Top 11 Unique Sports Stadiums – Jaw-Dropping Spectacles

Would you like to play tennis on top of a skyscraper? Maybe you would play golf on the water on a tiny floating island? We can do it because most of the top 11 unique sports stadiums, arenas, or courts are at our service! Lovers of various sports, especially if they are no longer beginners, are also happy to visit places where they can practice their passion under extraordinary circumstances. A sports facility is usually on the outskirts of cities, towns, or completely secluded areas, but they all have something in common: they are all unique!

Top 11 unique sports stadiums - The Float at Marina Bay

A real architectural rarity. The stadium is one of a kind because it’s literally floating. If you follow the F1 races, you must have noticed at the Singapore Grand Prix that there is a football pitch on the water right by the road, at the shore of Marina Bay. It is 120 meters long and 83 meters wide and has a total weight capacity of 1,070 tons which equals the weight of 9,000 people. Also, there are 27,000 seats on the solid ground, facing the court. The course was built in 15 months and finished in 2007. They made it of steel, covered with actual grass.  It took over a year to build, and in 2007 they finally completed it. They intended it as a temporary venue, but it is so spectacular that the city decided to rebuild it as a permanent place for a museum and various activities. According to plans, it will be ready in 2025. There hasn’t been an official football game there, but The Float hosted different festivals like the National Day Parade. The auditorium of the facility also comes in handy at car races. Since it can hold even nine thousand people, the space is perfect for military parades and concerts.

Municipal Stadium of Braga

Eduardo Souto de Moura’s striking piece of architecture won the Pritzker Architecture Prize for it in 2011. This stadium is also known as "A Pedreira" the Quarry because the builders carved it into the side of the Monte Castro granite rocks in Portugal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK0zO_rLSvM The archeological site remains in the background, but the rest of the stadium is open and offers panoramic city views. The Braga Stadium is one of the most pricey sports facilities in Portugal. Due to the challenging environment and circumstances, the final construction cost was € 85 million. Making it the fourth most expensive stadium among the ten new arenas built for the 2004 European Championships. However, it is often considered one of the most original and beautiful stadiums. You can check out the upcoming matches of these sports facilities at BetVictor Sportsbook!

Unique Sports Stadiums - Faroe Islands Stadium

The Faroe Islands are between Scotland and Iceland, between the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. There they built a soccer stadium right by the coast. Though the sight is fascinating, when the ball leaves the field, it causes trouble. In fact, there is a ship that circles around the facility, that has a supply of spare soccer balls to replace the ones falling into the water. Only a few meters from the Atlantic Ocean, this sports field gives quite a few semi-professional soccer teams a spectacular place to practice.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ghALZlQMVg They have to be especially careful because a reckless kick takes the ball straight into the ocean. There are only a few standing places on the edge of the field, so the number of fans is limited. The town of Eiði takes place in the north-western part of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. The community has only 669 residents, and in its center, we find a large stone church from 1881, built for the 100th anniversary of the settlement. The stadium deserves to be among the top 11 unique sports stadiums because it’s not every day you see anything like this!

Top 11 unique sports stadiums - Burj al Arab Tennis Court 

The tallest tennis court in the world is at the top of the fourth tallest hotel, the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai. The infamous friendly match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi happened on this tennis court on top of the 321-meter-tall building. The Burj al Arab is a 7-star hotel that turned its helipad into an iconic sports spectacle. So they built the track on a circular terrace. Reportedly, for this promo game, the organizers had to convince the star players for a long time after one of them, it has never turned out which, admitted being afraid of heights. Well, it’s completely understandable.  Look up the pictures at online gambling sites in the US but first, find something to hold onto. The match eventually took place, advertising the famous ski paradise (below) and the Burj al Arab. It must be a dizzying experience to play at the top of the hotel, the tallest tennis court out there, but it also functions as a helipad. The hotel is 321 meters high, and the track is almost at the top. Burj Al Arab is on an artificial island, and the shape of the building imitates a sail. It is absolutely on the top of our unique sports stadiums list.

Mmabatho and the Gospin Dolac Stadium

Mmabatho is a gigantic stadium with a capacity of 59,000 spectators, located in Mafikeng, South Africa. They designed the bleachers’ structure in a pretty unique way. They are separated from each other and leveled differently. The goal was to prevent rivals from getting into fights. They built the multi-purpose sports stadium in 1981. On the other end of the spectrum is the Gospin Dolac stadium that is a small facility with a capacity of 4,000 spectators, in the small village of Imotski in Croatia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLFsp2PgvZM Impressive quarries and rocks surround the court, and there is a beautiful maar just outside the stadium. It is also a somewhat old stadium that opened in 1989. On top of all that, a medieval fortress dominates the panorama. The stadium is on the edge of a 500-meter cliff at Lago Azul. The landscape, as well as the stadium, is a true spectacle. That is why Gospin Dolac made it to our list of the top 11 unique sports stadiums.

Unique sports stadiums - Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai is not exactly a stadium, but it’s worth mentioning since it’s a ski paradise in the middle of the desert. And not just any ski resort. It’s not just a simple, covered ski track, although that’s obvious due to its location. The facility is part of one of the largest shopping malls in the world. The architects created an authentic miniaturized alpine mountain in the Mall of the Emirates, which is an architectural miracle in itself. In the mid-2000s, Dubai made headlines every month with some crazy idea to prove that they were capable of every seemingly impossible project. It’s safe to say that they have made some pretty unique things. In addition to skyscrapers and artificial islands, the Emirates has created a winter wonderland, still going strong since its opening. The ski resort is open all year round, keeping the temperature between -1 and 2 Celsius (30 F) at all times. That’s pretty amazing and unique that they managed this while surrounded by the desert. Especially, since the average temperature in the city does not fall much below 20 Celsius in winter. The building has an 85-meter-high slope with five tracks of varying difficulty. There are other entertainment options such as a mini bobsleigh run, and an actual penguin colony. 

Ski resort in Algeria

Let’s stick with skiing a little longer. It is not exactly a sport you would expect in Africa either and, yet, they also have a ski track. Who would have thought that there is a winter sports opportunity on the hottest continent? In terms of authenticity, it is a bit out of the list, as it is not an artificial facility. The Algerian city of Chréa is a natural ski paradise in the Atlas Mountains, where intense snowfall is not uncommon in winter. 

Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course

In the world of golf Coeur d’Alene with its Floating Green of The Coeur d’Alene Resort is the real deal. The golf course overlooks the beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene, but that’s not why it made it to our list. Besides the luxurious facilities and spa, there is an 18-hole golf course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE3AYuQO9-Q The resort includes the only floating golf island that Scott Miller designed. They can move it with a computer program, and a water taxi takes the players to the course. They can also adjust the difficulty level from the mainland. The golf course at Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho is striking in itself, but the 14th hole on an artificial island is particularly stunning. You will never find this island in the same place because it is constantly on the move.

Unique sports stadiums - Floating skateboard ramp

There is another floating venue. In 2013, an organization asked a professional skater, Bob Burnquist, to dream big and come up with something completely original that would attract tourists. Burnquist didn’t have to be told twice. He soon figured out that the unique ramp needed to be on the water since most skaters have already tried every available solid surface. A week later, they had a ramp at Lake Tahoe. There is a fine line between weird and unique, check out our article about the most bizarre sports ever, as well!

Uummannaq Golf Course

The venue for The World Ice Golf Championship is an ice golf course in Uummannaq, Greenland. It seems that not just winter sports tend to appear in an otherwise hot environment, but some summer sports occur in snowy places, as well. The “stadium” is in Uummannaq Greenland, where the World Ice Golf Championship takes place since 1999. There are some differences from traditional golf. The players use a red ball and call the otherwise green area white here. Oh, and of course, they play it on the ice. It is also interesting that the track changes from year to year due to the moving ice, so the days of this unique place are probably numbered due to global warming. Snow-blindness, golf clubs that can’t withstand the frosty weather, and the frozen snow that often covers the ice, which can prevent the ball from rolling, make the game extremely difficult. However, these are all the factors that make such an extraordinary place unique!

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