Joe Pompliano Profile picture
Jun 9, 2021 13 tweets 9 min read Read on X
I asked, "what is the most beautiful sports venue in the world" last week.

Almost 1,000 people responded, providing some absolutely INCREDIBLE answers.

Here are 10 of my favorites that you probably haven't seen.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) Henningsvaer Stadium

Location: Henningsvaer, Norway

Fun Fact: Located in a small fishing town of only about 500 people, the stadium is surrounded by wooden racks (called 'hjell' in Norway) that are used to dry fish, especially cod.

(h/t @CryptoPoldark)
2) Lake Louise Pond Hockey Classic

Location: Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada

Fun Fact: For twelve straight years, an annual pond hockey tournament has been held at Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

Even better?

Team entry fees are donated to charity.

(h/t @go8le)
3) Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium

Location: Gspon, Switzerland

Fun Fact: At 6,500 feet above sea level, Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium is the highest stadium in all of Europe.

The result?

Fans can only reach it by cable cars.

(h/t @Slim_Simba)
4) Michael Johnson Track

Location: Nike HQ - Beaverton, Oregon

Fun Fact: Despite multiple Olympians frequently training on the track, Nike occasionally opens it up for public access — with one caveat...you must wear Nike's :)

(h/t @nikbonaddio)
5) Il San Pietro Hotel Tennis Court

Location: Positano, Italy

Fun Fact: Located within the Il San Pietro Hotel, it will run you $1,500+ per night to play on this beautiful court.

(h/t @JohnPompliano)
6) Mont-Blanc UltraMarathon

Location: Mont-Blanc, French Alps

Fun Fact: With a distance of 106 miles & a total elevation gain of 33k feet, this is one of the most difficult races in the world.

The avg. runner takes ~35 hrs, and about 40% don't finish.

(h/t @nathandthebuket)
7) Beaver Field (App State University)

Location: Boone, North Carolina

Fun Fact: Situated more than 3,300 feet above sea level, Beaver Field sits at the highest elevation of any college baseball field east of the Mississippi.

(h/t @SmashHitsSports)
8) Estadio BBVA Bancomer

Location: Guadalupe, Mexico

Fun Fact: The stadium's north end was intentionally built 40% higher so that fans can see the Cerro de la Silla mountains.

(h/t @rickie94)
9) Kuliouou Beach Park

Location: Oahu, Hawaii

Fun Fact: With shallow water & plenty of "nicer" beaches nearby, one of the most beautiful basketball courts in the world is also frequently empty.

(h/t @just1ofyou | pics: @vincelimphoto)
10) Surfing in Tahiti

Location: Teahupoʻo, Tahiti

Fun Fact: Situated in a small town only accessible by dirt roads, Teahupoʻo produces some of the world's most powerful waves & has been called "God’s gift to surfing."

(h/t @chr15dallat)
11) *BONUS*

Located between the Atlantic Ocean and the country's highest peak, the small village of Eiði in the Faroe Islands has one of the most incredible soccer fields in the world.

Then again, there's a reason why they call it "The Beautiful Game."

(h/t @FFObserver)
12) If you enjoyed this thread, you should:

1. Follow me; I tweet interesting threads like this every day.

2. Subscribe to my free daily newsletter, where I give a detailed analysis on topics involving the money and business behind sports.

huddleup.substack.com

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Joe Pompliano

Joe Pompliano Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JoePompliano

Mar 1
The 2024 Formula 1 calendar is insane:

• 24 races
• 21 countries
• 5 continents
• 180+ hours of flights

Teams will travel 75,000 miles & transport 1,500 tons of equipment.

This makes it a logistical nightmare, so here's a breakdown of how Formula 1 pulls it off.

THREAD 👇
1) The simplest way to explain Formula 1 logistics is by breaking the calendar into two parts:

• European Races
• Flyaway Races

Let's start with European Races.
2) European races are self-explanatory — these are races that take place in Europe.

Examples:
• Monaco
• Monza
• Zandvoort
• Silverstone
• Spa

These races are easier and cheaper logistically because everything is transported by trucks rather than planes and boats. Image
Read 16 tweets
Feb 7
Apple Music pays the NFL $50 million annually to sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show.

But Usher won't get any of that money.

Instead, he'll perform for free, leveraging the exposure to gain followers, sell tickets, and increase streaming numbers.

Here's how it works 👇 Image
1) Some of the world's most famous artists have performed at the Super Bowl:

• Prince
• Michael Jackson
• Bruce Springsteen
• Beyonce
• Justin Timberlake
• The Rolling Stones
• Rihanna

But NONE of these artists were paid. Image
2) Here's how the financials work:

• NFL signs a $50M sponsorship deal
• Artists get a ~$15 million production budget

This budget covers 2,000 to 3,000 part-time workers, including set design, security, dancers, and marketing.

But artists don't get any of the money.
Read 11 tweets
Jan 27
My favorite sports business story involves two brothers turning $1 million into $800 million as basketball team owners without ever owning an NBA team.

It's a masterclass in leverage, long-term thinking, and the power of equity and ownership.

Here's the crazy story 👇 Image
1) The story starts with Ozzie & Daniel Silna.

The two brothers were born in New Jersey after their parents immigrated from Latvia in the 1930s.

They worked at their dad's small textile business, but when he sold the company, they started manufacturing polyester in the 1960s.
2) As polyester sales skyrocketed throughout the 1960s, Ozzie & Daniel Silna's business grew.

So they used $1 million in profit to buy the ABA’s failing Carolina Cougars in 1974.

They then moved the team to Saint Louis and rebranded as the Saint Louis Spirits. Image
Read 12 tweets
Jun 13, 2023
I asked my audience: "What is the best sports book you've ever read?" — and received more than 1,000 responses.

Here are the Top 10 👇

1) Open, an autobiography by Andre Agassi.

Everyone needs to read this, seriously. Image
2) Moneyball by Michael Lewis

This book follows the Oakland A's historic 2002 season — 103 wins with one of the lowest budgets in MLB —and details how the Athletics pioneered the use of analytics and advanced statistics.

This is a must-read, plain & simple. Image
3) The Score Takes Care Of Itself

This book breaks down the leadership lessons Bill Walsh installed as head coach of the 49ers, taking the team from a 2-14 record to Super Bowl Champions in just 2 years.

It's full of great stories.

And it's so good that I've read it 3-4 times. Image
Read 12 tweets
May 31, 2023
Conor McGregor in 2007:

• Working as a plumber
• Living with his parents
• Thousands of dollars in debt
• Cashing $235 welfare checks

But now, @TheNotoriousMMA has made over $600 million and is one of the world's highest-paid athletes.

This is his WILD story 👇 Image
1) McGregor's story reads like a Hollywood script.

He was a 12-year-old boy growing up in Crumlin, Ireland, who started taking boxing classes after being bullied by kids at school.

"Things like this happened a few times, so I thought, f**k this. I am going to go and train." ImageImage
2) McGregor started training at the Crumlin Boxing Club.

But then he discovered MMA at 16 and fully committed his life to the sport.

McGregor would watch delayed recordings of UFC fights and then practice the moves in his backyard.

But there was a problem. Image
Read 14 tweets
Apr 27, 2023
The NFL Draft is a MASSIVE event:

• $3 million construction cost
• $100 million economic impact
• 10 million viewers and 300,000 fans

But it wasn't always this big.

ESPN *made* it this big.

Here's the fascinating story 👇 Image
1) The NFL didn't have a draft for its first 14 years.

But Eagles owner Bert Bell got tired of losing — the best college players signed with the best teams — and pitched an idea to level the playing field.

And the NFL draft was born.

However, it looked different back then. Image
2) The first NFL Draft was held in 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.

• Draft picks written on a chalkboard
• Only 81 players selected (262 today)

Even crazier?

That year's #1 pick, Heisman winner Jay Berwanger, turned down the NFL to become a salesman instead. Image
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(