AN ABANDONED baseball stadium has undergone a dramatic transformation – with the seats and turf replaced by dozens of homes.
The Osaka Stadium in Japan was once the home of the Nankai Hawks baseball team, but when they left it became a residential neighbourhood, with all the homes arranged neatly in little rows.
Immediately after the Nankai Hawks left for another stadium, in 1988, it became the temporary home for a high school baseball team – whilst also moonlighting as a venue where Michael Jackson and Madonna performed.
But, three years later, a trade group took over and leased it to several construction companies.
The entirety of the grounds were quickly transformed into a small residential neighbourhood – complete with functional streets leading out of the stadium, street lights, and car parks.
Although some believe that the homes were occupied at one point, this has been largely contested. Most sources have stated that the structures were solely used for showcasing purposes.
“Houses were neatly arranged in rows, and lights were turned on to create the illusion of occupancy. It was a strange sight,” according to Amusing Planet.
The concept has taken social media by storm again recently, after an X user posted a picture of the fake neighbourhood alongside the caption: “Model homes in a retired baseball stadium in Osaka, Japan.”
Baseball fans have since been sent spiralling over the idea of being able to live in an abandoned stadium.
One user commented: “The greatest cul de sac ever.”
Another said: “This is awesome! Too many historic ballparks just get torn down, this could keep them alive.
“Oakland’s ballpark, once the A’s leave town, could be an example of this.”
While a third added: “They should rent these out like Airbnbs.
“I think there are plenty of people would pay good money for the novelty of living in a baseball stadium for a week, especially if you were a fan of the team that played there.”
They should rent these out like Airbnbs
@MoLewis57, X
Unfortunately, however, the stadium has since been demolished and a shopping centre now resides in its place.
Photographer Ned Bunnell, who visited the stadium in its prime, claimed that the model neighbourhood failed due to a disinterest in Western style housing.
Ned told The Sun that despite the fact he frequented the area around the stadium, it was often empty.
“I stayed there at least three times and never saw any people walking around. It was clearly not a successful expo,” Ned said.
Ned added that the stadium was eventually torn down in the 90s.
Meanwhile, the Bush Stadium in Indianapolis has become an idyllic home for hundreds of residents – after a £10.4million renovation.
The project “Stadium Lofts” opened in 2013 and, although it now contains, 138 loft apartments, the developers retained a lot of the original infrastructure.
The owner’s suite, ticket booth, much of the field, track, and lights were incorporated – ensuring it still resembled a baseball stadium.
Residents can still enjoy the pitch, which is now their garden, and the re-use of the original curved structure resembles that of the former stands.
Stadion Oosterpark, in the Netherlands, where chilling wooden puppets were put in the standing sections to make the stadium look less empty.
The Astrodome, in Texas, which was once known as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ to sporting communities can’t be torn down, but has also fallen into disuse – only having been used to host evacuees after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Estadio Mane Garrincha, in Brazil, cost the government an eye-watering £350 million to build, but is only used now as a parking space for buses in the district.
Incheon Munhak Stadium, South Korea, although it was initially constructed as a multi-purpose stadium fitted with a baseball park – it’s designers couldn’t have imagined it would be used for a League of Legends World Championship final.
