Situated on a massive 127 acres, the Pontiac Silverdome was a shining beacon for sports and entertainment when it opened in 1975. When it was built, its fiberglass fabric roof was held up by air pressure – the first use of this particular architectural technique in a major stadium! Seating 82,000 + fans, it was the largest stadium in the NFL (and it held this title for over 20 years until thee FedExField opened in D.C. in 1997! Famously known as the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, it also housed the Detroit Pistons. As well as hosting numerous sporting events, the Silverdome was a regular concert venue, hosting Elvis Presley, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, KISS, The Rolling Stones, The Jacksons, Bruce Springsteen, and the E Street band, U2, Madonna and Metallica among many others.
Boothferry Park (Hull, England)
Alright, we’re not going to beat around the bush with this one – Boothferry Park wasn’t exactly state of the art. It wasn’t a state of the anything, apart from well, a state. Formerly the home ground of Hull City A.F.C (between 1946 and 2002 to be exact), Boothferry was more about character than looks. It’s about personality folks!
Holding an intimate crowd of 16,000, it was, in fact, something of a landmark for Hull, particularly the light towers which reached up into the sky. From the colorless stadium to the light grey, gloomy skies which England is so well known for (don’t scoff Brits, you know it!), you could say they were going for a minimalist look. After Hull City’s departure to the Kingston Communications Stadium in 2002, well, it seems that Boothferry Park was left behind. As a football stadium, the venue closed in 2002, before being taken over by a supermarket. But even the supermarket tenants couldn’t keep people coming back. So, in 2011, Boothferry Park’s demolition was complete.
Green Point Stadium (Cape Town, South Africa)
Cape Town is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world and has hosted large-scale international events. Just like the FIFA World Cup back in 2010! Built for the World Cup, it also became the home of Premier Soccer League clubs Ajax Cape Town and Cape Town City. But that stadium is known as the Cape Town Stadium. We’re going back a little further, to when it was known as Green Point Stadium. The 18,000-seater stadium replaced part of the Metropolitan Golf Club.
The multi-purpose stadium was used for soccer, (football for you fans!) as well as concerts. And big concerts at that, with stars such as: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Def Leppard, U2, and many more gracing the stage! Just before the World Cup, the stadium was demolished to make room for the stadium which sits there proudly today: the Cape Town Stadium. Out with the old and in with the new!
Nansen Ski Jump (Milan, New Hampshire, USA)
Nicknamed “The Sleeping Giant” (among other names!), the Nansen Ski Jump was the pride and joy of Milan in New Hampshire. No no, not Milan in Italy, the fashion capital of the wold! Milan, which is a town of around 1,000 residents located in the US is really, a speck on the map! At the time when it was constructed (and we’re going back to 1936), Milan was the talk of the town (not to mention entire region), and was the largest ski jump in the eastern United States.
It attracted all East Coast Olympians who would train at Nansen. But as quickly as it was elevated to high status, it quickly came down a er… slippery slope and straight into disregard. By 1988, the jump was out of use and left as a gigantic concrete structure. More recently, there have been some efforts to restore the jump to its former glory, but it seems that it’s going to remain idle for a while – that is until the state gets funding to make Nansen great again!
Stone Mountain Tennis Center (Atlanta, USA)
Ba-bum. Another one to Google’s red “permanently closed” stamp. RIP Stone Mountain Tennis Center. Now a “big empty field” as described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Stone Mountain Tennis Center was where Gwinnett County hosted events during Atlanta’s 1996 Olympics. Built specifically for the Olympics, the tennis center had both the capacity and quality construction fit for any venue – it was designed to stand the test of time.
The problem? It was built smack bang in the middle of football heartland. At a cost of $22 million, the state-of-the-art facility, which made its debut in 1996, languished in disrepair in the years after the Games. Pretty sad eh? After 11 years, the county obtained the property and cleared it for demolition in 2007. Apparently it’s going to developers to dream up some big project – so guess we’ll have to just wait and see what happens!