Stadiums that shouldn't have been replaced...

Boston Garden Built 1928, Demolished 1997- The historical epicenter of NBA basketball for many years this was where the great Boston Celtics dynasty was built, and that could have been largely due to the building itself. Also hosting the Boston Bruins, the 15,000 seat arena was built with neither hockey or basketball in mind, it was built for boxing with the intent of allowing every person to be able to get a close look at the action.

This of course resulted in the seats being right on top of the players and the playing areas, giving it a very intimate and intimidating atmosphere. And speaking of atmosphere, there was no atmosphere in the garden, so a fog would develop over the ice during hockey games and it reached 97 degrees during the 1984 NBA Finals, and players were given oxygen to fight the heat.

It was rat infested, the electrical system occasionally failed and visitors lockers room were horrible. However, it hosted 16 Stanley Cup Finals and 20 NBA Finals and that may have had something to do with the fact that fans in the last row of the stadium was still close enough to the action to get the opposing coach to flip them off (true story) for their heckling. In Boston Sports lore, this is Holy Ground - and yet they had to tear it down for a brand new, soulless arena. What a shame...

Chicago Stadium Built 1929, Demolished 1994- Believe or not, Chicago Stadium is the breeding ground for Arena Football... kinda. Due to weather conditions outside, the first NFL playoff game was played inside its walls in 1932 on an 80-yard field.

While original capacity was 17,000, the record for an NHL game was set inside the stadium when over 20,000 people watched a Blackhawks playoff game in 1982. That record stood until 1996. The place was mammoth, and featured an grand organ that was played during hockey games which gave fan noise a loud ringing noise.

And they had plenty to cheer about when Michael Jordan and the Bulls brought some NBA Championships to Chicago. The grand scale of this venerable arena was the perfect backdrop for the budding years of the best basketball player ever.

How attached were fans? When CNN broadcasted the stadium's demolition, they showed footage of Blackhawks and Bulls fans crying.


Spokane Coliseum Built 1954, Demolished 1995 - While the Spokane Arena is probably one of the best things ever to happen to the Lilac City, there were plenty of memories to be had in the Coliseum. Affectionately called the "Boone Street Barn" many Chiefs fans were born in this building as the team really rose to prominence in the 5,400 stadium.

Ironically though, it was the Chiefs who lobbied for a new stadium but even team owner Bobby Brett expressed the opinion that he didn't want to see the Coliseum torn down. If it were still standing today, it would have provided Spokane a wonderful mid-sized arena with plenty of character and history to go along with it.

Foxboro Stadium Built 1971, Demolished 2001 - So it may have been one of the worst stadiums in the NFL, according to some (probably team owners), but Foxboro Stadium had plenty of memories. It was the site for the infamous Snow Plow Game, home of the Patriots during their mid-90s Super Bowl Run with Drew Bledsoe and the last game played in the place was the Tuck Rule Game which was a stroke of luck that allowed the New England Patriots to become the dynasty that they are today.

Why was it one of the worst stadiums? Because it was build cheaply, meaning that their were bleacher seats instead of individual premium box seating, no luxury boxes and no fancy locker rooms. Meaning that the fans that showed up to the games were true fans, not the corporate Disneyland crew that shows up to Patriot games now at Gillette Stadium, leading to many criticisms about the atmosphere at those games.

Sure it wasn't pretty, but it was a 60,000 seat snowbank that allowed fans to be fans. New England couldn't overcharge for tickets and therefore the real fans got to go to the stadium. Patriot fans long complained about their digs until it was finally gone and now they've lost something special forever.

Mile High Stadium Built 1948, Demolished 2002 - Originally built as a baseball stadium, Mile High was one of those weird multi-use stadium that worked well. Mainly because they didn't host a major league baseball team until the 90s, and mainly because the Denver Broncos provided so many memories in the place.

The high altitude, combined with the home field advantage of 76,000 fans was pretty tough for visiting teams to overcome. I know, watched many Seahawks teams go kaput there. The playing field would actually shake from fan noise and movement during games.

One of the grandstands could move so it could host baseball and when the Colorado Rockies were formed, Mile High set an all-season attendance record of close to 4.5 million that will never be broken.

While Invesco Field has tried to recreate that shaking effect, it's just not the same as the Broncos lost a certain mystique when they moved out of Mile High.

Memorial Coliseum Built 1960, still standing - The Portland Trailblazers have since moved into the state-of-the art confines of the Rose Garden, which is a marvelous facility, but there's still a special spot in Portland fans for Memorial Coliseum.

Due to its somewhat small size, just under 13,000, the place had quite the record for sell-outs when it came to Blazer games. However don't tell opposing teams that the crowd was small as Rip City has some of the most electric fans in the NBA.

Still a great facility, lets hope Portland doesn't tear it down. And what about the Blazers playing a throwback game there?