issue 22// vol 47

Go big or go home

» The largest sporting venues in the world

Mo Hussain Sports Reporter

rofessional sports is one of the best

live spectacles in our world today. The hype, adrenaline, and excitement that is part of attending a live sporting matchup can hardly be replicated by anything else in the world. The experience is accelerated even further the more people there are in a sport venue. The larger the sports venue, the bigger the roar. Here are some sporting venues with the largest capacities in the world:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 257,325 Motor racing venues make up a majority of the largest venues in the world, but this venue in Indianapolis, Indiana tops the list. To put this into perspective, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can fit in the entire city of Burnaby, BC plus an extra 20,000 people. This venue hosts

a variety of racing events such as the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The stadium is currently being used as a venue for individuals receiving their coronavirus vaccine shots.

Michigan Stadium: 107,601

The city of Michigan is home to the largest American football stadium in the world. This venue can nearly fit the entire city

of Delta, BC to watch one of its football games. What is interesting to point

sports // no. 7

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Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

The larger the sports venue, the bigger the roar.

out is this stadium is primarily used for attending collegiate level sports rather than professional teams. Fans usually fill this stadium up to attend the University of Michigan Wolverines’ football matchups.

Melbourne Cricket Ground: 100,024 All the way across the other side of the world is one of the largest cricket stadiums on the planet. Although cricket is a massive sport in Australia, the stadium is not limited to just that. It has also hosted World Cup qualifying matchups, rugby

games, and it is also home to the National Sports Museum, “Australia’s only dedicated multi-sports museum.”

Camp Nou: 99, 354

Located in Barcelona, Spain this stadium is a big deal for soccer fans. In addition to being one of the largest soccer stadiums

in the world, Camp Nou is also home to

FC Barcelona, one of the most recognized soccer teams in the world. Dozens of memorable matchups have taken place in this stadium, including matchups between

How much are some billionaire

sports owners worth?

» Let’s just say these guys aren’t making minimum wage

Mo Hussain Sports Reporter

A we've covered before, the top professional sports teams in the world are worth a boatload of money. Having mass amounts of wealth is an essential pre- requisite to owning one of those teams and almost all of the current owners certainly fulfill that requirement. The added net worth of just the top three sports team owners listed on Forbes are worth over approximately a staggering $u6 billion. Here are some of the richest owners of professional sports teams across a couple of different sports:

STEVE BALLMER

The current owner of the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers is worth an estimated $65.6 billion. The former CEO of Microsoft purchased the team in 2014 for a whopping two billion dollars. Ballmer’s since made an estimated 37.5 percent return on his purchase as the team is now worth an estimated $2.75 billion.

DIETRICH MATESCHITZ

Let’s just say the co-founder of Red Bull is somewhat of a sports fan. Mateschitz is worth an estimated $26.9 billion and has a stake in multiple sporting ventures. Mateschitz has purchased professional soccer teams in Austria and the United States and rebranded them as Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls

respectively. The New York Red Bulls

is worth an estimated $290 million. In addition to other soccer organizations, Mateschitz also has a stake in other sports including hockey and motor racing.

HASSO PLATTNER The hockey world is certainly not shy of any mega-billionaires, as the governor of

FC Barcelona and their long-time rivals Real Madrid.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has almost halted every single venue around the world, let alone these ones, to operate at full capacity. It will be interesting to see when people from around the world will be able to gather and fully attend sporting events of this kind of magnitude.

San Jose Sports and Entertainment (entity that owns the NHL’s San Jose Sharks) Hasso Plattner is worth an estimated

$14.9 billion. The 77-year old co-founder of software company SAP bought the remaining shares of the entity from other investors in January 2013 in order to have a central role with the organization. The San Jose Sharks are approximately worth $515 million.

SHAHID KHAN

The National Football League also has their fair share of mega-billionaires, as the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars has done quite well for himself monetarily for example. Shahid Khan, owner of Flex-N-Gate (an auto-parts supplier) is worth an estimated $8 billion. Khan also owns Fulham F.C., which is an English Premier League team. The Jaguars are approximately worth $2.45 billion.

As the sports world continues to adjust amid the pandemic, it will be quite interesting to see how these mega- billionaires and many other billionaire sports team owners will view their assets moving forward.