Bay Area Stadiums and Arenas, Ranked: Every Venue Guide
Seven buildings, one fan, and a ranking you are going to yell at me about.
We've got the best collection of places to watch sports in America. I'll stand on that. A ballpark on the water, a hockey barn that shakes, a brand new arena on the bay, and a college stadium sitting on top of an actual earthquake fault. So I ranked them, and yes, I know you'll be mad about number four.
Oracle Park
Not close. The bay beyond right field, the kayaks in the Cove, the bridge in the distance, the garlic fries. Even when the team's terrible, and lately it has been, I'd still rather sit here than almost anywhere on earth. Here's my Oracle Park guide.
SAP Center
The Tank is the loudest room in the South Bay when it's rolling, and you can walk there from the train. It's old and I don't care. Here's the game night countdown.
Chase Center
Gorgeous, spotless, and it'll cost you a car payment. It still doesn't feel like Oakland, but watching Steph in that building is pretty hard to complain about. My Chase Center guide.
Levi's Stadium
I said you'd be mad. It's a beautiful building and the team's 6 and 1, but the east side will cook you alive and it's nowhere near San Francisco. I love what happens on that field. I don't love the sun. My survival guide.
California Memorial Stadium
Opened in 1923, it sits right on the Hayward Fault, and from the top rows you can see the Golden Gate on a clear day. Best view in college football, and I don't want to hear about anybody else's.
Stanford Stadium
Rebuilt in 2006, and the old one hosted Super Bowl XIX, when Montana took Marino apart right here. Tree lined, quiet, easy parking. A very polite place to watch football.
Sutter Health Park
It's a nice minor league park, and that's exactly the problem. My full guide's here, and I'm still mad about all of it.
The ghosts
And then there are the ones we lost, which I'd honestly trade half of the list above to see one more time.
Candlestick, where the wind stole your hot dog and The Catch happened, came down in 2015. Oracle Arena was Roaracle, the loudest building I've ever heard, and the Warriors left it in 2019. And the Oakland Coliseum, ugly and perfect, watched the A's walk out in 2024.
Nobody ever built a better place to yell.
Every home team's schedule and story is on the Bay Area Sports hub, and if you want the trophies won in all these buildings, here's every Bay Area title. So tell me: what's your number one? It had better be Oracle Park.
More coverage: Bay Area · History · Bay Area Sports Blog home