Research Standards

What counts as a defunct venue

A venue is included when it was built or regularly used for organized spectator sport in the United States and one of these is true:

• it has been demolished, or its site has been redeveloped;
• it still stands but no longer hosts the sport it was known for (for example, a ballpark converted to offices or a racetrack grandstand left vacant);
• its sporting use ended and it is abandoned.

Active venues appear only when they are needed to explain a relationship, such as the stadium that replaced a lost one. They are labeled as active, are not counted in the atlas totals and cannot be added to your Sports History Map.

Sources

Every published venue cites at least one source, and each important fact is tied to the source that supports it. We prefer, in roughly this order: government and official records, contemporary newspaper reporting, team and league publications, books by established historians, and reputable reference sites. When sources disagree, we say so on the venue page instead of silently picking one.

Dates

Dates are stored with their real precision. If only the year is known, the page shows a year. Approximate dates are marked “c.” and ranges are shown as ranges. We never fill in a day or month that a source doesn't give.

Locations

Map pins carry a precision label. An exact pin marks the playing field or building footprint; an approximate pin marks the neighborhood or block when the precise footprint isn't confirmed. Approximate pins are shown differently on venue pages.

Review before publishing

Records move through research, review and verification before they are published, and an automated quality check blocks any record missing required fields, sources or valid dates. Bulk imports are never published automatically. Records marked “Needs review” are published with known gaps that we are still working on.

Images

We publish photos only when the license allows it or the owner has given permission. When we don't have a usable photo, the page uses an illustration instead of an unlicensed image. See the image policy.

Corrections

Found a mistake? Tell us. Our corrections policy explains how changes are reviewed.

Last updated October 19, 2026.