What abandoned sports stadiums from across the US look like today
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
A good stadium can make or break a sporting event, which is why the best arenas are so well known to fans across the country.
But some formerly legendary arenas like the Pontaic Silverdome and Houston Astrodome have since slipped into oblivion and, in some cases, been demolished.
Check out these stadiums' stunning transformations from relevance and fame to obscurity and dilapidation.
Sporting events are about so much more than what happens on the field or court, and that's why the best arenas are so well known to fans across the country.
But some formerly legendary arenas that once represented the peak of advancement have since slipped into oblivion. Legendary venues like the Pontiac Silverdome, once home to the Detroit Tigers and host of Super Bowl XVI, Uline Arena, which hosted The Beatles' first concert in the United States, and the Houston Astrodome, the stadium that many Houston sports franchises called home, look very different than they did during their prime.
Check out these stadiums' stunning transformations from relevance and fame to oblivion and, in some cases, disintegration:
Pontiac Silverdome
John Hillery/Reuters
The Pontiac Silverdome was once one of the greatest arenas in professional sports.
Tom Pidgeon/Allsport
After opening in 1975, the Pontiac Silverdome became the home of the Detroit Lions. It was the largest stadium in the NFL for 22 years.
Tom Pidgeon/Allsport
Source: MLive.com
From 1978 to 1988, the Silverdome was also home to the NBA's Detroit Pistons.
Icon Sportswire
Source: MLive.com
The arena played host to Super Bowl XVI in 1982.
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 and celebrated by carrying head coach Bill Walsh off the field.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
With the Lions' move to Ford Field in 2002, the Silverdome lost its major tenant and all of its former glory.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Source: MLive.com
The stadium — which once played host to the World Cup, the Pope, and Wrestlemania — officially closed in 2006.
Thomson Reuters
Source: MLive.com
The city sold the abandoned stadium to a Toronto-based Triple Investment Group for $583,000 (less than 1% of the original cost to build the facility) in 2009. The arena reopened in 2010.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Source: MLive.com
Just three years later, disaster struck when a winter storm caused the roof of the arena to cave in, leaving the entire venue in tatters.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File
After the new owners failed to sell the dome for $30 million, the city demolished the once-great arena in 2017.
Source: MLive.com
Tiger Stadium
Reuters
Tiger Stadium — another beloved Detroit-area arena — fell from grace at the turn of the century.
Ezra O. Shaw /Allsport
The stadium — located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit — first opened in 1912 as Navin Field.
Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images
Source: ESPN
Primarly known as home to the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1999, Tiger Stadium was also home to the Detroit Lions for 34 years.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Source: ESPN, Detroit Athletic Co.
The stadium hosted the 1941, 1951 and 1971 MLB All-Star Games.
Mitchell Layton/MLB Photos via Getty Images
It was also where New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig famously benched himself during what would be the final game of his career due to his progressive ALS — a disease now known by his name.
Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
Source: SBNation
By the mid-1990s, Tiger Stadium had grown outdated, so the team began constructing a new stadium in 1997. The Tigers played their final season in the much-beloved ballpark two years later.
Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images
Source: MLB.com
After efforts to preserve the stadium were rejected by the city, Tiger Stadium was demolished in a years-long process.
Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Source: ESPN
The demolition was completed in 2009.
Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Source: ESPN
Now all that remains is the original field.
Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Houston Astrodome
REUTERS/Daniel Kramer
The Houston Astrodrome — the world's first dome stadium — was so famous and legendary that it was dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
The dome was home to the MLB's Houston Astros from its opening in 1965 to 1999.
Sport/Getty Images
Source: Ballparksofbaseball.com
It was also home to the NFL's Houston Oilers — now the Tennessee Titans — and, more briefly, the NBA's Houston Rockets.
Tony Duffy/ALLSPORT
Source: Ballparksofbaseball.com
Though the stadium was known for hosting baseball, basketball, and football games, many legendary events outside of those sports took place inside the dome.
REUTERS/Daniel Kramer
Tennis great Billie Jean King famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the battle of the sexes at the Astrodome in 1973.
Photo by ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
And three-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali knocked out Cleveland Williams there in 1966.
Bettmann / Contributor
Even Elvis Presley performed at the Astrodome. He gave a series of performances there in 1970.
Bettmann / Getty Images
Source: Chron.com
The Astrodome was closed after being cited for code violations in 2008.
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File
Source: Chron.com
And ever since, the interior has deteriorated.
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
The turnstiles were quite literally bent out of shape.
Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
And the once bright-red seats became dirty and tattered.
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
Still, many people felt connected to the once-legendary arena, and plans to refurbish the Astrodome cropped up soon after it closed.
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
In 2013, Houston voters opted against allocating $217 million to turn the stadium into a giant convention center and exhibition space.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Source: ABC13
In 2018, the Harris County commissioners finally approved a $105 million project to renovate the Astrodome into more than 500,000 square feet of rentable space.
Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Source: Houston Business Journal
Washington Coliseum
REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
The Washington Coliseum — otherwise known as Uline Arena — was home to professional basketball teams of multiple leagues, including the Washington Capitols of the NBA.
Matt McClain For The Washington Post via Getty Images
But the arena was more famous for hosting events outside of the sports world.
Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images
Eleanor Roosevelt once hosted a party for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the famed venue.
Thomas D. Mcavoy/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Malcolm X once gave a speech there.
Richard Saunders/Pictorial Parade/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
And, most famously, The Beatles performed their first-ever North American concert there.
Rowland Scherman/Getty Images
They played for 8,092 adoring fans at a sold-out Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964, just two days after their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Keystone/Getty Images
Source: Ultimateclassicrock.com
After a riot broke out during a 1967 performance by The Temptations forced the venue to stop hosting concerts, things went downhill for the Coliseum. For a time, the arena acted as a jail. It was also once a trash transfer station. By 2011, it had become a parking garage.
Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Source: DC Curbed
Waste Management intended to tear down the building in 2003, but it was safe from complete demolition once the D.C. Preservation League added it to its Most Endangered Places list. Eventually, new owners resolved to renovate the arena and turn it into office spaces.
Source: DC Curbed
An REI store now sits in the Coliseum's former location. They've preserved a few original seats from the famous arena as a wall decoration.
Jared Soares for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Source: Greater Greater Washington
Miami Marine Stadium
REUTERS/Zachary Fagenson
Miami Marine Stadium was constructed on Virginia Key in 1963.
Alan Band/Fox Photos/Getty Images
Source: Miami Herald
It was intended to host crowds during powerboat races, but became famous after hosting concerts and events with the likes of Richard Nixon and Sammy Davis Jr.
Bettmann / Getty Images
In September 1992, just a month after Hurricane Andrew ravaged Florida, the structure was deemed unsafe and subsequently closed down.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Source: Miami Herald
The stadium was slated to be demolished by the city as graffiti built up on its walls.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Source: Miami Herald
But famous artists Gloria Estefan, Jimmy Buffett, and others teamed up to try to save the historic site.
John Parra/Getty Images
And as of 2018, the City of Miami committed $42 million to clean up the stadium and establish a park around it.
John Parra/Getty Images
Source: The Chronicle
Candlestick Park
Reuters
Candlestick Park was first proposed as the stadium for the MLB's New York Giants, who were planning to move to the West Coast.
AP Photo/Clarence Hamm
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
Construction of the 45,000-seat stadium began in August 1958.
AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
And, when all was said and done, the ball park cost $15 million to complete.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
The newly-minted San Francisco Giants played their first game there in April 1960.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Oakland Raiders — then a part of the American Football League — played part of the 1960 and 1961 season at Candlestick Park.
AP Photo/Robert Houston
The San Francisco 49ers moved in from Kezar Stadium for the 1971 season and made Candlestick Park their home stadium for more than 40 years.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
Over the years, the arena was home to five Super Bowl Champion teams and multiple Hall of Fame players, including wide receiver Jerry Rice and quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young.
AP Photo/Eric Risberg
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
The Giants moved out of Candlestick Park after the 1999 MLB season. At the time of their final home game, it was unclear whether the team would relocate to Florida or to a different stadium in the Bay Area. They chose the latter.
AP Photo/John Burgess
The 49ers stayed at "The Stick" for another 13 years, playing their final home game there in December 2013.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Source: Stadiums of Pro Football
Paul McCartney played one last show at the once-modern arena in front of a crowd of 49,000 on August 14, 2014.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Source: Business Insider
Construction crews began the stadium's demolition less than a year later.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Source: Business Insider
Rather than using wrecking balls or dynamite, construction crews demolished the stadium piece by piece.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Source: Business Insider
And soon enough, the stadium was gone. The plot of land was meant to become a shopping mall, but work was suspended midway through 2018.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Source: NAI Northern California
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Michael Regan/Getty Images
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