Revoluntionary Stadiums

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Every so often as fans we are treated to a new stadium that promises to changes the way we look at the sporting world. Last night the Cowboys ushered in their state of the art, ultra flashy new digs. But will Cowboys Stadium be the stadium in which all new NFL stadiums built from here on in will be compared against? Did we usher in a new era of stadiums?

Harvard Stadium

Harvard Stadium (Boston, MA)
The first concrete stadium in the world was constructed in 1903 for a cost of $310,000. Harvard Stadium accomplished permanence for the game of football. Since the stadium was made of immovable concrete the field dimensions were set to their modern proportions. Harvard Stadium may be old, but it still plays an important role every other year playing host to one of the nations longest standing rivalries (Harvard vs Yale). Harvard Stadium is also home to a professional women’s soccer club.

Yale Bowl

Yale Bowl (New Haven, CT)
The Yale bowl was built soon after Harvard stadium. While Harvard brought in the modern area of football, the opening in 1914 of the Yale Bowl became the template for the football world and can hold upwards of 64,000 people. Like Harvard Stadium, the Yale bowl is no longer in its prime. However its design was duplicated at Michigan Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium, the Rose Bowl, and LA Coliseum among others. All of these stadiums are still considered to be some of the best places to catch a game.

RFK Stadium

RFK Stadium (Washington, DC)
Opened in 1961 RFK might not have been designed to have been a revolutionary stadium, but it was. RFK brought in the cookie cutter stadium era, as stadiums that were built to handle both football and baseball, and currently holds 45,000 people.

Stadiums that followed the same model as RFK stadium include, Veterans Stadium, Shea Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, Fulton Country Stadium and Busch Stadium. There have been other interpretations of this model that still exist, but for the most part, the past 15 years have been about replacing these dated facilities. RFK is also currently on the chopping block because in 2012 it will lose it’s only tenant.

Arrowhead Stadium

Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, MO)

Arrowhead stadium was years ahead of it’s time. When the other cities were busy duplicating the the cookie cutter style stadiums, Arrowhead was making the blue print for NFL stadiums that would be built in the late 90’s into the 2000’s. Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972 at a cost of $43 million for the 79,000 seat stadium.

Is it any wonder that most of the NFL (and MLB) teams consulted with the Kansas City based stadium design firms when they were constructing their new facilities? Arrowhead Stadium is approaching 40 years old and is still looking fantastic.

Montreal Olympic Stadium

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?