What makes a stadium important?

A press release arrived in my e-mail inbox this morning from SportsPro magazine. In its June edition, SportsPro ranked the 30 "most important sports venues" in the world.

What the hell consitutes an "important sports venue," you might ask? SportsPro editor David Cushnan explained it this way in the release: "The crucial thing to remember is that this is not a list of the best stadiums in the world; it is a ranking of the most important. We took many factors into account, including size, history, modernity and infrastructure, but we also examined the technology of each venue, as well as the versatility, originality and commercial performance."

That seems like a lot of conflicting criteria. And when examining the list, it seems the international magazine, based in London, should have narrowed its focus.

Like most ignorant Americans, I can't comment much on the venues outside the U.S. that made the list, like World Games Stadium in Taiwan, which earned the top spot.
But nine U.S. locations did make the cut, and I have some issues with a few, as well as one omission.

First, the ones that cannot be argued: Augusta National (No. 17), Madison Square Garden (No. 14), Fenway Park (No. 20). Regardless of your sports allegiance, no sane person could argue against the importance of these places in the American sports landscape.

A few inclusions I'm fairly indifferent about. I'm not sure if they belong on the list, but I'm not opposed, either: Flushing Meadows (No. 12), Bristol Motor Speedway (No. 28), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (No. 18). Two racetracks seems excessive, but whatever.

Here's where my beef begins, from least egregious to most egregious:

Yankee Stadium - A few years ago, no one would argue against the House that Ruth Built. But that house is gone, demolished in favor of a very expensive replacement. While the Yankees' new digs do retain some of the old charm, it's not the same.

Lucas Oil Stadium - It's a mystery how the Colts' relatively new arena could be considered important on an international scale. Unfortunately, SportsPro didn't provide explanation for the whole list (only the top 5), but this is an odd selection. What makes Lucas Oil more important than any other run-of-the-mill new stadium?

Cowboys Stadium - A few of the arguments against the new Yankee Stadium apply to the new Cowboy Stadium. Perhaps the old building, where Cowboys greats like Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith became legends, was worthy of this list. But Jerry Jones' billion-dollar abomination is not. While it has hosted an array of sporting events, and will continue to do so, just the fact that it's gigantic and versatile doesn't mean it's more important than most arenas.

And finally, I realize I'm incredibly biased, but I was appalled that Lambeau Field didn't make the list. Even those who are not Green Bay Packers fans have to admit that it's at least in the top 10 most historic venues in the country. My contention is that it's more like top 5 or top 3, but again, I'm biased.

It's not just that it's old. It has history and character. It's home to, arguably, the most storied franchise in NFL history. Many of the NFL's all-time greats played home games there. No one will ever succeed in convincing me that Lucas Oil Stadium is more important than Lambeau Field, regardless of the definition of "important."

Those are my two cents. But here's the list. Let the debate begin:

1. World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (pictured above)
2. Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, UAE
3. Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, USA
4. Wembley Stadium, London, UK
5. Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa
6. Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan
7. All England Club, Wimbledon, UK
8. Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
9. Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
10. The Bird’s Nest, Beijing, China
11. Dubai Sports City, Dubai, UAE
12. Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
13. Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
14. Madison Square Garden, New York, USA
15. Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
16. Yankee Stadium, New York, USA
17. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, USA
18. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, USA
19. Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, UK
20. Fenway Park, Boston, USA
21. Emirates Stadium, London, UK
22. Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, USA
23. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
24. ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia
25. Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
26. Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
27. La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina
28. Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, USA
29. Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany
30. Las Ventas, Madrid, Spain