Stadiums That Aren’t Really The Original

[@Strongarm_11]

I think soldier field should’ve never been renovated and instead the Bears should’ve moved into a modern stadium (something more akin to Raymond James stadium or Hines field).

[@someperson3883]

I don’t like that. I like the nostalgia would make it better

[@ryananderson5202]

Chicago is a dump.

[@jeffc1347]

I've been to Rajay and Soldier Field. Raymond James is a boring concrete structure that does nothing other than serve its purpose as a big stadium with lots of seats. The concourses are straight up depressing. Soldier Field is a beautiful stadium in an amazing location IMO...it does look a little strange but at least its not boring like Raymond James.

[@moonytheloony6516]

@@jeffc1347 Soldier Field has a few problem aside from the ugly exterior of two different architectures with one literally sitting inside and topping offer the other. The location may be scenic, and it certainly is in theory, but it's a nightmare regarding public access to and leaving that facility and has been for a very long time. It's also too damn small for the nation's third largest media market. The extremeness of the Soldier Field renovation literally stripped it of its national landmark status which is rather unheard of...it's the general practice to try to preserve such things. It also has one of the worst-ranked playing surfaces in the NFL as voted by the players. Some fans like yourself will find elements that you like more than other places and that's ok. However, it's never been ranked up there as one of the best venues in the NFL for a few reasons and that's why the Bears will be leaving that stadium, which now, thanks to brainless renovation, can be eligible for the wrecking ball. If Lambeau Field is an example on how to renovate an old stadium properly, and it clearly is, then Soldier Field is the perfect example of how not to do it.

[@moonytheloony6516]

I agree with you. I'm not sure the Raymond James or (formerly) Heinz Field in Pittsburgh would work in Chicago, since they are on record regarding their intent of building a fixed-roof stadium, likely in Arlington Heights, Illinois which makes the most sense, if one wants a year-round facility to host various events without being impacted by weather thus expanding the usefulness of said facility, especially in a market as large as Chicago.

[@someperson3883]

Moral of the story: Don’t put a track around a football field

[@MrWildcat2009]

That was the norm back in the day. The times have changed.

[@RyTrapp0]

@@MrWildcat2009 That was the norm back when the football program didn't pay for every other athletic program lol

[@RTD3]

TCU did the same to their stadium but it was a welcomed change.

[@henryca03]

Orlando's Camping World Stadium claims to have been built in 1936; however, the oldest parts of the stadium still standing, the east and west upper decks, are only from the late 1980s, since the original lower bowl was demolished and rebuilt during most of 2014.

[@paperdo]

The current Husky stadium is pretty much a carbon copy of the original. They definitely did it right. The only noticeable difference is the lack of running track. I went to the old one many times through the years, and it was getting pretty bad. The concrete in the bowl was absolutely crumbling. The current version is so similar that i doubt many Huskies fans realize how extensive the rebuild was.

[@greganderson7534]

Many of the most famous English football stadiums are like this. Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield, and St. James' Park now look nothing like they did in 70s, never mind whenever they were originally built. Villa Park is like Soldier Field--basically a modern stadium with some original exterior facade elements retained from a much earlier time. Of all the more iconic grounds, only Everton's Goodison Park has kept some of its older form, with two of the four stands still preserving their pre-WWII appearance, while one of the two newer stands is now over 50 years old.

[@Ianmccor]

Overseas these situations are extremely common. Pretty much every stadium in the EPL fits this category, and the most extreme example is the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia which claims to date back to 1853 but its oldest parts dating to only 1992.

[@BrisbaneBroncosfan67]

Yeah it’s like how white hart lane is technically from 1899, but obviously, it’s not even close to the same stadium.

[@bloqk16]

Stanford Stadium I am familiar with, having attended several FB games there in the early 1970s. When it was said about _improvements_ with the new stadium. . . that was well-put. The old stadium was a creaky relic when I was there, heavens knows what it would be like with an additional 30 years of aging at that place. I like the layout of the new stadium, as it puts the attendees up close to the field. Whereas the old Stanford Stadium, with the running track, it put the audience at a considerable distance from the field-of-play. From what I've heard about attendance for the FB team home games, the university was wise to downsize the capacity with the new stadium.

[@knutthompson7879]

Yeah, the new stadium is so, so, so much nice. Better sightlines, better facilities, better logistics.

[@adamcordell7750]

Bobby Dodd stadium (Georgia Tech) has the original concrete bleachers underneath their updated seating

[@mahtinp]

I think Ohio Stadium has done a great job retaining its' original character. On the contrary, the new Tom Benson Stadium at the Hall of Fame is a wildly different venue than Fawcett Stadium which sat on the same site.

[@nate24680]

The addition to Ohio Stadium changed it from The Shoe to looking like a toilet.

[@oneblankspace4919]

Yankee Stadium was renovated ca. 1974. The Yankees played at Shea Stadium and the Giants played in New Haven, Conn., but they still called it the original Yankee Stadium when they moved back in.

[@TheNewChevyRoll48]

The lore: Cleveland retained the Browns branding when they moved to Balitmore and the team returned in 1999 Reality: The Cleveland Browns were born in 1999

[@jsivco3sivco785]

YES! History is not arbitrary. History is just that... History!!

[@RyTrapp0]

Yup

[@herschelwright4663]

I wasn’t surprised at all that Soldier Field would be on this list. Side note: Husky Stadium was the temporary home of the Seattle Seahawks while Lumen Field was being built.

[@ThurstonCyclist]

The Seahawks also played in Husky stadium for part of the 1994 season, after the Kingdome ceiling collapse.

[@henryca03]

While Husky Stadium was being rebuilt in the early 2010s, Lumen Field served as UW's temporary home for the 2012 season, sharing a stadium with the Seahawks for the third time.

[@RJiiFin]

My favourite Stadium that's been renovated a bunch is Theseus Field. But I'm not sure if it's still the original or not

[@mattm.2591]

When I saw the title of this video, I immediately thought of Stanford Stadium. I went to a 1994 World Cup game there, back when it was its historic self. It looks nicer now, for sure, but it also looks completely different.

[@iactiv6274]

Did you go to any other 1994 World Cup games?

[@mattm.2591]

@@iactiv6274 No. Just that one.

[@josephosheavideos3992]

Oddly enough, with the Bears purchasing the site of the former Arlington Park Racecourse and considering moving to a new stadium there, Soldier Field may be on its last legs period.

[@moonytheloony6516]

May be on its last legs? It IS on its last legs which is why the Bears bought that property.

[@marcus813]

Stanford Stadium is what came to mind when I saw he thumbnail in my suggestions.

[@georgefay4508]

The Bears didn't even play at Soldier Field until 1971 when they left Wrigley Field.

[@oneblankspace4919]

And it wasn't considered their permanent home until 2003.

[@ghostquake86]

I think Camp Randall should have been on here. Had alot of renovations since 1917.

[@heartlandauthor]

In motorsports, Richmond Raceway in Richmond, VA was rebuilt and drastically reconfigured in 1988, although NASCAR considers the track's history of hosting NASCAR races to go back to 1953. There are some current and former Formula One circuits that use little of the original layouts (Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium comes to mind), but I don't know of one that uses *none* of the original layout except maybe for the Nürburgring (which is not currently on the F1 calendar), although it's debatable whether the pre-1976 circuit and the modern Grand Prix circuit share the same pit straightaway.

[@zatchg1212]

What they did to soldier field should be considered a crime if you ask me. And I absolutely hate the new stanford stadium. It’s like they did their best to build a MLS stadium. So damn ugly asthetically

[@Hodaggium]

Soldier Field will most likely be a moot point in a few years anyway, the owners are considering moving out to Arlington Heights.

[@ReggieWilhelmson]

My favorite renovation is Lambeau Field.

[@chrisofchris]

Great video!!

[@MatthiaGryffine]

You could easily add a lot of English soccer stadiums to this list

[@maxdekker6078]

Also zentral stadium in Leipzig

[@ibs3036]

I really don’t understand why bears fans hate soldier field so much. Do you really want to be a team in Chicago that ends up not playing in Chicago? (just outside, Allstate Arena vibes).

[@johnepants]

We are in the age of the super stadium for football. Jerry World made a lot of stadiums built in the 90’s and 2000’s outdated. Similar to how Rodgers Center and New Comiskey are outdated even though they aren’t much older than Cambden Yards

[@moonytheloony6516]

What I don't get about what you said is why should that emotionally matter so much? Why does that supersede critical thinking regarding Soldier Field or the Chicago city limits in general? Firstly, it's in an awful location for public access both coming and leaving the facility, which is an understatement. The experience is a tedious nightmare for fans and has been for years. Secondly the stadium is the smallest venue in the NFL...in the NFL's third largest market which is nothing short of idiotic. Thirdly, the renovation has zero regard for the stadiums original architecture so what we see is a clash of styles, so bad that it was stripped of its landmark status...oops. And is generally considered by NFL players as one of the worst playing surfaces in the league virtually every year. Those are some of the well-known reasons that has doomed the future of that stadium as a viable NFL venue...as for teams not in their actual cities.... The Giants seem to be doing just fine in East Rutherford, New Jersey. MetLife Stadium appears to be filled up for their games as they do for the Jets and they're not even in the same state. The Cowboys moved to Arlington Texas in what is regarded as one of the finest venues in the entire NFL. Meanwhile Cowboys fans don't seem to be complaining. or rejecting AT&T Stadium. And they fill it up. The Cardinals left Tempe, Arizona all the way to the west side of the valley in Glendale which is a bit of a ride, if ya live in Mesa, or Gilbert and again...the fans aren't complaining or feeling abandoned from the east valley. State Farm Stadium appears to be doing just fine out there. The Washington Redskins left DC for FedEx Field in the late 90's and despite its less than advantageous location...the fans initially filled the place up. And they still go there today despite the stadium's downsizing, and ownership drama that's thankfully over, but i digress. I don't believe the Atlanta Braves play in Atlanta anymore and yet it's not only a better stadium in a better location, the fans are coming to their games, and the Braves won a world series not very long ago so it's worked out well for them as far as I can tell. Life goes on and fans do move forward to where their team may go, unless they leave the state and even then, many will not transfer said allegiance to another team. With that being said, the "where" regarding the new Bears stadium is irrelevant...if it's a nicely designed venue with better public access than the previous stadium, then it's a win for the team and its fans in that regard, who can still pay money to see them play near Chicago. All this emotional melodrama is a bunch of soap opera nonsense regarding the actual location not being in Chicago. Whether the Bears are in Chicago, Arlington Heights or even Decatur, where they are originally from, the Chicago Bears are still the Chicago Bears, Chipmunks of the Midway...if some fans can't emotionally handle a move to Arlington Heights, well thankfully, that's why we have psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors along with medications and a nice box of Puffs to help them cope with their feelings...life IS about change.

[@Strongarm_11]

@@moonytheloony6516damn son, you wrote a entire fucking lecture, I’m impressed good job 👍

[@sirchi8731]

​@@moonytheloony6516😂😂 but Aaron Rodgers got hurt on the worst playing surface in football..."MetLife Stadium" Soldier field never cost any injuries like that. Take a hike

[@justinroark88]

Madison Square Garden in Manhattan comes to mind

[@mklein818]

Wish they'd renamed it Madison Round Garden

[@barontaylor7139]

What about BC Place in Vancouver?

[@getx1265]

Wish you'd have included a "finished" photo of Kyle Field. Before the latest complete redu in 2014, you could see under the stands evidence of some of the prior renditions that were beneath the upgrades.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

The Bears and Richard M Daley ruined Chicago history with what they did to Soldier Field. I still don't understand why they didn't use that money to just build a new stadium somewhere else, especially when this was early 2000s Chicago where there was tons of open land near downtown for them to build on.

[@cosmostrek2001]

what about the rose bowl.

[@ec1628]

How has it changed? It added the luxury/press box. Put in a concourse. But how has the bowl been changed?

[@moonytheloony6516]

@@ec1628 Well, it's not quite a bowl anymore but more of an oval-ish shape. It was perfectly round when i went there for my 35th birthday in the January 1st, 1937 Rose Bowl, where I witnessed Pittsburgh defeat Washington 21-0. Go Panthers!!!! That shape change happened in 1966, what happened was the Loch Ness Monster flew over from Scotland to LAX and drove over to UCLA on an invite by Groucho Marx, together they developed, with scientists at UCLA, under duress, a series of reflective mirrors made from transparent aluminum, reflect microscopic solar flairs by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, and aimed this energy at the Rose Bowl to change the shape because the Loch Ness Monster loves two things, the UCLA Bruins and ovals. Nessie threatened to eat Groucho Marx and all soon-to-be-participating scientists IF they didn't build and use those mirrors immediately. What choice did they have? So they did it and Nessie flew back to the Loch quite satisfied with the results that exist to this very day. And that's why the Rose Bowl looks the way it looks. I know what you're thinking ...what about all those older photos? They used the mirrors to change all of the archived photos to reflect the current shapes including any and all film footage... I'd stay and talk but I have tee- time in a few hours with Elvis Presley and Winston Churchill.

[@bp2608]

I don't think the Rose Bowl has fundamentally changed. Still a lot of bench seating, no real reconfiguration except for much larger press and luxry boxes. I would count it as still original with renovations.

[@ColeAdams]

Never realized Washington completely tore down almost their entire stadium

[@jimeadie4415]

Only the 1994 era upper deck remains. Washington moved to the Seahawks Stadium downtown during the renovation. Many years earlier the Seahawks played at UW when the King Dome was torn down and their stadium was being built.

[@josephengelbrekt483]

Great idea for a video.

[@fabio40]

I doubt there is much left of the original Labeau Field.

[@sparklerbc9898]

its totally gone now, but the old yankee stadium would have fit this list.

[@bryantsteury8910]

At this point, soldier field is as original as Angelina Jolies lips

[@moonytheloony6516]

That may or may not be true but....her lips look way better than that stadium.

[@bryantsteury8910]

@@moonytheloony6516 oh there's zero argument about that

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@moonytheloony6516😂

[@jsivco3sivco785]

Well, Soldier FIELD is the oldest playing field in the NFL. However, the stadium surrounding the field is relatively new!

[@moonytheloony6516]

And poorly designed. The renovation had zero regard for the original architecture which is why it lost its Landmark status turning wait we see as just another structure that can be demolished. The pre-renovated Soldier Field was awful for football with 60% of its seating in the end zones. The new design reversed those numbers by reducing the capacity to becoming the NFL's smallest venue which is idiotic when one considers that Chicago is the NFL's most 3rd largest market.

[@sirchi8731]

​@@moonytheloony6516Soldier Field is fine bozo

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@moonytheloony6516It was never designed for football when it was originally built. The Bears should have built their own stadium instead of ruining a huge piece of Chicago history

[@leegoddard2618]

Being on the same footprint counts, it just does. 🤷

[@forgottenplaces9780]

No

[@isaiahwinbrone]

The old stadiums are much better than the new stadiums

[@leegoddard2618]

@@isaiahwinbrone until it comes crashing down. Nothing wrong with making a site better. Especially when E.D. Yachts Will be using the facility.

[@bp2608]

Disagree.

[@Michael-sb8jf]

Ship of Thesusus philosophy in my opinion goes that gradual changes or smallish upgrades over the years yeah they are the same. But things like soilder field and Stanford yeah no they are new stadiums and should be considered so.

[@kourii]

> _Thesusus_

[@Douchemaster_McChest]

University Of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium has been around since 1924 (early rudimentary field in same location goes back to 1901 and surrounding sideline stands since 1915.) But Nippert has been renovated and upgraded numerous times over the years. I don't know how much of the original stadium exists, but it is definitely in the same exact location as it has always been on campus surrounded by numerous campus facilities and buildings. They still claim it is the 4th oldest playing site (and 5th oldest stadium) in college football. How much of that is original is anyone's guess.

[@dougclem7711]

GOTTA GO TO THE ADTRODOME.

[@thesmithersy]

You forgot Wembley Stadium.

[@GABESTA535]

Wembley is not a considered a continuation of the 1923 and is considered a completely new stadium.

[@thesmithersy]

@@GABESTA535 Hence the point, its not really the original yet they always try to make out that it is.

[@bluerisk]

Die Wahrheit liegt auf dem Platz - the Truth is on the Field. If the ground is the same one as for all previous generations... The Red Square will be the Red Square no matter what kind of bricks or other kind of layers one uses.

[@seand67]

GReat episode

[@blacksportsguru]

New comiskey park

[@oneblankspace4919]

That was built across the street from the Old Roman's Diamond Palace.

[@badladyami]

I bet you're a blast at parties.