There is absolutely no question that sport stadiums and arenas cost a ton of money to build. As the years continue to pass, the prices of these stadiums will increase immensely because of the American budget. When observing the prices of today’s newest sport venues, it normally always costs at least a billion dollars to create, as these continue to grow far more complex and advanced. Also, it is a noticeable pattern that NFL and NBA stadiums tend to cost the most to build, as they are currently the leagues that are bringing in the most amount of fans at the end of the day. However, one has to recognize that the prices of these brand new stadiums are starting to get ridiculous and are way too expensive.
With all that has been stated thus far, in this article, we will be looking at ten stadiums/arenas that were way too expensive to build and ten more that were actually surprisingly cheap. One pattern to notice within this article is that the older the stadium is, the more likely that it is considered to be cheap in today’s terms. However, in some cases, even when factoring in today’s version of the price, it still would be considered cheap in the present. It is absolutely apparent that more popular cities will also spend far more money on their stadiums, especially those that are located in California. Whatever the case may be, there is no denying building a new sports venue will tend to cost far too much money.
Nonetheless, let’s look at the ten stadiums that cost way too much to build and ten more that were surprisingly cheap!
20 Way Too Expensive: Barclays Center
In 2012, the Barclays Center was officially opened. The New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn for this fact. Soon following this, the New York Islanders ended up leaving Long Island to go to the new stadium. However, it has not worked out for them at all and attendance has dropped.
At the end of the day, it cost $1 billion to create the Barclays Center and that is far too much money.
Although it has become a pretty good spot for events, their sport teams have been awful and it has hurt their revenue a bit. It will benefit when the Islanders go back to Long Island though.
19 Cheap: Gila River Arena
The Arizona Coyotes currently play at the Gila River Arena and have been there since 2003. There is no question that hockey is not necessarily the most popular sport in Arizona, but their fan base has grown immensely over the years and there finally seems to be optimism there.
When looking at the price of the Gila River Arena, it is actually pretty cheap in terms of today’s NHL stadiums.
It cost only $220 million to create professional hockey in Arizona and considering the rink is still fairly new, it actually turned out to be a bargain compared to other recent ones.
18 Way Too Expensive: Levi’s Stadium
Levi’s Stadium is the current location where the San Francisco 49ers play and that will not change anytime soon. Levi’s Stadium was opened in 2014, so it is a young stadium that definitely has many more years left.
Also, when looking at the $1.2 billion it cost to make the stadium come to fruition, it is one of the most expensive stadiums right now.
It has already had a Super Bowl there and will definitely have an abundance of other events in the near future. Also, with Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge there, it will have far greater moments soon.
17 Cheap: Golden 1 Center
The Golden 1 Center officially became the new home of the Sacramento Kings in 2016. The Kings have definitely had some struggles in their stadium, as they have been at the bottom of the Western Conference each season there. However, one has to assume things will change.
In terms of price, I am not saying that Golden 1 Center is the cheapest, but considering the fact it is new and California, it’s a good price. A little more than half a billion dollars, the Kings got fairly lucky. Everything is more expensive in California, especially when looking at their rivals’ stadium costs.
16 Way Too Expensive: Yankee Stadium
When one thinks of the New York Yankees, they think of success and a ton of money. When the original Yankee Stadium has seen its final years, they knew they needed to make a newer model of the most prolific ballpark in MLB history. So, in 2009, they did just that.
The new Yankee Stadium cost roughly $1.5 billion to create and thus far, it has been worth the investment.
The Yankees have already won a World Series there and it now is easily considered to be one of the most impressive ballparks in the league. It also is a homerun hitter’s paradise.
15 Cheap: FedExForum
The FedExForum was officially opened in 2004 and the Memphis Grizzlies have played there ever since. The Grizzlies have not been able to create much magic in their current arena yet, but in due time, one can assume that they will someday be legitimate contenders in the NBA.
Considering the fact that FedExForum is fairly new, the $250 million price to have its doors opened is pretty cheap.
The NBA is one of the most successful sport leagues, so they tend to have an abundance of expectations on their money spent. This ended up being a solid deal for the Grizzlies.
14 Way Too Expensive: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
When your stadium is named after one of the most expensive car brands in the history of the world, one can assume it was a ton of cash to build. The Atlanta Falcons played their first season there this year and it looked great.
New stadiums are always going to continue to get more expensive and this one followed that pattern: it cost $1.6 billion to construct the stadium.
Due to this, it will be used a lot in the upcoming years. The Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four will be taking place there, so the stadium will get a lot of recognition moving forward.
13 Cheap: Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is one of the most iconic ballparks in the MLB. Besides being home of one of the most popular franchises in the MLB, the Chicago Cubs, it’s been in use since 1914. With that being said, it is absolutely loved by all baseball and a huge tourist attraction.
Of course, with times and budget being so different then, this field was created at an astronomically low price.
At $250,000, which translates to just over $6 million in today’s currency, it is by far the best bargain in all of sport arenas. No one will ever match that.
12 Way Too Expensive: Las Vegas Stadium
The Oakland Raiders are going to be relocating to Las Vegas and is scheduled to be ready for the 2019-20 season. This is going to be a massive change to the NFL, as Las Vegas will be landing their first ever football team. This, of course, came at an astronomically high price.
To get this stadium to be completed, it cost over $2 billion.
This stadium is going to have to be an absolutely beautiful one for it be worth all of that money. There definitely is a lot to be worried about, but at the end of the day, us football fans will have to maintain a positive outlook for now.
11 Cheap: TD Garden
TD Garden is one of the most popular arenas in all of sports and is home to the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. Over the years, this rink has been through some major changes. Nonetheless, it still is very popular around the sports world and it's a spot many fans want to visit.
TD Garden was opened back in 1995 and at the time, it only cost $160 million. Considering the fact that the Bruins are an Original Six team and the Celtics are one of the most popular franchises in all of sports, this came to be a fantastic bargain. Today, it would easily cost them far more.
10 Way Too Expensive: MetLife Stadium
Although the Jets and Giants are based in New York, they currently play at Metlife Stadium, which is located in New Jersey. At this present time, this stadium is full of teams who simply cannot win at all and are in rebuilding periods. This hopefully will not hurt its attendance. This stadium is fairly young, as it was opened back in 2010.
Due to the fact that these New York teams have huge markets, the stadium ended up costing almost $2 billion in building it.
This would not be as much of a problem if the home teams were actually possessing winning records.
9 Cheap: T-Mobile Arena
The T-Mobile Arena is the home of the NHL’s newest hockey club, the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights have had a ton of success in their first season and came close to winning the Stanley Cup. Yet, the Washington Capitals would hoist it in the brand new arena.
When considering the fact that this is a new stadium, the price to build it was actually fairly cheap. It only cost $375 million to construct this stadium, which is nothing compared to their upcoming football stadium. Vegas definitely got a bargain on this one.
8 Way Too Expensive: U.S. Bank Stadium
U.S. Bank Stadium is another new one and it is where the Minnesota Vikings play. Since its opening in 2016, it has become a very popular stadium and is easily one of the top ones in the NFL at this moment. It should be considering how much it cost to build it.
The stadium cost $1.1 billion to be constructed.
This is a fairly expectable price, considering the fact that it is new and in the NFL. In its history so far, they have had one major event this year’s Super Bowl. If only the Vikings could have beaten the Eagles, they could have a home Super Bowl.
7 Cheap: Oracle Arena
The Oracle Arena is the home of the current NBA dynasty, the Golden State Warriors. With the Warriors having this significant amount of success and them being located in California, one may assume that it would have cost a ton of money to build this now legendary arena.
Yet, that is not the case. It was opened in 1966, so as you can now expect, it only cost $24 million to make it. They did have a renovation to it back in 1996, which cost them about $120 million, but even with that, that is cheap when looking at the current success of the team overall.
6 Way Too Expensive: Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park
The NFL world was absolutely shocked when Los Angeles received not one, but two NFL teams. The Rams and Chargers are going to be playing at Los Angeles Stadium and it is will be huge for the for the city. I mean it should when looking at how much it cost to build it.
The stadium has reportedly cost about $5 billion to be constructed.
This makes an abundance of sense because of the fact that it is located in Los Angeles and will have two teams playing for it. But man, that is a ton of change being thrown away for a football stadium.
5 Cheap: FedExField
The Washington Redskins currently play at FedExField and the stadium has done a good job. With it being officially opened in 1997, the Redskins definitely have a pretty good amount of time left to play there, as it has yet to have any significant issues.
However, when looking at the price to make it, one may actually be surprised. It only cost roughly $250 million to build it. Keep in mind, the Redskins are one of the most prestigious football teams in the entire league, so this price definitely is lower than most would expect.
4 Way Too Expensive: AT&T Stadium
The Dallas Cowboys play at AT&T Stadium and it is one of the most unique sport venues in all of professional sports. With it being opened back in 2009, it quickly became one of the most popular football stadiums in the league because of its notoriously giant video screens.
To build the stadium, it cost about $1.5 billion.
The main issue with this is the fact that it has already had some issues, especially in regards to the giant video screens. Although it is a cool concept, punts have literally hit the machines. This is not ideal for a new stadium and could get old very fast.
3 Cheap: Fenway Park
Fenway Park has been in use for over a decade with it being opened in 1912. It is hard to believe that the Boston Red Sox someday will have to create a new stadium, but one has to be realistic and assume that we are going to have that change in the near future.
To construct Fenway Park, at that time, it only cost $650,000. When translated to today’s terms, that would be roughly $20 million.
Considering the fact that Fenway is one of the most popular fields in the history of the league and has lasted so long, this has been worth every single penny.
2 Way Too Expensive: Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden has been the home of the Original Six New York Rangers since 1964. That means the Rangers have been playing there for more than a half a decade. However, in that time, there have been a ton of renovations to the classic stadium.
In 1991, the Rangers spent roughly $200 million dollars, which translates to about a billion in today’s terms, on renovations. Yet, just two decades later, they had construction again, and this time it cost about $1.1 billion. This is crazy expensive, especially because these are just renovations.
1 Cheap: Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is another iconic baseball park and that mainly is because they are the home of one of the most popular MLB franchises. Can you guess which one? It also is one of the oldest stadiums in the MLB as well, as it has been open since 1962.
When looking at the overall price of its construction, especially in today’s terms, Dodger Stadium was built at a low price. It only cost them $23 million at the time to build it, which translates to roughly $190 million today. No matter what time period, this is still a stadium that could have been far more expensive.