Looking at the 5 Worst Sports Stadiums in the United States
By
Richard Janvrin
Contributor Updated: 07 January 2025
Richard Janvrin Contributor
Richard has been writing about sports since he was a teenager. Still, his first professional role came in 2015, covering all things NFL and fantasy football-related. From there, in December 2018, he started in the sports betting industry, covering sportsbook reviews before arriving to where he is today.
The 5 Worst Sports Stadiums
Several professional sports leagues in the United States have dozens of teams, and these squads also have home stadiums.
Unfortunately for them and the fans, though, some of these stadiums are tough to defend regarding the experience.
Still, you can wager on games with online sports betting in NY and all other legal states.
Of course, examining the worst sports stadiums is subjective, but the factors I tend to consider include things like seating, concessions, the area they’re in, and the consistency of how long they’ve been bad.
Sure, some teams want to do this or that to improve theirs or seek tax dollars to build a new one, but that’s not what’ll be discussed here.
Instead, I’ll look at the stadiums as they stand right now and based on their history. There’s certainly more than this, but some of the worst come to mind.
Let’s dive in.
Northwest Stadium
You might wonder, “What the heck is Northwest Stadium?” That’s a valid question.
Northwest Stadium, formerly FedEx Field, is the site of the Washington Commanders. It was known as FedEx Field from 1999 to 2024, but it’s now Northwest Stadium this season.
This is, without a doubt, atop the list of worst stadiums in NFL history.
The Commanders have also been know by several names recently, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the stadium itself.
The team that played there was owned for decades by Dan Snyder, who’s considered one of the worst sports team owners in history. The quality of the stadium contributed to this.
A sewage pipe burst above fans watching a game a few years ago.
Yes, there was literally sewage falling on fans.
Then, in 2022, a railing collapsed, resulting in Philadelphia Eagles fans falling toward quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Seating, especially in Section 215, can be obstructive. From that angle, you’re diagonal from the corner of an endzone, and the roof is slanted, making seeing anything past the 50-yard line further away from you increasingly more difficult.
Fans also complain about the travel time, as it’s 12 miles from the White House, and report high parking prices.
Overall, it’s not only one of the ugliest stadiums but also one of, if not the epitome of, the worst stadiums in professional sports.
Tropicana Field
As someone who has visited this stadium multiple times, I can confidently say the parking is solid here. There’s a gigantic parking lot with reasonable pricing, and it doesn’t require you to park in some lot miles away or anything of that sort.
Other than that, yeah, this stadium needs to go. It’s one of the ugliest stadiums in Major League Baseball.
A new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays will be built. It will cost about $6.5 billion and be paid for through public and private investments.
Still, they’re stuck with it until then.
Or are they?
This is a separate point, but Hurricane Helene ripped the roof off the stadium, and it isn’t ready for opening day, resulting in the Rays needing to find elsewhere to play.
OK, all that being said, the stadium itself really isn’t much of a baseball stadium. The concourse is a bit wonky to navigate, and the stadium inside isn’t appealing at all, with the catwalk above that’s reared its ugly head a few times during games.
The stadium’s location is also terrible. It’s right near a highway, and I’ve spent much time in traffic trying to get out of there.
The roof is meant to help with the Florida heat, which is understandable, but with that, the catwalk, and the lighting, it just doesn’t feel like a modern baseball stadium.
Paycor Stadium
Another stadium I’ve personally visited, Paycor Stadium, formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium, needs some work.
The home of the Cincinnati Bengals, you can wager on games here at online sportsbooks in Ohio.
First and foremost, the parking situation is egregious. I firmly believe all stadiums should have massive central parking, whether a garage (above or below), instead of relying on random garages within five miles or so of the stadium.
Often, it’s on the other side of the street, like Paycor, so you need to park and get across a rather busy road.
The bathrooms inside the stadium weren’t in great shape, and overall, the stadium is just aging.
The seats I had weren’t comfortable, but the crowd was sensational. They didn’t sit, but this was a big game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
I didn’t sit in the upper sections, but I’ve seen discussions about how poor the experience is during winter months up there.
Being from New England, I can stomach the cold, but when I went in January, it got quite cold, likely thanks to the Ohio River on the outskirts of it.
A $1.2 billion plan to renovate the stadium has been approved, which hopefully will help in the future and remove it from this list of the worst sports stadiums.
Also, for the player’s sake, can we figure out a way to get facilities together? The fact that Bengals players need to walk across the street to practice feels quite a high school.
Hard Rock Stadium
The first thing that always comes to mind when thinking about Hard Rock Stadium is how the stadium is designed.
They purposefully built in a way that shaded the home team but left the road team exposed to the sun.
Sure, it’s a game-day advantage, but if you’re a fan in the stands early in the season, you will fry in that Miami Gardens heat.
Miami Gardens is located about 15 miles from Miami, so if you’re looking to travel, stay in Miami, and attend a game, prepare for a bit of a commute.
There have also been reports of steep parking fees and menus not showing prices, but I cannot confirm whether those are true.
Overall, it’s on the fringe of the 10 worst sports stadiums, but that’s really just because of the heat. It’s unbearably hot there, and things around the stadium aren’t considered great either.
TD Garden
As a New Englander, I’ve been to the TD Garden multiple times. The fans are always energetic, but the seating is terrible, depending on where you sit. The seats are really squished together. As for parking, if you drive a car there, good luck. Your best bet is getting on the T (Boston’s public transportation) nearby and taking the Green Line directly into the TD Garden.
That’s certainly a positive, but again, if you drive down there, good luck to you.
Also, this could be totally subjective, and it was only the case when I was there, but the lines, whether concessions or bathrooms are always long. It’s certainly not one of the ugliest stadiums/arenas, but there are absolutely other issues to pay attention to.
As for the view from the seats, there are really no obstructed views; rather, there’s just some seating that feels far away, which can make it hard to see simply because of the distance.
