Stadium sights in North America
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Yankee Stadium
The Boston Red Sox like to talk about their record of two World Series championships in the last 80 years, but the Yankees have won a mere 27 in that period. The team’s magic appears to have moved with them across 161st St to the new Yankee Stadium, where they played their first season in 2009 – winning the World Series there in a six-game slugfest against the Phillies. The Yankees play from April to October.
The new stadium offers hour-long guided tours of the on-site museum, the dugout, press box, clubhouse, field and Monument Park (with plaques commemorating greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio). You can purchase tickets in advance through Ticketmaster.
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Saskatchewan Roughriders
Not to be confused with the Ottawa Rough Riders, the Green Riders, as they're affectionately known, have a devoted fan base, and have achieved cult status within the Canadian Football League (CFL).
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Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Part of Exposition Park, the 1923 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games, the 1959 baseball World Series and two Super Bowls.
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Regina Pats
The young, tough, eager players of the Western Hockey League (WHL) make for an exciting brand of hockey. Rabid fans, crashing and bashing - everything a hockey game should be.
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Louisiana Superdome
Hovering like a giant, bronze-tinted hubcap amid the CBD skyscrapers and the elevated I-10 freeway, the Superdome is one of New Orleans’ most easily recognized structures. The immense indoor stadium, with its sophisticated climate-control system, has hosted six Super Bowls, presidential conventions, the Rolling Stones (largest indoor concert in history) and Pope John Paul II. On New Year’s Day the college-football Sugar Bowl is played here, and in fall this is the home turf of the New Orleans Saints. All of this excitement occurs in a structure built on top of an ancient burial ground, which some say is the source of the Saints seemingly cursed 40-year history. The…
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Famoso Raceway
This being a town of good-ole boys, auto racing is really popular. The Famoso Raceway is a quarter-mile drag strip that hosts races most weekends and special vintage and custom events throughout the year. Bakersfield's raceways are in full swing from March to November, and weekend events, some with high-profile sponsors, draw people from all over the state. Smaller races get a local crowd and can be equally thrilling.
Ticket prices are generally between around US$9 and around US$12 (major events higher) and are usually available at the gate. The raceway is about 15 miles north of Bakersfield. As you head N on Hwy 99, take the Hwy 46 exit, turn right onto Famoso Rd and go…
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Santa Anita Park
Home of the legendary Seabiscuit, the art deco thoroughbred racetrack is the oldest and one of the most prestigious in Southern California. Free tram tours taking you to Seabiscuit’s barn, filming locations, the jockey’s room and other sites are offered during racing seasons. The track opened in 1934 and pioneered the use of the automated starting gate, the photo finish and the electrical timer. Stars who kept and raced their horses here have ranged from Bing Crosby and Errol Flynn to Mark McGrath (of Sugar Ray), Alex Trebek and Burt Bacharach. The only stain on its legacy happened during WWII when it served as a Japanese-American detention camp.
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Camden Yards
The Orioles’ baseball park, Camden Yards, occupies an entire city block west of the Inner Harbor. It was the first ‘retro’ ball park, which reconciled Major League Baseball’s need for more space with fans’ nostalgia. Painted baseballs on the sidewalk lead two blocks northwest to the birthplace of a baseball legend; it’s now the Babe Ruth Museum (410-727-1539; www.baberuthmuseum.com; 216 Emory St; adult/child $6/3; 10am-5pm), which pays homage to one of the sport’s all-time greats. It’s open to 7pm on Orioles’ game days.
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Jackie Robinson Ballpark
On an island in the Halifax River, this ballpark is home to the Daytona Cubs, a Class A minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. In 1946, the Montreal Royals, Jackie Robinson's team, was in Florida to play an exhibition against their parent club, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other Florida cities refused to let the game proceed due to segregation laws, but Daytona Beach cried, 'Play ball!' and Robinson later went on to be the first African American baseball player in the majors. The ballpark, seating 4200 people, was renamed in his honor in 1990.
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Bakersfield Speedway
This being a town of good-ole boys, auto racing is really popular. Bakersfield's raceways are in full swing from March to November, and weekend events, some with high-profile sponsors, draw people from all over the state. Smaller races get a local crowd and can be equally thrilling. Ticket prices are generally between around US$9 and around US$12 (major events higher) and are usually available at the gate. Bakersfield Speedway has a one-third-mile clay oval track and has been hosting races since 1946. Follow Chester Ave north through Oildale.
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Vancouver Olympic Centre
With mountain views, a prime location in picturesque Queen Elizabeth Park and a focus on sustainable architecture and design, the Olympic Centre may convince you that the hippy heart that once defined Kitsilano is still alive, just relocated.
The Vancouver Olympic Centre will host curling, one of the Winter Olympics’ most popular sports. Away from the action, be sure to spend some time with the traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art exhibitions, installed as part of the Vancouver 2010 Venues' Aboriginal Arts Program.
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UBC Thunderbird Arenadictionary.com
Going under a variety of names, the UBC Thunderbird Arena (or Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, or UBC Winter Sports Centre) is on the University of British Columbia campus and plays host to one of the winter sports closest to Vancouver's heart.
Just before the Games, 1800 temporary seats will be installed to accommodate hockey lovers, who will have no need to question referee decisions: a newly installed video replay system will allow for the review of all questionable moves on the ice.
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Pacific Coliseum
The home of the Vancouver Giants junior ice hockey team has recently undergone significant renovations in preparation for its role as the Winter Olympics' speed-skating and figure-skating host.
The chief ice-maker will be on hand to make sure the anticipatory intake of breath from 14,000-odd skating spectators does not compromise the integrity of the ice. Some believe the Pacific Coliseum provides better-than-usual event catering, but we'll leave that up to you to decide.
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Rose Bowl Stadium
One of LA's most venerable landmarks, the 1922 Rose Bowl Stadiumcan seat up to 93,000 spectators and has its moment in the sun every New Year's Day when it hosts the famous Rose Bowl postseason college football game. At other times, it's sadly underused even though the UCLA Bruins football team play here and the occasional concert or special event also brings in the masses, as does a monthly flea market. In 2006, American Idolheld its Los Angeles auditions here.
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GM Place
Also known as ‘the Garage, ’ the newer of Vancouver’s two downtown stadiums hosts the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. Game nights, when the 20,000-capacity venue heaves with fervent fans, are the city’s most exciting sporting events – you’ll enjoy the atmosphere even if the rules are a mystery. This is also a favored arena for money-spinning stadium rock acts. Behind-the-scenes tours take you into the hospitality suites and the nosebleed press box up in the rafters.
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Pawtucket Red Sox
This Triple-A (minor league) farm team for the Boston Red Sox plays all spring and summer at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, just north of Providence. A night here, complete with hot dogs and peanuts, is a favorite way for baseball addicts to get a fix without the hassle and cost of driving to (and parking at) Fenway Park in Boston. You’ll also sit much closer to the field than in a big league park. Take I-95 north to exit 27, 28 or 29 and follow signs to the stadium.
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Richmond Olympic Oval
Described as the 'sexiest' 2010 Olympic Venue by Omega Lifetime magazine, and with one of the world's 'sexiest' actors, George Clooney, as celebrity venue ambassador, the Olympic long-track speed-skating venue may well require you to have a cold shower before visiting.
While you're there check out the Olympic rings paired with a maple leaf floating in the Fraser River nearby. This formation has been created using 13 million cranberries.
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Plaza de Toros
Mexico's Pacific Coast is considered a region without much local enthusiasm for bullfighting, and bullfights performed here are largely motivated by the tourist dollar. Having said that, Puerta Vallarta has the largest and newest plaza along the coast - it's a smaller version of the famous Plaza del Toro in Mexico City. Anyway, you know the deal: red cape, angry bull, cheering crowds, blood. Buy your tickets at the plaza.
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Rogers Centre
Technically awe-inspiring, the Rogers Centre sports stadium opened in 1989 with the world's first fully retractable dome roof. Tours include a brain-scrambling video-wall screening footage of past sporting glories, concerts and events, a sprint through a box suite, a locker-room detour (sans athletes) and a memorabilia museum. Tour times vary.
A budget seat at a Blue Jays baseball or Argonauts football game is the cheapest way to see the Rogers Centre. In between times the facility hosts everything from wedding expos to Wiggles concerts. Alternatively, go for a beer and a burger at the Renaissance Toronto, where you can watch the activities through huge windows, or rent a…
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Goldpanners
The Goldpanners is Fairbanks' entry in the collegiate-level Alaska Baseball League, which also includes teams from Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley and Kenai Peninsula. Games are played mid-June through July at Growden Memorial Park, starting at 19:00. Don't miss the Midnight Sun Baseball Game on June 21 - it's a century-old tradition.
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Santa Anita Race Track
The Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races was filmed at Santa Anita Race Track , the home of the legendary Seabiscuit. Thoroughbreds race here from 26 Dec through late April and again in the fall. During race season, tram tours take you to the jockeys' room and training areas. Reservations are required for tours.
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Olympic Stadium
Since the Montréal Expos baseball team moved to Washington DC this stadium isn’t getting the same workout it used to, but it still occasionally hosts a variety of other events such as rock concerts, stunt-car shows, trade fairs and the occasional Canadian Football League game.
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Centro Taurino Potosino
Just over the railway bridge east of the Alameda is the Centro Taurino Potosino, comprising the 7000-seat Plaza de Toros (bullring) and a restaurant decorated with matador paraphernalia (open only when bullfights take place).
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Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the indoor Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena which dates from 1959 and is used for rock concerts, ice shows, the circus and even the occasional rodeo.
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Rancho del Charro
This permanent covered arena is located between the Panteón Civil de Dolores and the 3ª Sección of the Bosque de Chapultepec. The main charreada season is from mid-May to early June.
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