Old / Ancient stadiums and arenas

[Lindemann]

Not very old but impressive: Centenario Stadium, in Montevideo (1930).

[Giorgio]

Originally Posted by dANIEL2004

Ok if u dont like the Panathinaiko stadium of Athens, the oldest stadium still in use in the world is the stadium of the Olympia in west Greece.The fact that hosted AT LEAST ONE TIME RECENTLY SPORT ACTIVITY -the last summer, for the Olympic Games of Athens-means that is CAPABLE , 2500 years after the first use , to host athletic activity. So the clear answer to the question "oldest stadium STILL in use" is "ancient Olympia stadium".

even if panathinaiko was included, olympia would be the winner.

[Lostboy]

Some stadia quickly after their construction or renovation quickly seem to look tired and dilapidated. However some seem to still have an air of class about them, I think the big Spanish Stadiums particularly manage this, several decades after their construction. When looking at recent stadia that seem to be raising the benchmark, like da luz, allianz and wembley, will they still be regarded as classics, in several years?

Which stadia have aged well, and still look the first-rate stadia that they were when they were built?

[Kampflamm]

I think the Olympic Stadium in Munich still looks pretty good. The roof would be something extraordinary even if it was built today.

Parc des Princes doesn't look too bad either.

[bubomb]

Shawfield Stadium (52000) in Glasgow still looks pretty smart -

[EADGBE]

I guess I should start by pointing out that in order to qualify for this thread, a stadium must by definition have been hardly changed since it opened. This certainly narrows the field somewhat.

I must say that I have a soft spot for the Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg in this regard. Yes it has a running track to distance football fans from the action and yes there are some aspects of its sweeping design that now look a little dated, but intrinsically, it remains as distinctive as it was in the 1950's when it was built for the 1958 World Cup.





Its few design flaws have been seen, addressed and incorporated into newer stadia. Where the Ullevi has the boundary between upper and lower seating areas 'curving' to complement the roofline, this would appear to have a huge impact on the continuity of the seating rows in these areas. The solution has been to keep these divisions on the horizontal. Arguably the Ullevi was too radical in this regard.

With these radical elements of the design 'calmed', its legacy can be seen today in significant stadia all over the world:

Telstra Stadium, Sydney:


City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester:


Zentralstadion, Leipzig:


Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea:

[bubomb]

Didn't Nya Ullevi get an upgrade not that long ago? Only one of the stands I think.

How about this one, Olympiastadion Helsinki (1938) -

[bubomb]

Giants Stadium (1976) -

[kingdomca]

I dont really think it has been possible for any football stadium to have aged well.
The change in requirements have just been to big.

There are cricket grounds in London and Sydney which still have small sections of structures in place that I think are well over 100 years old. Only small sections though.

The best aged venue must be centre court, Wimbledon. It has barely changed in overall appearnce and is still a great venue today.

[BaronVonChickenpants]

Originally Posted by Kampflamm

I think the Olympic Stadium in Munich still looks pretty good. The roof would be something extraordinary even if it was built today.

Parc des Princes doesn't look too bad either.

Parc des Princes!!!!!!! ce magnifique!!!!!(i know i've spelt that wrong)
a design classic in my view,especially from the outside

[BobDaBuilder]

What about Lord's Cricket Ground, The Oval(London circa 1845), Adelaide Oval, North Sydney Oval, Berlin Reichsfeld stadion, Trent Bridge, Wimbledon, Arles Roman Arena(still used 2000 years later), Lima Bullring(circa 1766), Malaga Bullring, Montevideo's Centenario(home of the first world cup) unaltered since 1930 and still going strong.

[Lostboy]

Should have really specified I suppose, but I'm not counting stadia which have been around they have become classics and therefore its their very age which has come to make them great. For instance Bubomb always extols the greatness of the Ibrox Stand, he's not wrong, but I don't think its aged well, as its got to the stage where the age and classic Edwardian Design gives it a sense of uniqueness and atmosphere unmatched amongst their competitors.

More the designs like Parc des Princes, which as shown in the photo still looks fantastic.

[Isaac Newell]

Morumbi, still pretty good

[Isaac Newell]

Pacaembu is no slouch either

[nikolaidis]

The Olympic Stadium of Helsinki is a good example indeed. The Parc des Princes also still looks good, but it isn’t that old ( 1970 ).

This is the Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam. It was built in 1928. Ajax played many European cupmatches here till the nineties. It was recently renovated, but it isn’t used anymore for mayor tournaments.

[eli]

Originally Posted by kingdomca

I dont really think it has been possible for any football stadium to have aged well.
The change in requirements have just been to big.

BERNABÉU 1947
Real Madrid spend 127 millions €!!! in Bernabéu Stadium since 2000, the money that costs a new and modern stadium

Originally Posted by eli

http://gestiona.madrid.org/nomecalle....jsp?idioma=en
"NOMECALLES is a Geographical Information System prepared by the Region of Madrid´s Institute of Statistics. It aims to provide data of use to experts and non-experts alike. General interest items such as geographic boundaries, streetfinders and aerial photographs are featured in addition to the exact location of points of specific interest."

1956 ("Vuelo Americano")


2004

Bernabeu Stadium

[Kampflamm]

Has it really aged that well considerung that they've spent so much money on it and practically turned it into a new stadium?

The Parc des Princes also still looks good, but it isn’t that old ( 1970 ).

It's still close to 35 years old and yet it manages to look fairly modern. Can't say that about too many stadium that were built in the 70s (most of the German stadiums built in that era have already been torn down and/or been rebuilt...Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg etc).

[eli]

Originally Posted by Kampflamm

Has it really aged that well considerung that they've spent so much money on it and practically turned it into a new stadium?

The money that the club spent the last 6 years is used to make it comfortable and safe.
The form of the stadium has not changed suddenly, is a consequence of its 60 years of history. In this time it has been adapting to the needs of the club.

When you visit it you see a historical and modern stadium, not a new stadium

[Kampflamm]

But I think the original purpose of the thread was to look at stadiums that have undergone hardly any changes and still look good/modern.

[matherto]

Originally Posted by Isaac Newell

Pacaembu is no slouch either

no I'm sorry, but none of the South American stadiums have aged well..especially not this one