N/S Former NFL stadiums and what those properties look like now (3 Viewers)

[Saintman2884]

The Historic New Orleans Collection - hnoc.org

Before the Superdome, There Was Tulane Stadium

The venue played host to Tulane Green Wave games, the New Orleans Saints’s first few seasons, and three Super Bowls.

www.hnoc.org

Wikipedia:

Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium in the southern United States on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It stood from 1926 to 1980 and was officially the Third Tulane Stadium, following the "Second Tulane Stadium", which was located where the Telephone Exchange Building is now.[1]

The former site is currently bound by Willow Street to the south, Ben Weiner Drive to the east, the Tulane University property line west of McAlister Place, and the Hertz Basketball/Volleyball Practice Facility and the Green Wave's current home, Yulman Stadium, to the north.

Full Article Below:

Tulane Stadium - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Well, then that settles it. I thought I remember reading in an article about 15-20 years ago that Tulane Stadium was located in a N.O. suburb like Metairie.

 

[KiwiSaint]

I was hoping to see Jarry Park, the original home of the Montreal Expos…RIP!

 

[Saintman2884]

I was hoping to see Jarry Park, the original home of the Montreal Expos…RIP!

I believe that park is still around and is still being used for local college, HS baseball games. Interesting thing about Jarry Park is that, like now, it originally was a minor-league stadium that seated a little over 15-20,000 people when Montreal was a big, favorite minor-league destination in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's with the Brooklyn/L.A. Dodgers and once Montreal was awarded a MLB expansion franchise to begin play in 1969 season, every possible attempt was made to temporarily upgrade seating to reach MLB minimum-attendance standards and the public reaction to the Expos arrival before their inaguaral season was immense. Their was a huge, major downtown parade for newly-signed, arrived Expos players. Expos merchandise sold out immediately---hats, pennants, cups, T-shirts, baseballs, anything and everything. Probably the most famous Expos player of the first decade: Park Jarry years had to be Rusty Staub, from 1969-1976.

Montreal already had a Dynasty-championship squad in the Canadiens, but having an actual MLB franchise in Francophone, French-speaking Quebec at a period in time when Quebecois nationalism and far-left FLQ were causing a lot of problems for Pierre Trudeau's very successful "Quiet Revolution" throughout Canada was a bit deal and seen as a sign that Montreal had hit the big time. It was also the very first MLB franchise outside the USA, until the Toronto Blue Jays began play in 1977 in a freezing, blustering snow storm vs. Chicago White Sox.

I certainly think it's plausible that Expos might come back albeit as a relocated franchise, if Tampa Bay Rays can't reach a long-term new stadium agreement and lease agreement with state of Florida. One major problem with Olympic Stadium is that they kept on toying with it for years and years. Expos asked in the late 70's for a grass surface instead of artificial turf, the city and stadium operators said no and proceeded to install an even harder, difficult artificial playing surface that was more injury-prone. Olympic Stadium's playing surface, even from its very beginning, was regarded as one MLB'S worst along with Veterans Stadium.

Olympic had done an outstanding, first-rate job hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics but a lot like Atlanta's Turner Field later on with the Braves, it didnt adapt as well to its configuration as a MLB stadium. Plus, add in Atlanta's notoriously bad, logistical log-jam traffic, economic area around Turner Field not developing the way they'd hoped in the late 90's and considering most Braves fans lived in surrounding suburbs like Cobb, Fulton, and Gwinnett, a move to the suburbs was sort of inevitable.

 

[St. Geezy]

Cool video. It’s always been crazy to me that Atlanta has had two new football stadiums built in such a short time span.

I’d imagine they’re the only team that has had two new stadiums built within like 25 years of each other.

The fail in that franchise has no bounds.

 

[St. Geezy]

Been to a few of those that are gone or no longer used. Astrodome, Jack Murphy Stadium…..and the Superdome saw a lot of those come and go.


Btw….good riddance to Candlestick park. I hated that stadium and the team that played in it.

Really hated that team, but I must say, I do miss them as a divisional rival. It was quirky, but it sure was fun having a California rival, two of them, for that matter.

 

[Bill]

Of the stadiums that are still being used by NFL teams, the Top 5 in terms of age are:

1. Soldier Field (1924) - Bears
2. Lambeau Field (1957) - Packers
3. Arrowhead Stadium (1972) - Chiefs
4. Highmark Stadium (1973) - Bills
5. Caesars Superdome (1975) - Saints

The current renovations to the Superdome in preparation for Super Bowl LIX will likely have it looking like a jewel for the next 10 years... or until the next major hurricane comes through, whichever comes first.

 

[Saintman2884]

Of the stadiums that are still being used by NFL teams, the Top 5 in terms of age are:

1. Soldier Field (1924) - Bears
2. Lambeau Field (1957) - Packers
3. Arrowhead Stadium (1972) - Chiefs
4. Highmark Stadium (1973) - Bills
5. Caesars Superdome (1975) - Saints

The current renovations to the Superdome in preparation for Super Bowl LIX will likely have it looking like a jewel for the next 10 years... or until the next major hurricane comes through, whichever comes first.

The curious, interesting observation that has to be made about those Top 5 oldest stadiums still in use today is that also, a decade from now, the Superdome and also Lambeau Field will likely be the only two stadiums still hosting NFL games. Chicago, eventually, whether its in the city or more probably, Arlington Heights, are going to have a new, domed stadium. The Buffalo Bills have a brand new, open-air stadium that will be ready, IIRC, by the 2026 or 2027 seasons.

Yes, the voters in Kansas City said no to public money to funding renovations or potential new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals but both of those teams' leases last for another 6-7 years and Kansas City leaders, Chiefs fans, both teams fanbases actually do some more touch-and-go negotiations that may last a few years and might get tense at some points, I do believe both teams will get new stadiums. Missouri only has one NFL team left and right now, their a dynasty team that will remain competitive for the next decade as long as #15 continues to play at a high level. I would strongly recommend and suggest Hunt family pay 75-80% of the costs of any new stadium and if push comes to shove, its difficult for me to imagine the Chiefs not being in Kansas City and if problems keep arising, I can picture the NFL FO stepping in and pushing for a deal to get finalized.

As an aside, it's hard to believe now that for essentially 35-40 years, Packers played half of their homes games at Milwaukee County-Stadium, even Lombardi's legendary 1960's squads and good, sizeable portion of NFL fans today aren't even aware of it. This upcoming season will actually be the 30th anniversary of the Packers sharing their home games with Milwaukee. Honestly, 40-45 years ago, Lambeau Field hardly resembled an NFL-caliber facility even at the height of late 70's/early 80's cookie-cutter, multi-purpose stadiums. It looked perpetually old, worn-down, rustic, not the modern, state-of-the-art architectural wonder its gleams as now. The Packers of the early 80's had some promising, strong, talented teams but their ownership model, complete lack of success made them appear outdated and stuck in the past.

Their were actually very serious discussions in the early 80's about Packers moving permanently to Milwaukee and setting up shop in a more comparatively modern, forward-thinking, larger, market-friendly city like Milwaukee and several then-Packers stars, like James Lofton actually came out and publicly said he preferred playing in Milwaukee and wanted the team to relocate their for good.

 

[Bill]

The curious, interesting observation that has to be made about those Top 5 oldest stadiums still in use today is that also, a decade from now, the Superdome and also Lambeau Field will likely be the only two stadiums still hosting NFL games. Chicago, eventually, whether its in the city or more probably, Arlington Heights, are going to have a new, domed stadium. The Buffalo Bills have a brand new, open-air stadium that will be ready, IIRC, by the 2026 or 2027 seasons.

Yes, the voters in Kansas City said no to public money to funding renovations or potential new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals but both of those teams' leases last for another 6-7 years and Kansas City leaders, Chiefs fans, both teams fanbases actually do some more touch-and-go negotiations that may last a few years and might get tense at some points, I do believe both teams will get new stadiums. Missouri only has one NFL team left and right now, their a dynasty team that will remain competitive for the next decade as long as #15 continues to play at a high level. I would strongly recommend and suggest Hunt family pay 75-80% of the costs of any new stadium and if push comes to shove, its difficult for me to imagine the Chiefs not being in Kansas City and if problems keep arising, I can picture the NFL FO stepping in and pushing for a deal to get finalized.

As an aside, it's hard to believe now that for essentially 35-40 years, Packers played half of their homes games at Milwaukee County-Stadium, even Lombardi's legendary 1960's squads and good, sizeable portion of NFL fans today aren't even aware of it. This upcoming season will actually be the 30th anniversary of the Packers sharing their home games with Milwaukee. Honestly, 40-45 years ago, Lambeau Field hardly resembled an NFL-caliber facility even at the height of late 70's/early 80's cookie-cutter, multi-purpose stadiums. It looked perpetually old, worn-down, rustic, not the modern, state-of-the-art architectural wonder its gleams as now. The Packers of the early 80's had some promising, strong, talented teams but their ownership model, complete lack of success made them appear outdated and stuck in the past.

Their were actually very serious discussions in the early 80's about Packers moving permanently to Milwaukee and setting up shop in a more comparatively modern, forward-thinking, larger, market-friendly city like Milwaukee and several then-Packers stars, like James Lofton actually came out and publicly said he preferred playing in Milwaukee and wanted the team to relocate their for good.

All your fun facts are well made, and your scenarios may indeed come to fruition.
However, I try not to think too far in advance for the league or their franchises. I believe it's only a matter of time before the whole thing blows up. I'm just going to enjoy the pastime each year that it is able to survive the pace of the insatiable money-grab. It will eventually be unsupportable for the vast majority of fans.

 

[UFCSaint]

Any old timer fan who doesn't feel the same is just wild to me. There can be no other, that team ruined my football childhood. It's the only team in the whole league that I truly hate with all of my heart.

Exactly. You can usually tell the younger generation of fans by their lack of hatred for this team lol.

 

[St. Geezy]

Exactly. You can usually tell the younger generation of fans by their lack of hatred for this team lol.

There is an alarming number of Saints fans that have no idea that the 49ers were once our most heated rivalry, from a competitive standpoint.

Atlanta certainly was our regional rival and the fans have fun with hating on each other, but when it came to the actual standings and on the field hatred, the rivalry with “Frisco” was the one.

 

[St.Dan]

There is an alarming number of Saints fans that have no idea that the 49ers were once our most heated rivalry, from a competitive standpoint.

Atlanta certainly was our regional rival and the fans have fun with hating on each other, but when it came to the actual standings and on the field hatred, the rivalry with “Frisco” was the one.

The realignment of the divisions in 2002 was the last league-wide decision that made sense. That was still in Tags’ time as commish and the league hadn’t become a serious question mark in terms of integrity yet.

It made zero sense to call our old division the NFC “West” when two of its four teams weren’t anywhere near the West. Granted, the previous divisional setup was a result of the political-style dealmaking that had to happen in the late ‘60s to make the AFL-NFL merger work in the first place.

 

[St. Geezy]

The realignment of the divisions in 2002 was the last league-wide decision that made sense. That was still in Tags’ time as commish and the league hadn’t become a serious question mark in terms of integrity yet.

It made zero sense to call our old division the NFC “West” when two of its four teams weren’t anywhere near the West. Granted, the previous divisional setup was a result of the political-style dealmaking that had to happen in the late ‘60s to make the AFL-NFL merger work in the first place.

I actually preferred the quirkiness of the old alignment. I thought it was pretty awesome to have rivalries with teams from different parts of the country. Plus a team like Dallas have those sort of traditional, non-regional rivalries, so it's not like they totally went away. The Patriots' dynasty sure would have looked a lot different if they were going toe-to-toe with Peyton Manning for division title honors every year instead of the trash QBs they faced every year in the new "East."

Another underrated thing I didn't like about realignment is I thought it kind of inadvertently diluted the playoff field. Prior to realignment, and I did this research awhile back and my memory is fuzzy, but I think there was literally only one single digit win division winner since the league went to 16 games, and now, it is pretty much an annual occurrence. I also liked how under the old alignment, the best wild card team hosted a playoff game. But now, with this mess we have, the best wild card team is on the road and many times they're playing against a far inferior division winner record-wise.

But oh well, we have what we have.

 

[St.Dan]

I actually preferred the quirkiness of the old alignment. I thought it was pretty awesome to have rivalries with teams from different parts of the country. Plus a team like Dallas have those sort of traditional, non-regional rivalries, so it's not like they totally went away. The Patriots' dynasty sure would have looked a lot different if they were going toe-to-toe with Peyton Manning for division title honors every year instead of the trash QBs they faced every year in the new "East."

Another underrated thing I didn't like about realignment is I thought it kind of inadvertently diluted the playoff field. Prior to realignment, and I did this research awhile back and my memory is fuzzy, but I think there was literally only one single digit win division winner since the league went to 16 games, and now, it is pretty much an annual occurrence. I also liked how under the old alignment, the best wild card team hosted a playoff game. But now, with this mess we have, the best wild card team is on the road and many times they're playing against a far inferior division winner record-wise.

But oh well, we have what we have.

Expansion in and of itself helped dilute it. Houston re-entered the league in ‘02, with the Texans. And Cleveland re-entered the league with the “new” Browns just three years earlier.

 

[Saintman2884]

The realignment of the divisions in 2002 was the last league-wide decision that made sense. That was still in Tags’ time as commish and the league hadn’t become a serious question mark in terms of integrity yet.

It made zero sense to call our old division the NFC “West” when two of its four teams weren’t anywhere near the West. Granted, the previous divisional setup was a result of the political-style dealmaking that had to happen in the late ‘60s to make the AFL-NFL merger work in the first place.

A crucial part of that deal-making, in ensuring Congress allowed the AFL-NFL merger with the anti-trust exemption is that Rozelle had or maybe, according to Dave Dixon's view, "forced" to give New Orleans an expansion franchise on a timetable that he didnt necessarily set or agree to, but had to compromise with powerful La. politicians, Hale Boggs and Senator Russell Long, and verbally commit to, to save and help promote NFL towards becoming this nation's most popular sport by mid-70's. I've always suspected Rozelle held a portion of private resentment towards New Orleans and the Saints franchise because our existence was due to hard-fought, bitterly negotiated compromises needed for a larger, more essential goal.

I'm not saying Rozelle was opposed to the idea of an New Orleans NFL team, clearly he had seen and knew about how successful and popular many of our exhibition pre-season games had been with Packers at Tulane Stadium in the early 60's and that wed come very close to bringing the old AFL's Houston Texans to town after the 1962 season (it mightve succeeded if some of the Tulane executive board of directors had been more "openly receptive" to the idea, since most were strong NFL supporters.) But Rozelle liked doing things mostly centered around his own time-table and without allowing outside or owner interference dictating or altering his decision-making.

That's eventually why he developed a decades-long, life-long antagonistic feud with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis on competition issues, Davis' initial 1980 relocation threat that dragged out in federal court for two years in L.A. (one Davis won), and later on, having to deal with contensious labor issues in the 1980's over issues that his successor would agree to concerning unrestricted free agency, a general salary cap, and more occasional franchise relocation like the St. Louis football Cardinals moving to Arizona, Baltimore Colts painful, cruel move to Indy in late January 1984, eventually Cleveland Browns moving to Baltimore, becoming the Ravens, and Cleveland given a expansion team but with old team name, colors, uniforms, history, but being mostly a limping, helpless, shell of a once-great franchise that's been mostly terrible the last 25 years until very recently.

 

[Clintonrebel]

It’s a reminder that in 35 years, Atlanta’s football and baseball franchises have had three stadiums each that they can’t fill up.