arena for some of their pregame performances before football games.

[@pringlized]

Hahaha.. I love how you threw the Cow Palace under the bus. I've been to Concerts, Gardening, RV & HotTub shows and the (I think1 year) Spiders minor league hockey team.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

A good friend runs wrestling in the bay Area and he ran The Cow Palace for a couple of shows in 2017 I went to the first one It was like stepping into the 70s Especially watching some of my friends work matches on the card It looked classic and it was awesome I can't wait to see how The Clippers are going to keep The Forum alive Hopefully make it modern but retain that old school classic feel

[@jamesfields2916]

Saw Robert Plant there in 1985.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

@@jamesfields2916 That must have been so awesome

[@jamesfields2916]

@@dannyinoakpark9095 a very good concert. We caught Phil Collins the week before across the bay at the Oakland Coliseum.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

@@jamesfields2916 I'd love to hope get to see the San Jose Earthquakes if Messi and Miami comes out west I love the variety of great venues NorCal has And I hope that there's more stuff coming to the cow Palace someday

[@derrickw5204]

Since the opening of Chase Center in Downtown San Francisco , the Cow Palace is virtually useless and outdated . All the big name concerts have moved to the Warriors ' New arena or Oracle Park . The Grand National Finals Rodeo and wrestling events and Ringling Brothers Circus also used to be big draws there . But , the Cow Palace has had it's share of incidents as well . In 1973 , a riot broke out during a Roĺling Stones concert injuring a few people and prompted a large police response . In 1988 , a large brawl broke out during a Bobby Brown , Al B Sure! Johnny Gill concert . During the Loma Prieta Earthquake a year later, the Cow Palace was to be used as a staging area for emergency personnel and mass gathering area for residents of the Daly City community of Bayshore , where it stands . I don't recall exactly when , but there was a New Years Eve rave there in which some rave goers were drugged and sent to a nearby hospital . I still believe that the Cow Palace can be a vital venue if it undergoes renovation but who would want to be the main tenant there in these times . Already , two huge hotel chains and Westfield Corporation , the owner of the fabulous San Francisco Centre Mall with it's spiral escalators are leaving San Francisco because it is no longer safe or economical for them to be there . Sadly , I think the Cow Palace is doomed and soon will not exist .

[@noone-ft9lw]

Constant debate around here about what to do with Legion Field. I went to several of my first games there, it is in a terrible and dangerous neighborhood.

[@AshtainOneal45]

I 2nd that. Needs to be torn down at this point

[@Nigelrathbone1]

Legion Field - I performed there with the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps there in August 1980, winning the DCI World Championship. Televised nationally on PBS.

[@pedrosalazar6310]

Kia Forum has concerts several times a month to not be seen as abandoned or forgotten

[@1223jamez]

You forgot to mention that the Cow Palace also hosted San Francisco Bay Bombers of the Roller Derby!

[@vamoscruceros]

Legion Field was over 83,000 until the upper deck was torn down. I went to the last Iron Bowl there.

[@tylerthomastt]

St. John Arena is still used during the football season for the OSUMB Skull Sessions

[@lecontecarter1366]

Do you have any content on the old Charlotte coliseum also known as the beehive?

[@KGKraetzerMedia]

When we went to Ohio State with Army, the OSU Marching Band did a pregame concert in St. John's Arena.

[@munchy9745]

Desert Diamond Arena is still a very nice arena, such a shame for what happened with the Coyotes

[@monexpo86]

The Forum is a concert venue so its still being used ..Why does he always make a big deal over the exteriors by the way ?

[@donjuanfontaine]

Tad Gormley hosts most of the New Orleans high school football games so it's frequently used.

[@levimoore2344]

Why did you include the Kia forum, yeah it’s not a sports venue anymore but it’s adapted and hosts concerts very regularly now

[@lacope21]

Actually, alot of high schools play at Legion Field. And it host a bowl game every year. The Birmingham Bowl

[@ChrisOhMy]

This video was intense. I hope you're putting that on. My god

[@LukeBCtown]

St. John arena does still host skull sessions for the marching band so I feel its not a complete waste

[@brucelyons5004]

Doesn't men/women volleyball play there?

[@RobertDavis-db3fs]

Volleyball and wrestling is now at the Covelli Center, a new arena (around 4,000 capacity) built about 5 years ago.

[@rodneygarner9055]

Desert Diamond Arena KICKED OUT the Coyotes for not paying rent. They’ve done quite nicely without them, as concerts are plentiful, and more than enough to keep the place afloat. As for the Kia Forum, they, too, have enough concerts, and other events, to keep the place occupied.

[@aunch3]

I was waiting for you to mention the Beatles concert at the Palace 👍

[@Jakedawg0922]

Love these vids

[@nategz9875]

What about Dickies Arena in Fort Worth?

[@ZACKMAN2007]

It Hosts an nll team

[@redwingsfan713]

And Dickies Arena has a lot of annual events

[@jimbobogie8204]

Don't forget Montreal Olympic Stadium (The Big Owe).

[@dalejensen5828]

The Forum, former home of the LA Lakers. Tad Gormley home to New Orleans high school football, busy Thursday through Saturday during the fall. Tulane played a few games there exploring if more fans would show up playing outdoors. Tulane did eventually build their own, on campus 30,000 seat stadium and left the Superdome. Of course, prior to 1975 Tulane played at 75,000 seat, on campus Tulane stadium (The Sugar Bowl), which was the home of the New Orleans Saints and two Super Bowls.

[@SaskRider2]

Actually, Tulane hosted three Super Bowls (IV, VI, and IX).

[@ZZSmithReal]

Lot of history at the Forum, with its iconic exterior, and the Cow Palace which hosted concerts by every big name including the Grateful Dead's New Year's Eve 1976.

[@chalesgolding5314]

The Forum , an iconic venue …

[@busaf95]

The Great Western Forum baby! Showtime!

[@LeonardWeirich-gq2gp]

The KIA Forum was once known as The great Western Forum and was once home to the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Kings (NHL)

[@mikehunt8997]

Saw Deep Purple at the Cow Palace in 1985. Awesome show!

[@b.d.cooper8671]

You forgot to mention that the Cow Palace had to host the 1975 NBA Finals for the Warriors because the Warriors primary home was holding concerts and other events.

[@darrellponder2934]

The Astrodome as well in Houston

[@davester1970]

How about the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee? This building used to be the home of the Memphis State Tigers basketball team and was at one time the wrestling capital of the world. It was known as the house that Jerry Lawler built. It hosted big name concerts. It has been abandoned since FedEx Forum was built and the CHL Riverkings left as a tenant in 2000.

[@ethanellis4662]

Pretty sure it's being demolished soon anyways

[@danmoir7497]

Cow Palace: "Ever felt you've been cheated?"

[@andrewmiller4573]

Rush played their very last concert at the LA Forum.

[@CanesnJags12]

STAAAAAYYYYDEUMMMMS

[@JKSmith66]

Aloha Stadium? Yes, I have a 1 track mind. 🙂 Maybe because it is condemned it cannot make this list.

[@meatloaf2026]

The forum was home to LA Lakers and LA clippers ok

[@indyracingnut]

Add the Richmond Coliseum. Totally abandoned. Still standing.

[@overnitedave4455]

I met my wife at a Black Sabbath concert at the Cow Palace in 1982 The Palace hosted Warriors games, Sharks games, Pro Wrestling, Boxing, and just a sh*t ton of incredible concerts

[@davegreenlaw5654]

You have to wonder if one thing that drove Ohio State to build the new arena instead of renovating St. John's Arena was looking towards hosting spotlight games during March Madness. The thinking was probably that a glitzy new arena would be more appealing to the television executives then the 'drab and boring' one. (Then again, Indiana blew that concept out of the water when they hosted the entire tournament during the pandemic.)

[@craigphillips3154]

And then the Blue Jackets came to town and they built Nationwide Arena and that became the top arena in Columbus.

[@davidmatthewvinotjr8396]

Did you call Tad Gormley Stadium abandoned? Tad Gormley Stadium Is Still active, In fact they host LHSAA Games involving the Schools of the City of New Orleans (Public and Catholic League) as well as some track and field meets.

[@knut]

It shows you're not from LA. The Forum is faaar from being abandoned. It was remodeled to primarily be a concert venue. It is solidly booked. It's currently the premier concert arena in LA, much better then Staples Center.

[@alexrichards1355]

“Not a lot going on” with The Forum? My guy it’s all concerts. It’s a premier concert venue in LA. It’s iconic and the best musical acts perform there. Also, don’t talk about desert diamond arena then put a picture of what looks like T-Mobile Arena around the 4 minute mark.

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

I loathed the Cow Palace in my youth. Back in the late 1980s I saw I believe the then Pac-10 NCAA basketball championship game there, another event or two, and a Yes concert, where the acoustics weren't the best. A gruesome factoid, one of those events we had parked at the SE end of the big parking area, just after dusk. When we started walking along the left side of the lot there was an awful smell coming from the fairly thick wooded berm to the south against the then defunct drive-in movie theater. We grimaced, joked about it, and didn't think much more about it after. A day or so later the body of a murdered woman was found in the area of the drive in, and it freaked us out a little. We had no idea if that's actually what we smelled - it could have been a dead possum, rotting garbage, who knows. But it is something I've never forgot.

[@ethanellis4662]

The Beatles also played at Tad Gormley Stadium in 1964

[@alk61695]

Nassau Coliseum on Long Island is another arena to put on this list.

[@jeffreyrosario5524]

You forgot the old Izod Center in New Jersey and the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island

[@c-dogg9188]

Prince played at Cow Palace 😀💜🕊️🎸

[@tomandrews2887]

Did you talk about The Forum without mentioning its one of the most famous arenas in history? The Showtime Lakers

[@pauls6677]

Value city arena is a total waste and they should have done a renno of St. John. The building is still used. If renovated would make a nice arena for women’s BB

[@davidbuswa9425]

Put a CFL team in Legion Field and Tad Gormley Stadium to use and revitalize that venue

[@omegateamsports5291]

When the Cow Palace hosted the ECHL Bulls I worked at those games. Not a great venue for hockey. Both the locker rooms were upstairs from the rink so both teams had to climb a tall flight of stairs to get to their respective rooms

[@generalbullmoose]

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas?

[@beezy645]

I've seen other people post it already but yeah Tad Gormley is not vacant, it gets used for high school football games (I think Brother Martin HS is the primary tenant? I know a lot of Catholic League games get played there). Also just to clarify the Tulane part, they didn't host all of those games in those listed seasons, it was the site for homecoming games and one or two other home games (which felt better than the cavernous Superdome from personal experience at both). And I'm pretty sure it still hosts Tulane's track and field team, though I could be wrong on that.

[@ShibalomaRecords]

You forgot when Eddie Guerrero won the championship at Cow Palace

[@Rockett16]

Hy-Vee Arena AKA Kemper Arena is still standing that use to be the home of the Kings of the NBA

[@msc32511]

Desert Diamond should be home of suns and yotes IF it would have been built in downtown or east Phoenix. Worst move was building that and football stadium out west

[@saltywalt57]

Your stats about the Forum are a bit off. Plenty of concerts and great parking revenue for SoFi which is next door.

[@elsanilison69]

Current tenants at Birmingham's Legion Field Ramsay High School (Birmingham) Magic City Classic (Huge event).

[@nationalist818]

I thought you were joking when you said they host a Overwatch team...... seems like overkill.

[@luism24]

High schools in the New Orleans area use Tad Gormley for football

[@JollyPenguinz]

The Kia Forum has concerts almost weekly. Totally not vacant lol

[@davidvisiondv9217]

You missed RFK stadium in Washington DC.

[@recorderboi2232]

Wait until bro finds out about Ladd peebles stadium

[@jimforrestal4218]

Thisguys sounds like Caleb from big mouth

[@thedoctor9138]

I think the Suns should move in to the Desert Diamond Arena

[@bbrow12]

Suns arena is much better. Just got a $300 million renovation..it is right in downtown. Glendale arena is ok but in the middle of nowhere. Love your videos.

[@robertvick2894]

It’s St John Arena, not St. John’s

[@dustinhowell4344]

from the 50s or 60s till the 80s, The Cow Palace also hosted wrestling. some times every week and sometimes every month

[@jonstefanik9400]

"High Chief" Peter Maivia vs. Pat Patterson, with Afa and Sika in the front row as legit fans.

[@crgray1979]

The took the scoreboard out of St John arena today

[@lil_bear]

This guy loves stadiums

[@c-dogg9188]

Him and the Forgotten Places guy 🙂

[@russkelly1684]

Cow Palace hosted Roller Derby?

[@craigphillips3154]

Legion Field is a dump and has been a dump for a very long time. It also has no parking. It became obsolete when Bama and Auburn both expanded their on-campus stadiums beyond the capacity of Legion Field. And once UAB built their own stadium then there really was no viable use for it.

[@johnstarnes1925]

Legion Field was most well known for the Iron Bowl. I went to a bowl game there in 2015. Complete dump. I also went to the last iron bowl there in 1998 so glad that game got moved to campus.