As the place where you go to see the big teams play, it’s no surprise that building sports venues comes with a hefty price tag.
That goes for all the different major leagues, too. Currently under construction is a new stadium for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills costing over $1.4 billion and the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes have pitched a $1.7 billion entertainment complex.
That got us thinking. Which are the most valuable sports venues across the major leagues when taking size and location into account — and are any of them in New York?
Well, here at Empire Stakes, your home to NY sports betting, we’ve gone ahead and created a ranking of all the major league sports venues based on stadium cost per square footage.
Two NY Locations Make America’s Top 5
Perhaps unsurprising to any New Yorkers, with a stadium cost of $1.829 billion, Madison Square Garden takes the top spot as the most valuable sports venue in America.
As the spot which has seen a flood of talent across different industries from music to sport since first originally opening its doors back in 1879, before moving to its current location in 1968, it’s certainly one of the most iconic arenas in the world. It’s also the stadium for multiple major league teams — the NHL’s New York Rangers and NBA’s New York Knicks — and has even been referred to as the 'Mecca of Basketball.' New Yorkers probably just wish home court advantage could have helped their futures on NY betting apps during the NBA Playoffs.
Just missing out on the top spot at $1.826 billion is SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the home ground to two NFL teams, the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Having only been open since 2020, it’s already been the venue for various sporting events such as Super Bowl LVI and Wrestlemania 39 and is set to be used for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.
Third place goes to Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers ($1.565 billion). Another stadium that’s been open less than a decade, it hosted Super Bowl 50 in 2016 and will be one of the U.S. stadiums hosting multiple FIFA World Cup matches in 2026.
Yet another New York stadium makes the top 5, this time in fourth place. Home to the other NBA team in New York, the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center is estimated to cost $1.098 billion. Outside of the Nets shooting hoops, it plays another important role in the NBA, having held the NBA Draft since 2013, except in 2020 when it was via video call due to the pandemic.
Rounding out the top five is Chase Center where you’ll find the NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, and is valued at just under $1 billion ($990 million). Completed in 2019, the pandemic happening not long after meant the stadium didn’t get to reach full capacity again until late 2021. This was during the 2021-22 NBA season which the Golden State Warriors went on to win another championship. Perhaps there’s a correlation between the two?
Where Do Other Venues in New York Rank?
There are, of course, more stadiums where major league teams play in New York than just Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, so where do they rank in our research?
A familiar spot for New York Mets fans, Citi Field, comes in at costing $668.4 million, landing itself in 14th place, although that ranks third for the most valuable ballpark in the MLB, specifically. Completed in early 2009, the stadium includes various features such as orange foul poles and the Home Run Apple which are references to the Mets’ former home at Shea Stadium.
Next up is UBS Arena, a place NHL fans of the New York Islanders will have become familiar with since it opened in late 2021, with a stadium cost of just over $292 million. Design-wise, the stadium takes inspiration from various iconic landmarks in New York such as Central Park and Grand Central Terminal.
A bit lower down in the rankings at $244.8 million is Highmark Stadium, turf belonging to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Originally opening in 1973 as Rich Stadium, it has had a few different names over the years, including Ralph Wilson Stadium (1998-2015), New Era Field (2016-2019), and Bills Stadium (2020).
However, it looks like the Bills won’t be there for much longer, as they’ve got a new stadium scheduled to open in 2026.
Any Yankees fans might want to look away, because compared to their rivals over at Citi Field, their ballpark at Yankee Stadium is only valued at $175.3 million in 92nd overall.
This is followed closely by the Buffalo Sabres’ KeyBank Center, which is the lowest-ranking stadium in New York at an estimated cost of around $171.5 million per square footage.
As you can see, it seems New York has some of the most valuable venues in the major leagues in the whole U.S. Keep tabs on this site for more pieces like this, and stay close for NY sportsbook promos as well.
Methodology
To create the ranking, first, we pulled the square footage of every NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL stadium/arena in America. With these figures, we then multiplied them by the average price-per-square-foot of the surrounding neighborhood to discover each stadium/area price at the median price per square foot.
These were acquired from Redfin.com and Ojohome.com.
