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Stadiums by Class:
What they had in common,
and what set them apart

Home page >> Baseball home page >> Stadium comparisons >> Stadiums by Class (under reconstruction) Last updated:

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Brick & exposed steel beams; asymmetrical field, conforming to tight street grid.

Early 20th century baseball stadiums

a	b	c	d	e	f	g
Baker Bowl 1895-1938	Shibe Park * 1909-1970	Forbes Field 1909-1970	Sportsman's Park * 1909-1966	League Park * 1910-1946	Comiskey Park * 1910-1990	Polo Grounds 1911-1963
Griffith Stadium 1911-1961	Fenway Park 1912-	Tiger Stadium * 1912-1999	Crosley Field * 1912-1970	Ebbets Field 1913-1957	Wrigley Field * 1914-	Braves Field * 1915-1952

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 2.5 miles. Contrary to stereotype, NONE of them were really located "downtown."
• All of these stadiums had roofs supported by steel beams.
• Only one (Comiskey Park) was perfectly symmetrical, though two others were nearly symmetrical, at least in terms of outfield dimensions.
• In five of them the right and left field walls were long, straight, and perpendicular to the foul lines; in a sixth (Tiger Stadium) they were nearly so.
• In only five of the 14 cases does one find the irregularly angled outfield walls that fit the stereotype of these "golden era" stadiums.
• In eight of them there were odd "nooks and crannies" or other peculiarities in the outfield walls.
• All but four of them originally had double-decked grandstands; upper decks were later added to Tiger Stadium (1923), Wrigley Field (1927), and Forbes Field (1938).
• All but two of them underwent major expansion in the 1920s and/or 1930s.
• None of them had curved outfield fences until modifications were made in 1928 (Braves Field) and 1938 (Wrigley Field).
• All but two of these stadiums were originally named either "Field" or "Park."

See notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Predominant use of concrete, symmetrical field; most also used for pro football.

Modern 20th century baseball stadiums

a	b	c	d	e	f
Yankee Stadium 1923-2008	Cleveland Stadium * 1932-1993	Milwaukee County Stadium 1953-2000	Municipal Stadium * (K.C.) 1955-1972	Candlestick Park * 1960-1999	Metropolitan Stadium 1961-1981
Dodger Stadium 1962-	Angels Stadium of Anaheim 1966-	Kauffman Stadium * 1973-	Guaranteed Rate Field * 1991-	(Gray = demolished stadiums) Years indicate MLB lifetime.

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 3.3 miles. ??
• The upper decks in the first six of these stadiums were supported by steel beams. Four of those had large roofs with structural supports.
• In all of them the grandstand behind home plate was curved and symmetrical, at least as far as first and third bases.
• In all but three of them the two wings of the grandstand were straight, forming an acute angle.
• Except for Yankee Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium, lights were installed when they were first built.
• Except for Yankee Stadium and K.C. Municipal Stadium, the outfield dimensions were symmetrical.
• In all of them, the outfield fences included large arcs or curved bends.
• All but two of these stadiums are/were named "Stadium."

NOTE: Memorial Stadium is now classified as a football stadium, below. See other notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Huge size, oblong fields; generally with no roof or else domed.

Football stadiums used for baseball (mass rollover effect)

a	b	c	d	e	f	g
Memorial Stadium * 1950 / 1954-1991	Memorial Coliseum 1923 / 1958-1961	Exhibition Stadium 1959 / 1977-1989	Olympic Stadium 1976 / 1977-2004	H.H.H. Metrodome 1982 / 1982-2009	Mile High Stadium * 1948 / 1993-1994	Dolphin / Hard Rock Stadium * 1987 / 1993-2011

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 3.7 miles; excluding the the "outlier" Dolphin / Hard Rock Stadium, it would be 2.0 miles.
• The first rows of the grandstands in these stadiums were several feet higher than in a typical baseball stadium, except in Memorial Stadium from 1961 on.
• Due to the first rows being higher (except in Memorial Stadium from 1961 on), the dugouts at these stadiums were at ground level, i.e., not "dug out."
• In five out of of the seven stadiums, there was no roof over the main grandstand; the other two were (eventually, at least) covered by a fabric "roof."
• Except for the Metrodome, they were used for football (or the Olympic Games) before baseball was played there. (Years of construction listed below the images above are underlined to indicate subsequent major expansion.)

See notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Single deck with no roof (mostly), symmetrical field, straight fences, rudimentary facilities.

Temporary stadiums (full time, not elsewhere classified)

a	b	c	d	e	f
					.
Seals Stadium 1958-1959	Wrigley Field (L.A.) 1961	Colt Stadium 1962-1964	Sick's Stadium 1969	Jarry Park 1969-1976	(Gray = demolished stadiums; part of Jarry Park is intact.)

Other temporary stadiums
(classifed elsewhere):

• Memorial Coliseum (1958-1961)
• Griffith Stadium (1961)
• Polo Grounds (1962-1963)
• "Chavez Ravine" / Dodger Stadium (1962-1965)
• K.C. Municipal Stadium (1969-1972)
• Mile High Stadium (1993-1994)
• RFK Stadium (2005-2007)

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 2.8 miles.
• All but one of them (Jarry Park) were used by an MLB team for three years or less.
• All but one of them (Jarry Park) were formerly used by minor league baseball teams.
• Four of the five temporary stadiums had only one deck, and three of them had no roof.
• All but one of them (Colt Stadium) had a capacity of less than 30,000.
• All of them were were symmetrical, or nearly so.
• They were used by MLB teams from the late 1950s into the 1970s.

See notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Predominant use of concrete; circular (or nearly), or octorad shape; symmetrical field, some luxury suites.

Dual-use stadiums (cookie-cutters, doughnuts, clones, etc.) (mass rollover effect)

a	b	c	d	e	f	g
RFK Stadium * 1962-2007	Shea Stadium 1964-2008	Astrodome 1965-1999	Busch Stadium II 1966-2005	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium * 1966-1996	Oakland Coliseum * 1968-	Jack Murphy Stadium * 1969-2003
Three Rivers Stadium 1970-2000	Riverfront Stadium * 1970-2002	Veterans Stadium 1971-2003	Arlington Stadium 1972-1993	Kingdome 1977-1999	Rogers Centre (ex-Skydome) 1989-	Tropicana Field * 1998-

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 3.6 miles. Contrary to stereotype, only four of them were located in the suburbs.
• Eight out of the 15 doughnut stadiums had artificial (Astroturf) surfaces during most of their lifetime; Busch Stadium had Astroturf for 26 years.
• Ten of them were circular, though two of those were not complete circles.
• Four of them underwent major expansions; one of them (Jack Murphy Stadium) underwent TWO major expansions.
• All of them originally had symmetrical outfield dimensions; three of them later became slightly asymmetrical.
• All but two of them (Arlington Stadium and Tropicana Field) were shared with pro football teams.
• All but two of these stadiums are/were named either "Stadium" or "Dome."
• The last three of them were domed stadiums.

See notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Brick & exposed steel beams; asymmetrical fields; many luxury suites.

"Neoclassical / Retro" baseball stadiums (late 20th / early 21st century):

a	b	c	d	e	f
Oriole Park at Camden Yards 1992-	Globe Life Park * 1993-2019	Progressive Field * 1994-	Coors Field 1995-	Turner Field * 1997-2016	Chase Field * 1998-
T-Mobile Park * 1999-	Oracle Park * 2000-	Minute Maid Park * 2000-	Comerica Park 2000-	PNC Park 2001-	American Family Field * 2001-
Citizens Bank Park 2004-	Busch Stadium III 2006-	Citi Field 2009-	Yankee Stadium II 2009-	NOTE: Globe Life Park and Turner Field were prematurely abandoned by MLB teams.

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 2.1 miles. Excluding the "outlier" Rangers' Ballpark in Arlingon, the average would be just 1 mile! Nine of the 15 neoclassical stadiums are located downtown, a far greater proportion than in any other era.
• All of them have (or originally had) natural grass surfaces.
• All but one of them (Chase Field) have asymmetrical outfields.
• All but one of them (Turner Field) has at least three corners in the outfield wall.
• In at least six of them there are peculiar bends in the outfield walls.
• Only two of them (Comerica Park and PNC Park) have fewer than three main decks.
• In only three of them are the outfield walls mostly perpendicular to the foul lines.
• In all but three of them the seating capacity was over 10,000 LESS than the team's previous stadium (if any).
• In only four of them do the outfield walls clearly conform to surrounding streets or bodies of water.
• Three of them are (retractable) domed stadiums.
• In all but two of them (Oracle Park and Citi Field) the taxpayers provided over 60 percent of the funds for construction.
• Except for Busch Stadium III, all of these stadiums are named either "Field" or "Park."

See notes at the bottom of this page.

Top ~ Early 20th century ~ Modern 20th century ~ Football ~ Temporary ~ Dual-use ~ Neoclassical ~ Postmodern

Distinguishing features:
Much glass and shiny exposed metal, slightly asymmetrical field; many luxury suites.

Postmodern baseball stadiums: (New classification)

a	b	c	d	e	f	g
Great American Ballpark 2003-	PETCO Park 2004-	Nationals Park 2008-	Target Field 2010-	loanDepot Park * 2012-	Truist Park * 2017-	Globe Life Field 2020-

Generalizations:

• Average distance to city center: 4.25 miles. ??? (Excluding Truist Park and Globe Life Park "outliers," the average would be 1.3 miles! Three of the eight "postmodern" stadiums are located downtown, a smaller proportion than the "neoclassical" stadiums.
• Seven of them have moderately asymmetrical outfields, and Globe Life Park has a markedly asymmetrical outfield.
• All but one of them (Turner Field) has at least three corners in the outfield wall.
• All of them have at least three main decks, and most have multiple levels of luxury suites.
• In only three of them are the outfield walls mostly perpendicular to the foul lines.
• In all but three of them the seating capacity shrank at least 10,000 compared to the team's previous stadium (if any).
• In only two of them (Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium II) do the outfield walls clearly conform to surrounding streets or mass transit rail lines.
• Two of them are (retractable) domed stadiums.
• In all but Yankee Stadium II, the taxpayers provided over 60 percent of the funds for construction.
• Except for Yankee Stadium II, all of these stadiums are named either "Field" or "Park."

NOTES: An asterisk indicates that the name of the stadium changed at least once.
Table values with a yellow green background are exceptionally low, and those with a dark olive background are exceptionally high.
In the "Location" column, "Urban" generally means at least a mile from the city's business district, but no more than five miles away, depending on how big the city is.
In the "Decks" column, decimal quantities refer to the number of skybox levels.
In the "Outfield corners" column, "arc" refers to a long curved fence, and numbers in parentheses refer to abruptly curved bends.
Except for the Neoclassical stadium section, "Original cost" figures are estimates from various sources and are not necessarily comparable. Furthermore, the long-term effects of inflation make it almost impossible to compare dollar figures across many decades.
The "Surface" column pertains to the majority of the stadium's MLB lifetime; see the Turf page for more details.
Items listed under the "Features" column are what distinguish the stadium from others.
To see which team(s) played at each stadium, and when, roll the mouse cursor over the name.

SOURCES: Lowry (1992); ESPN Sports Almanac 1999; Washington Post, Mar. 19, 2003 (data on cost and public sector funding)

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