The greatest. The best. The first. The most prestigious. The richest. The oldest. The biggest. The longest. The daddy. The daddy of the daddy (which is, of course, the GRAND DADDY). And finally the MOTHER of all Sports Bucket Lists.
The list is incomplete... more to come later! Feedback is appreciated, comments welcome.
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-bucket-list-of-u-s-sports-destinations/jimmy_reynolds_jr,
AL: Rickwood Field - The Rickwood Classic
"The home of the Birmingham Barons from 1910-1987, Rickwood Field is America's oldest in-use ballpark. The Friends of Rickwood, a non-profit organization, have helped preserve the timeless relic and part of the proceeds from each year's Classic goes towards improvements and upkeep on the stadium.
The Rickwood Classic has annually been one of the most popular events for baseball fans both in Alabama and across the country."
* http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=20080201&content_id=41116566&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t247&sid=t247
CO: Pikes Peak - Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
"The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest motor sports race in America and a long-standing tradition in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region.
The race is run on a 12.42 mile course with 156 turns that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit of America’s Mountain; Pikes Peak! As the drivers climb toward the summit, the thin air slows reflexes and saps muscle strength. The thin air also robs engines of 30% of their power at the summit. Competitors and vehicles must be in top shape simply to finish…let alone win!"
* http://www.ppihc.com/info/
KS: Allen Fieldhouse - Kansas Jayhawks Basketball
"Named in honor the late Dr. F.C. "Phog" Allen, the Jayhawks' head coach for 39 years, Allen Fieldhouse is labeled by many as one of the best places in America to watch a college basketball game.
The Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1, 1955, as the Jayhawks defeated Kansas State, 77-66, before an overflow throng of 17,228. Since the 1964-65 season, more than five million people have attended Kansas games at Allen Fieldhouse.
Noted sportswriter Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register calls Allen Fieldhouse "the best place in America to watch college basketball."
* http://www.kuathletics.com/facilities/kan-allen-fieldhouse.html
MS: The Grove, University of Mississippi - Pre-Game Tailgating
"The Grove and Ole Miss produce one of the most unique college football experiences in the South and nationwide. The Sporting News ranked it among college football's greatest traditions and described The Grove as "the Holy Grail of tailgating sites." In listing America's top sports colleges, Sports Illustrated named Ole Miss the nation's No. 1 tailgating school."
* http://www.olemisssports.com/trads/the-grove.html
TX: Cowboys Stadium - Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins
"Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wanted to make his mark when it came to building a stadium to replace Texas Stadium. And he didn't disappoint. Everything is Texas-sized.
Cowboys Stadium has several key design features, as outlined by the team's website, including the largest retractable roof on the planet, which when closed makes the facility the largest enclosed NFL stadium.
The most famous feature, however, may be the world's largest HDTV. A center-hung video board is composed of four display screens (two facing the sidelines, measuring 160 feet by 72 feet, and two facing the end zones at 53 feet by 30 feet), weighs 600 tons and is suspended 90 feet above the field. The two bigger screens are the world's largest, SportsBusiness Daily reports"* http://espn.go.com/travel/stadium/_/s/nfl/id/6/cowboys-stadium
GA: Augusta National Golf Club - The Masters
PA: Franklin Field - The Penn Relays
"The University of Pennsylvania's historic football stadium has hosted the best in collegiate and professional competition for most of the century. Originally opened in 1895 (at a cost of $100,000) for the first running of the Penn Relays, the stadium was rebuilt in 1922 in its present form. Franklin Field, deemed by the NCAA as the oldest stadium still operating for football games, has been the site of the nation's first scoreboard (1895), the nation's first two-tiered stadium (1922), the first football radio broadcast (WIP, 1922), the first football telecast (PhilCo, 1939) and Vince Lombardi's only NFL playoff loss (1960).
Franklin Field has also been the home of the Philadelphia Eagles and has hosted the Historic Penn Relays for over 100 years."
* http://www.thepennrelays.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1720&ATCLID=1404670
NE: TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha - College World Series
"The College World Series was first played in Omaha in 1950 and total attendance was 17,805. Although the College World Series is now a profitable event, it lost money for 10 of the first 12 years that it was in Omaha – 1950-1961."
"How this community nurtured the College World Series from humble beginnings to its status as a nationally recognized event is quite a story. A story of how the people of Omaha, its business leaders, city officials and volunteers, embraced the Series and teamed up with the NCAA to make it grow."
* www.cwsomaha.com/
NC: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke vs North Carolina Basketball
"Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium, the crown jewel of college basketball's classic venues, was conceived on the back of a matchbook cover in 1935 and renovated in the late 1980s at a cost of $2 million. Cameron underwent a series of improvements over the summer of 2009 to enhance the gameday experience, while also retaining the revered qualities of the facility now in its 73rd year as the home of the Blue Devils.
It's the intimacy of the arena, the unique seating arrangement that puts the wildest fans right down on the floor with the players. It's the legends that were made there, the feeling of history being made with every game. And it's something more than either of these, something indescribable that comes from the building itself. No one who has experienced it will ever forget it."
* http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=218099
CT: The Yale Bowl - Harvard vs Yale
"The Yale Bowl, home to the Yale football team, is the second oldest active college stadium in the country and one of four National Historic Landmarks on Yale's campus. Designed by Charles A. Ferry (Yale 1871), it has hosted hundreds of college football games over the years, as well as the 1995 Special Olympics, rock concerts, and—for two seasons—the New York Giants. The Bowl seats 61,446 spectators and has 30 entrance tunnels."
* http://www.buildings.yale.edu/property.aspx?id=21