GlobeStadiums

St. Andrews is the home of Birmingham City F.C. who play in the FA Premier League. It has a capacity of just over 30,000.

Since World War II, redevelopments at St. Andrews had been very minimal, with the only big change being the rebuilding of the Railway End. Over the years, capacity at St. Andrews had gradually been reduced, from 68,000 before the war, down to 43,204 by 1963. By 1988, the capacity had dropped further, down to little over 38,000. However, after the tragedies at Hillsborough and Valley Parade, and the subsequent issuing of the Taylor Report, the capacity at St. Andrews dropped to 28,235. However, it became clear that it was time to completely renovate the stadium in order to bring it into the twenty-first century.

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Taoyuan County Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has an athletics track. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people. It was built in 1993.

The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. It is a relatively new race track, opening in early 1997, and has additional configurations and facilities to accommodate “road” races, motorcycle races, vehicle testing, and drag races (Auto Club Dragway), even though the track cannot host NHRA national events, because of International Speedway Corporation’s corporatewide deal with Pepsi. (The NHRA has a policy prohibiting certain Pepsi brands to be advertised anywhere at their national events as part of a deal with Coca-Cola.) This racetrack is a stones throw from the old Ontario Motor Speedway and the old Riverside International Raceway. After Riverside’s closure in 1988, Southern California did not host a NASCAR race from 1988 to 1997, when the new California Speedway was opened.

In addition to NASCAR, the raceway has also hosted open-wheel events from both CART and the Indy Racing League. In 1999 Canadian driver Greg Moore was killed in a crash at the track, resulting in a major overhaul of the backstretch for safety (it was discovered Moore’s car slid in the grass off Turn 2, allowing the car to overturn, and cause the fatal crash; following that, ISC, which had purchased the track, paved that section of backstretch apron in time for the 2000 NASCAR event to prevent cars from sliding in that section, and to allow for drivers to have control of the cars in an incident); in 2003 the Indy Racing League set the highest average speed for any circuit event in motorsports.

Like many modern oval tracks, Fontana also features an infield road-course, which has been used by the Grand American Road Racing Association and by the Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship, with the JGTC race being unique in the fact it was a night race.

The circuit is often used for television commercials.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Warszawianka tennis courts in Warsaw

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a A 3/4 mile (1.2 km), D shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Nextel Cup, Busch Series and the Featherlite Modified Series. RIR also hosts the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, and the United States Auto Club Silver Crown Series.

Richmond International Raceway is located at the Richmond Raceway Complex, which is an 800 acre (3.2 km²), multi-purpose facility.

Richmond Raceway Complex also hosts the Virginia Golf Show, Bassarama, Richmond Home and Garden Show, RV and Camping Expo, Richmond Boat Show, Richmond Classic Sports Card Show, East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Expo, Craftsmen Classic Spring and Christmas Shows, Bizarre Bazaar Spring and Christmas Shows and other various arts and craft events.

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Soldier Field is located on famous Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, and is currently home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears. It reopened on September 27, 2003 after a complete rebuild (the second in the stadium’s history). Many fans refer to the rebuilt stadium as the New Soldier Field.

Previously it was the site of the former College All-Star Game, an exhibition between the last year’s NFL champion and a team of collegiate all-star players of the previous season prior to their reporting to the training camps of their new professional teams. This game was eventually discontinued due to the risk of injury to the all-stars in what was essentially a meaningless exhibition, and the lack of competitiveness of the game, which in its waning years was almost invariably won by the professional champions.

Many Army-Navy games have also been played there over the years, almost invariably to sellout or near sellout crowds (in its earliest configuration Soldier Field was capable of seating over 90,000 spectators) but the facility has not been host to this event in recent decades. The stadium was the site for many sporting events and exhibitions but it was not until September 1971 that the Chicago Bears first made it their home. Seating capacity was reduced to 57,000 so that spectators would have a relatively good view of the field and beginning in 1978 the plank seating was replaced by individual seats with backs and armrests.

The field serves as a memorial to American soldiers who died in wars, hence its name. It was designed in 1919 and completed in the 1920s. It officially opened on October 9, 1924 (the 53rd anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire), as Municipal Grant Park Stadium, changing its name to Soldier Field on November 11, 1925. Its design is modelled on the Greco-Roman architectural tradition, with doric columns rising above the stands. However, after being rebuilt, the modern stands now dwarf the columns. The new stadium seats 61,500 people - 5,444 less than the old one.

In 2001 the Chicago Park District, which owns the structure, faced substantial criticism from the Chicago Tribune when it announced the plan to alter the stadium. But by the time it was completed, such notable publication as The New York Times ranked the facility as one of the five best new buildings of 2003 (ARCHITECTURE: THE HIGHS; The Buildings (and Plans) of the Year By HERBERT MUSCHAMP (NYT) Published: December 28, 2003). Having been designated National Historic Landmark in 1987, the stadium lost the designation on February 17, 2006 primarily due to the extent of the renovations.

[Source: Wikipedia]

The RBC Center (originally the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena) is an indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is home to the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack men’s basketball team of NCAA Division I. The arena also hosted the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League from 2000 to 2002. The arena neighbors Carter-Finley Stadium, home of Wolfpack Football; the North Carolina State Fairgrounds; and Dorton Arena (on the Fairgrounds).

The arena seats 19,722 for basketball or 18,730 for ice hockey, including 75 luxury suites and 2,000 club seats. The building has three concourses, and includes a 500-seat restaurant.

The idea of a new basketball arena first emerged in the 1980s under the vision of Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano. In 1989, the NCSU Trustees approved plans to build a 23,000 seat arena. The Centennial Authority was created by the NC Legislature in 1995 as the governing entity of the arena, then financed by state appropriation, local contributions, and University fundraising. The Centennial Authority refocused the project into a multi-use arena, leading to the 1997 relocation agreement of the Hurricanes (then the Hartford Whalers). Construction began that year and was completed in 1999 at a cost of $158 million, which was largely publicly financed by a Hotel and Restaurant tax. The Hurricanes agreed to pay $20 million of the cost, and the state of North Carolina paid $18 million.

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Estádio Frédis Saldivar, commonly known as Douradão, is a multi-use stadium in Dourados, Brazil. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 30,000. It was built in 1986.

Douradão is owned by the Mato Grosso do Sul state government and by the Dourados City Hall. The stadium is named after Frédis Saldivar, who donated the groundplot where the stadium was built.

In 1986, the works on Douradão were completed. The inaugural match was played on April 12 of that year, when Ubiratan beat Mixto 4-2. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Ubiratan’s Ademir Patrício.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 18,780, set on July 17, 1988 when Ubiratan and Operário de Dourados drew 1-1.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Capacity: 45.522

Club: Liverpool FC

Address: Anfield Road, Liverpool, L4 0TH

[Source: stadiony.net]

Estadio Corregidora is one of the newest Mexican stadiums.

This facility has a capacity of nearly 40,000 seats and is located in the outskirts of the city of Querétaro (90 miles north Mexico City). This sport facility is used mostly for football (soccer) games. It is the home of the team Queretaro_FC, a club that mainly has been in the second soccer division. This stadium hosted the Football World Cup 1986.

[Source: Wikipedia]