Sports pilgrimages

This NFL stadium is so loud its crowd noise registers on seismographs

There is something that no sports broadcast can ever fully capture: the feeling of being there. The roar of 40,000 strangers becoming one voice. The electricity in the air. The sight of Fenway Park's iconic Green Monster looming over left field, or the crowd noise at Seattle's Lumen Field shaking the ground hard enough to register on seismographs. These 10 cities are more than stops on a map: they are temples to the games we love. Whether you are a football, baseball, basketball, or ice hockey fan—or someone who enjoys a great live atmosphere, each one has something special to offer.

Boston sports venues are shrines. Fenway Park, opened in 1912, is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium still in use, and the Green Monster—the 37-foot-2-inch-high left-field wall—is one of the most recognizable sights in all of American sports. The Red Sox faithful are among the most passionate in the country.

TD Garden, in the heart of downtown, packs in fans of both the Celtics and the Bruins. Gillette Stadium, about 30 miles south in Foxborough, is where the Patriots built their dynasty through six Super Bowl titles. Here is something worth knowing: on game days, the neighborhood around Fenway transforms into one long, joyful block party, with fans spilling out of bars and onto Yawkey Way hours before the first pitch.

Lumen Field, home of the Seahawks, was once certified by Guinness World Records as the loudest outdoor stadium on earth: the crowd noise has actually been known to register on local seismographs. T-Mobile Park, where the Mariners play, is one of the most visually striking ballparks in America, with views of the downtown skyline and Puget Sound beyond the outfield.

The city also welcomed the Kraken into the NHL in 2021, adding hockey to an already passionate sports calendar. Imagine standing in the south end zone at Lumen Field during a Seahawks playoff run, surrounded by the famous 12th Man fans in full roar: an experience you’ll keep remembering long after you leave.

Chicago may be the most complete sports city in America. On the North Side, Wrigley Field, built in 1914 and still one of the most beloved ballparks in the world, is home to the Cubs. Walking through its ivy-covered outfield walls feels like stepping into baseball history itself. On the South Side, Guaranteed Rate Field hosts the White Sox.

The United Center, one of the largest arenas in the NBA, is home to both the Bulls and the Blackhawks, and carries the memory of Michael Jordan's six championships in every rafter. Soldier Field, along the lakefront, hosts the Bears with one of the most dramatic settings in the NFL. Imagine sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley on a warm July afternoon, with the wind blowing out toward Waveland Avenue, and a fly ball sailing over the wall right in front of you. That moment alone is worth the trip.

No city on earth offers as much major-league action as New York. The Yankees and the Mets cover baseball, the Giants and the Jets handle football, the Knicks fill Madison Square Garden for basketball, and the Rangers bring the ice.

Madison Square Garden—"The World's Most Famous Arena"—sits in the middle of Midtown Manhattan and has hosted everything from heavyweight championship bouts to Elton John farewell tours. Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is a monument to baseball greatness. Picture yourself watching a Yankees–Red Sox game in October, with the playoff atmosphere crackling through every row: one of the most intense sporting experiences you can have.

Los Angeles is a sports city that delivers on every front. The Dodgers play at one of the most beautiful ballparks in the country: Dodger Stadium, perched in Chavez Ravine with mountain views beyond the outfield. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, home to both the Rams and the Chargers, is widely considered the most technologically advanced NFL venue ever built.

Crypto.com Arena hosts the Lakers and Clippers, and carries decades of magic from the Showtime era to LeBron James. Two-time World Series champion Shohei Ohtani—the most gifted baseball player of his generation—now wears Dodger blue, making this one of the most exciting rosters in the sport. Imagine watching Ohtani launch a home run on a perfect Southern California evening, with the San Gabriel Mountains glowing in the distance. That is Los Angeles sports at its best.

With a population of just over 100,000, it is by far the smallest market in the NFL, and yet it is home to one of the league's most storied and beloved franchises. Lambeau Field, built in 1957 and expanded many times since, is a place of pilgrimage for football fans. The Packers are the only community-owned franchise in major American professional sports, meaning the team belongs to the city itself.

The waiting list for season tickets is over 100,000 names long: some families have been waiting for decades and pass their spots down to their children. Attending a Packers game in December, with 80,000 fans in cheese-shaped hats bellowing into the cold Wisconsin air, is a bucket-list experience that has no equal in American sports.

Pittsburgh packs an astonishing amount of sports passion into a relatively small city. PNC Park, widely praised as the most beautiful ballpark in America, sits right on the Allegheny River with a skyline view that is genuinely breathtaking. Acrisure Stadium, home of the Steelers, hosts one of the most devoted fan bases in the NFL: the Terrible Towel-waving crowds are a sight to behold.

PPG Paints Arena brings Penguins hockey into the mix, completing a trifecta of venues all within walking distance of downtown. Here is the remarkable thing: on a Pittsburgh Sunday in the fall, you can tailgate on the Roberto Clemente Bridge over the river, walk to the stadium, and watch the Steelers—then catch the highlights back at a South Side bar with fans who will talk football with you until midnight.

Passionate, loud, demanding, and fiercely loyal, Philadelphia fans are among the most engaged fans in professional sports, and they will let you know when they are not happy. The Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers all play within a short drive of one another in South Philly, making it one of the most concentrated sports districts anywhere in the country.

Citizens Bank Park is an excellent baseball venue with great sightlines and terrific food. Lincoln Financial Field hosts Eagles games with a ferocity that visiting teams dread. Joel Embiid, the dominant Sixers center, has made Philadelphia one of the most exciting NBA cities in recent years. If you want to understand what it truly means to be a sports town, spend a game day in Philadelphia.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and Dallas sports venues prove the point. AT&T Stadium in Arlington—home of the Cowboys—seats over 80,000 and has a video board so enormous it became a talking point in its own right. Globe Life Field, also in Arlington, is where the Rangers play under a retractable roof that keeps the Texas summer heat at bay. The American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas hosts both the Mavericks and the Stars.

The Cowboys remain the most valuable sports franchise in the world, and their games draw fans from across the country. Imagine settling into your seat at AT&T Stadium for a Sunday night Cowboys game, with the stadium lights blazing and 80,000 people on their feet: big doesn't even begin to cover it.

Denver gives you four major professional sports teams in a compact, walkable city, all of it set against the stunning backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Beyond the upper deck of Empower Field at Mile High—where the Broncos play—lies a spectacular view of the Front Range. Coors Field, home of the Rockies, sits right in Lower Downtown (LoDo), surrounded by some of the best sports bars in the West.

Ball Arena hosts both the Nuggets and the Avalanche. Nikola Jokić, the three-time MVP center for the Nuggets, is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA today. Picture watching him orchestrate a fourth-quarter comeback in the playoffs while the Denver crowd goes absolutely electric: the moment and the mountain scenery combine perfectly.