The historic building which has seen some of the greatest hockey matches on ice, ever, is none other than the Maple Leaf Gardens. Considered one of the “cathedrals” of the game, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1931 to 1999. Fun fact: it was one of the few venues outside of the United States where Elvis Presley performed in concert, back in 1957! Over the years its housed many teams and held many fans, as well as hosting game 2 of the world-famous Summit Series where Team Canada faced off against the USSR!
In 1999, Maple Leaf Gardens closed, when the NHL’s Maple Leafs moved to the Air Canada Centre and was sadly left alone for a number of years. However, in 2011, it was reopened to the public, though there seemed to be more foodies than hockey fans – due to the reopening constituting the installation of a retail center and eateries! At least this wasn’t an abandoned waste of money!
Giants Stadium (New York, USA)
Between 1976 and 2010, the Giants Stadium, also known as “The Swamp”, hosted a plethora of sporting events and concerts. The home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets, it held a whopping 80,000+ spectators! 756 feet long and 592 feet wide, it reached up as high as 178 feet! For the Giants, the stadium proved to be a lucky charm of sorts – for the New York Jets, however, it was a different story. It was also home to the New York Cosmos, a professional soccer team, which saw its peak attendance reached in the 70s.
But as of 2009, the Giants Stadium was closed. Why? Well, because the bigger and better MetLife stadium was constructed, just 20 feet away. In 2010, the stadium held its final event, where the Jets took on the Cincinnati Bengals. A month after, demolition began. Since then, both the Giants and Jets moved over to MetLife Stadium, and the former Giants Stadium became a parking lot. It’s kinda sad that such an iconic stadium had to go, but it seems that such is the way of the world.
Rubber Bowl (County of Summit, Ohio, USA)
In 1939, a movement began. A movement to build a stadium in Akron, Ohio when Akron Beacon Journal sports editor James Schlemmer and Akron Municipal Airport director Bain Fulton started a campaign, raising funds by asking the club’s patrons to donate $1 each! From this humble fundraising effort, a stadium was built and opened in 1940. Between 1940 and 2008, the Rubber Bowl was the home of the Akron Zips football team, which belonged to a school in NE Ohio. With a capacity of 35,000, the stadium hosted concerts, professional football games, high school football games and a number of other events.
In 2009, sadly, the Akron Zips moved to InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field, which was to become their new home! But let’s be real – it’s just not the same! Since then, the stadium has been vacant, occasionally hosting high school football games. Initially, after a company acquired the stadium, there were plans to overhaul it and base it as the home for a professional football team. But in 2017, the stadium was condemned, with partial demolition commencing in June 2018. Fun fact: the Rubber Bowl had hosted Bon Jovi, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and others!
Stadion Za Lužánkami (Brno, Czech Republic)
Currently inactive, and clearly overcome with weeds, the Stadion Za Lužánkami was in fact built back in the 1950s, used for football, and acted as the home ground of FC Zbrojovka Brno. During the 60s and 70s, the 50,000 pax stadium was the biggest in Czechslovakia! In 2001 however, the stadium was closed after 1. FC Brno moved to a new home. According to FIFA criteria, the stadium was no longer suitable, and the club was thus, forced to move.
Sitting idle, there were plans to renovate the stadium and see the possible return of the much-loved football club. In 2012 however, it was announced that funds were lacking – as a result, these financial concerns put the reconstruction plans on hold. The stadium fell further into disrepair. That was until FC Zbrojovka Brno captain Petr Švancara, took things into his own hands, and via crowdfunding, managed to restore the stadium so that he could play a farewell game! Due to the success, the FC’s youth team train at the stadium – apparently there are concrete plans for a massive $48 million US overhaul. So this one; not such a sad, lonely story after all!
Montreal Olympic Park (Montreal, Canada)
Ah, oui, Stade Olympique is well, still open! But it makes our list because it hasn’t actually had a main tenant since 2004! The multi-purpose stadium made headlines for hosting the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal. Nicknamed “The Big O” (get your mind out of the gutter!), the doughnut-shaped stadium also was nicknamed “The Big Owe” due to the astronomical cost, as well as the Games in general! Canadians. Eh.
Despite being… snowed under by the debt from the games, it’s interesting that at the time, many nations boycotted these games – which wasn’t a good thing, leading to more politics and less competition. Let’s go back to the budget – the stadium had a total cost (and was in fact, unfinished) of C$1.1 billion!! And that was in the 70s. That’s a heck of a lot of dollars. In mid-November of 2006, the debt owed was finally repaid – almost 30 years after it opened. It’s total cost? C$1.61 billion – making it the second most expensive stadium, beaten only by Wembley Stadium in London!