The (Un)Coolness of Stadium Names

Sitting here at the house while it is cloudy and cold outside, I was reminiscing about the wonderful times I have had tailgating at Arrowhead. This got me thinking about stadiums in the various sports and the names of those places. I got to doing some research on the stadiums and the names and I was going to organize them into some type of system when I realized that there are actually only two categories– Cool and Bad. I was even going to extend this into college stadiums and further when I once again came to the conclusion that there are still only two categories–Cool and Bad.

Follow me here. To me, Cool exemplifies the team that plays there, the city or university represented and the sport itself. Bad is so self-evident that we all cringe at the very mention of the name. Usually, Bad is done for money or naming rights and has nothing whatsoever to do with the team or the sport itself. I’ll try to give some examples of each.

Cool Names

Giants Stadium
Pretty obvious who plays there. They even allow that other team, the Jets, to play. Nothing fancy, just very straight forward and to the point. So good that you don’t even have to tell a sports fan where it is or what sport is played there.

Lambeau Field
Well, that pretty much sums up that one. Everybody and their brother knows this one.

LA Coliseum
Even though I can’t stand USC I have to admit that the stadium name is nothing fancy or froo-froo even for Los Angeles.

Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge
I hate LSU as much as I hate the Raiders and Broncos but their stadium has a very good name. Says it all and even says who plays there.

Death Valley, Clemson
Now, THAT is a cool name.

Wrigley Field
When the name itself is an icon then it must be good.

The Pit, New Mexico Basketball
One of the best names in basketball or any sport.

Now here are some of the Bad. First of all, Bad includes any stadium name after a corporation or egotistical person who wanted their name on a stadium just because they gave a lot of money to a school or paid for naming rights. Naming rights - I despise the term itself.

Bad Names

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
As a life-long Razorback fan I gag just trying to say this monstrosity. It once was just Razorback Stadium, the Coolest name, until this guy thought he should have his name on it because he gave some money. Hey, if you’re a fan your ego shouldn’t take precedence.

Lincoln Financial Field
Do the Eagles play there or a bunch of Wall Street folks?

Raymond James Stadium and Bank of America Stadium
See above.

University of Phoenix Stadium
And a COLLEGE doesn’t even play there!

M&T Bank Stadium
Doesn’t this name instilll fear in opponents?

I could go on and on about Bad names, but there are so many that I could never list them all. Time and space just won’t allow it. Suffice to say that any stadium named after a corporation, a bank, a person who did nothing but give money, etc. deserves to be boycotted and the people who decided on the name should be paraded in the parking lots before games and subjected to all the abuse they deserve.

Of course, to me, the Coolest name in all of sports is Arrowhead Stadium.

Represents everything about the team and the fans. Even the design goes with the name. Looking at the beautiful lines and flow of the stadium one just can’t help but be impressed. Help us all if the day comes when we play in places named Qualcomm and such.