9/5/23: The Top Five Coolest Track Stadiums Ever
Written By: Ben Drury
Track and Field like a lot of others sports has the same playing field pretty much wherever you go. But, another similarity that Track and Field shares with other sports is that the stadium that houses the track can differ, and today I will be talking about the 5 coolest track stadiums ever.
5. Arena Stade Couvert
The Arena Stade Couvert, in Liévin, France is located just 172 miles north of Paris, France, and it is the fifth coolest track stadium in the world. The Arena Stade Couvert is more of a multi-purpose complex than a track specific stadium, and it holds a capacity of 6,000 people. This facility has been the host of 8 World Records. Alongside being used as a indoor track the Arena Stade Couvert features a amphitheater with 300 seats and it has 10 full equipped classrooms, when was the last time a World Record and a class was taught at the same place. The indoor track portion of the Arena Stade Couvert is absolutely incredible with its two toned track surface and its lights that provide for us a dim appearance, and an atmosphere that is unique to run in.
4. Stade Sébastien Charléty
The Stade Sébastien Charléty is located in Paris, France, just a little bit more than 6 miles away from the Eiffel tower and like the city of Paris this stadium is beautiful. It’s nice blue track is very eye catching at it goes will with the overall look of the facility. Alongside the interior, the exterior is also amazing, with it being nestled within in the city. This track isn’t just cool it’s also the home of some fast time. Just this year, this stadium has been the sight of 3 World Records those being the men’s 1500m and 3000m Steeplechase and the women’s 5000m.
3. The Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory
Formerly known as just The Armory, the Nike Track and Field Center at The Armory is one of the oldest indoor tracks in America and the world. The old school gymnasium-esc ecstatic of this historic location is unmatched compared to it’s counterparts on this list. I love the windows and how they provide a nice amount of natural light, I also like how the seat are dispersed within the walls and the multiple layers of them.
2. The New Hayward Field
As it says in the title this is the New Hayward Field. Like the Armory, Hayward Field has been a staple in American distance running, this is shown further by it being in “Tracktown USA” a.k.a Eugene, Oregon. The old Hayward Field was home to some great races, and thanks to some renovations there will be many more to come. The thing I love about this stadium the most is the attention to detail, like how there is an Olympic torch or the extensive measures they took to make the athlete’s experiences the best, for example the connected warmup track.
1. Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium, is THE coolest stadium ever. It is so cool because it has been open for 2 and half thousand years, and what makes that awesome is that people have been running here before the sport of Track and Field was even invented. A fun fact about Panathenaic Stadium is that in 144 AD the capacity was only 50,000 and now it is 80,000. In prior years it has become a great tourist attraction, and an attraction that any runner should visit.