Stadium Essay, Research Paper

Stadium, in Greek and Roman times, the track provided for foot races.

The stadiums eventually came to be oval shaped and were sometimes

built against a hill in order to enable spectators to view the races from

elevated seats cut into the hill. The famous stadiums of Delphi, Olympia,

Athens, and Epidaurus were made in this manner. The first of the modern

Olympic games took place 1896 in the newly restored stadium in Athens.

Modern stadiums differ from the old Greek stadiums both in size and

arrangement, for they have come to be used for all kinds of sports and

more closely resemble an amphitheater or the Colosseum at Rome, with

seats around the entire bowl. Notable modern stadiums are found on

college campuses and in many large American cities, and include the

Yale Bowl of Yale University, Soldier Field at Chicago, Franklin Field at

the University of pennsylvania, the New York Polo Grounds, the Rose

Bowl at Pasadena, Calif., the Cotton Bowl at Dallas, Tex., the Sugar Bowl

at New Orleans, La., and the Orange Bowl at Miami, Fla.