ESPN's Outside the Lines today revealed the results of 16,000 routine food-safety inspections reports from health departments that monitor the 111 professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey facilities across North America.
Out of all the arenas, stadiums and ballparks, the study found that the Charlotte Hornets' Spectrum Arena ranked dead last, with 92% of vendors reporting violations. For example, on December 20, 2016, inspectors saw beer leaking from the ceiling in the bar area of the Front Court Restaurant and Bar, according to Outside The Lines.
In fact, the bottom three venues in food-safety inspections across all sports were those of NBA teams, including the now closed Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit (86.11%) and the Dallas Mavericks' American Airlines Center (83.08%). That said, only 31.17% of vendors reported violations at the Pistons' new home, Little Caesers Arena, which is about middle of the pack among NBA arenas.
The Denver Nuggets' Pepsi Center and the Utah Jazz' Vivint Smart Home Arena were also among the grimiest arenas in sports, with violation rates of 75.86% ad 75%, respectively.
Of the 111 venues surveyed, the Golden State Warriors' Oracle Arena ranked the best of all, with a mere 1.7% violation rate. The Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena ranked second (4.17%), followed by the Houston Texans' NRG Stadium (4.44%).
NBA facilities checking in behind Oracle and State Farm Arena, include the Bradley Center in Milwaukee (6.67%), the United Center in Chicago (10%) and the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland (13.92%).
You can check out the full results of food-safety inspections for the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL right here.