Okay, this image is pretty disconcerting. What you see is the remains of the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, which was built especially for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Looking at the murky liquid (yeah, we are definitely not calling that water), it seems that water quality is something the Chinese need to look into, stat. Beijing is known for its smog and poor air quality, but we think that may need to be reconsidered looking at the state of this “canoeing” park.
The second most expensive Olympics of all time, the Beijing Olympics was considered a great success, particularly considering the quality and size of the venues and facilities which were constructed leading up to the games. Again, however, it seems there’s a recurring theme: we want to call it the “Olympic curse” – countries invest millions and millions, hoping it will pay itself off, only to turn into a waste of time, money and effort. In the long run, that is! Stadiums and arenas which were once the pride of Beijing, have become empty monoliths. We’re talking like, dystopic Blade Runner ziggurat empty. Pretty damn empty.
Estadi de Sarrià (Barcelona, Spain)
Standing its ground between 1923 and 1997, next on our list is Estadi de Sarrià, a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. The stadium, which lay on the road which connected the Sarrià district to Barcelona, was constructed for 170,000 pesetas. The home of Barcelona’s little-known team (well, to the world anyway), RCD Espanyol, it was the second team which Barcelona had entered in La Liga! The glitzy F.C. Barcelona, which grew to great fame over its star Lionel Messi, was one-half of Barcelona’s footballing pursuits.
The other team was RCD Espanyol, the slightly neglected younger brother. Diehards would disagree, but it seems that really, anyone outside of Spain would be scratching their heads. Hey, you just learned something new today! Since 1997, whence it was demolished, RCD moved around before settling in at RCDE Stadium in 2009. Fun fact: the stadium hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup, as well as five football matches during the 1992 Summer Olympics!
Astrodome (Houston, Texas)
You know how the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas! And apparently, better, as we introduce you to what was the world’s FIRST multi-purpose, domed stadium. Opening in 1965, it was the home of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball, hence the title you may know it by, the Astrodome. Like we said, “everything’s bigger” – so this earned it the moniker “eighth wonder of the world” – yeah this was years before the Burj Khalifa was built! Fun fact: after the original natural grass inside the venue died, the Astrodome became the first large-scale sports venue to install artificial turf, which later became known as “Astro Turf”! An animated scoreboard, which was a technological first, named the “Astrolite” was also housed inside the famous dome. Despite some renovations in the 80s, the 90s saw the Astrodome become obsolete. The Oilers of the NFL, who knew the dome as their home between 1968 and 1996, were moved to Tennessee, changing their name to the Tennessee Titans.
Civic Arena Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA)
Well, when you see on Google that the venue is listed with a big red banner “permanently closed”, you know that something went wrong at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Formerly known as Mellon Arena, it was the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins (the city’s National Hockey League team) from 1967- 2010. Built for $22 million back in 1961, the Civic Auditorium (as it was once known) had a very unique shape and structure – so much so that it was given the nickname “The Igloo”, with its retractable roof and use of over 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel.
Now that’s an advertisement for the steel company! With its classic dome shape, it wasn’t without its problems – the engineering clearly wasn’t spot on, as the cost and repairs to hydraulic jacks didn’t quite justify it being opened fully every time. After 1995, retractions were halted, with the roof permanent closed after 2001. The historic hockey venue saw its end in 2012 after various groups declined to give the venue historic status. In its place? Well, existing parking lots were expanded over the site. Pretty sad tbh. But it seems that the Penguins still have the rights to redevelop the property – but since 2014 we haven’t heard anything!
Amphitheatre of Pompeii (Pompeii, Italy)
Okay, history nerds, it’s your time to shine! (Okay we’re taking back the fact we called you nerds… we kinda need your help for some fact-checking here). The oldest surviving Roman amphitheater, this “stadium” was long abandoned because well, Vesuvius. Yep, the massive volcano erupted in 79 AD, and along with covering the amphitheater, buried Pompeii and Herculaneum with it!
It famously held gladiatorial events and games, but after one particularly deadly brawl between Pompeiians and Nucerians, there was a 10-year ban on the events! These days, it is now a historical landmark and object which archaeologists fawn over. Fun fact: Pink Floyd made a concert film at the amphitheater, which was the first public performance held there since 79 A.D.! Shine on, you crazy diamond!