Throughout the history of American sports, there have been some very poor places to sit and watch a game. From the Polo Grounds to Colts Stadium to Candlestick Park, there are some venues which just dare their patrons to have a good time. But perhaps no structure has failed so spectacularly in so many ways as did Philadelphia’s old Veterans Stadium.

Built in the late 1960’s, the Vet was a monstrous mound of concrete. It featured a wraparound seating bowl and an almost circular playing surface which was designed to accommodate the needs of both baseball and football. A noble ambition indeed – too bad it failed miserably in both respects.

At the bottom of this cavernous concrete beast, the circular playing surface was covered with some of the most poorly installed AstroTurf in history. There were several visible gaps and and rough patches, with seams running up and down the length of the field. Ranked nearly every years as the NFL’s worst playing surface, the turf proved to be an injury-creating nightmare. The NFLPA once threatened to sue the city over the dangerous conditions, though the lawsuit never gained enough steam. Agents would discourage their clients from signing in Philly, due to the Vet’s record of demolishing productive players.

Things got to be so bad on the field level that an NFL preseason game was canceled after noticing problems with the supposedly new turf which had been installed in 2001. Ravens coach Brian Billick noticed several soft spots, including a large trench around where the third base bag would be when the Phillies were in town. He refused to allow his players to take the field until the problem was fixed. The grounds crew couldn’t figure it out, so the game was eventually called.

As bad as the playing surface was, the fan accommodations may have been worse. Nearly no maintenance was done on the stadium’s facilities, which resulted in filthy conditions, a garbled and useless sound system, and escalators which always seemed to be broken.

There was also a courtroom in the basement, to deal with unruly and belligerent fans, of which both the Phils and Eagles had plenty. The concessions were believed to be some of the worst in professional sports, and the too-small bathrooms were often closed.

So next time you gripe about the price of a hot dog or seat at your local sports venue, remember the old Vet. Chances are, you’ve got it slightly better than the poor saps who were stuck with that place for more than 30 years.

- Taylor Maxwell

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Tags | Baseball, MLB, Veterans Stadium, worst sports park