The Seven Sporting Venue Wonders of the World

According to "Barclays Spaces for Sport" survey taken in the UK, these are the Seven Sporting Venue Wonders of the World. What is Barclays Spaces for Sport? According to their website:

Barclays Spaces for Sports is our £30 million investment to create sustainable sports facilities in communities across the UK. It is the single biggest investment in grassroots sport by a company ever in the UK.

In partnership with Groundwork and the Football Foundation, the Barclays Spaces for Sports programme works closely with the communities across the UK who most need our help. Together we have identified disused or worn out areas to be regenerated into sporting facilities that local residents felt they needed, providing them access to sport where this may not have existed.

Without further ado... The Seven Sporting Venue Wonders of the World.

#7. Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia



It is the largest stadium in Australia, and holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. May 25th 2006 saw the first of a series of special soccer events held there when Australia played European Champions Greece in front of a sellout 95,103 spectators.

#6. Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil



Built in 1950 for Brazil to host the World Cup, the stadium is synonymous in South America with the word "upset". This after Uruguay surprised the hosts and came back to win the 1950 World Cup final. From then on the phrase "Maracanazo" has become part of the South American sporting vocabulary. The paid attendance for that 1950 final was a mind boggling 199,500 fans. Today the capacity has been reduced to a less human-crushing 95,000.

#5. San Siro stadium, Milan, Italy




This is one of my favorite stadiums from an architecture standpoint. It kind of looks like it feels half indoors, half outdoors, square with the stands right up against the field. Home to AC Milan and Inter Milan, the official name is the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, named after the legendary player who played for both Milan sides back in the 30's and 40's. At the height of the 40's the stadium held 150,000 spectators! Hard to believe this was before they added the third deck to three of the four sides. Now capacity has been reduced to just over 80,000 as an all-seater.

#4. Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain



Home of Real Madrid, the capacity of this giant stadium once hit 120,000! These days though, with the all seater rules in effect, the capacity is down to just over 80,000. These is a standing proposal to construct a retractable roof, although most doubt it will not happen any time soon. The stadium is named after club president, Santiago Bernabeu, who is credited with growing Real Madrid into the world powerhouse it is today.

#3. The Bird's Nest, Beijing, China



Also known as Beijing National Stadium, is was built for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. Capacity is 80,000 and in 2009 it will host the Italian Super Cup, a pre-season match between the Serie A champion and the winner of the Coppa Italia. This will also be the venue of choice for the Chinese national team.

#2. Nou Camp, Barcelona, Spain


Proposed renovation:


Official it seats over 97,000. It's called the Nou Camp, which means "New Field" in Catalan, because Barcelona started playing there in 1957 when they moved from their Old Field. For the 1982 World Cup finals, the capacity rose up to 120,000. This place is so nice me and the wife went there on our honeymoon.



#1. Monaco F1 Circiut, Monte Carlo, Monaco



Seriously? I could understand if it was in the top 7, but #1? F' that. Monaco is nice and all, but does that mean we should consider NYC a sporting venue because it hosts the marathon? There are much better candidates that the UK voters overlooked. The Azteca comes to mind, as does a certain chocolate-box-like stadium in Argentina. No to mention Brunton Park!