Hi, my name is Edward de la Fuente. I love sports, and I also love to travel. That’s why I created Itinerant Fan.

I started this site as a blog dedicated to the relentless pursuit of sporting event attendance. The way I see it, we all have our interests that we are willing to spend irrational amounts of time and money on — for me, it’s sports travel. I love immersing myself in a city’s culture and traditions through its sports teams and stadiums.

Through this site I aim to serve those who are curious about the greater world, faraway lands and different cultures. I believe it’s important to demonstrate what it’s like to seek out the unfamiliar and to inspire people to step outside their comfort zone and experience cultures different from their own.

This site serves partly as a living record of the venues I visit, a way to motivate myself to see more of the world through sports, and a chance to share my experiences and compare them to the other sports-traveling nuts out there who spend gobs of money just to watch athletes hit each other and/or send inanimate objects in motion.

Check out my stadium guides and city guides for my perspective as a sports fan visiting the stadiums and places that form the basis of our thrilling sports vacations.

When not traveling the world in search of a good game, I foster my love of sports and wanderlust in other ways. I am fortunate to have had a long career in sports media — currently I’m at Fox Sports and have also worked at ESPN.com, The Sacramento Bee and the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal.

When I’m not working, traveling or maintaining this site, in my free time I play beer league hockey, tinker with content and web development projects and create Simpsons memes.

I live in the Los Angeles area with my wife Jennifer, a professor of design at USC and a website developer (check out her portfolio site) and our daughter Mariana. I’m an avid fan of USC, my alma mater, and the Los Angeles Kings. You can frequently find me at Crypto.com Arena — feel free to drop me a line if you’re going to be in town!

How Itinerant Fan began

When I was 9, I saw my first live sporting event: A California Angels game in what is now known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Within a couple years I had also added Dodger Stadium, the Forum and the Oakland Coliseum to my list, thanks to my parents, who were quick to recognize my growing love of sports.

Somewhere along the way I wondered: Would it be possible to visit every stadium and arena in the four major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball)? Of course it is, and many people have done it.

I’m currently more than 80 percent of the way to joining those lucky folks in that exclusive club, and checking off new boxes every year. Along the way I’ve also added many college football and basketball venues, as well as a handful of soccer and international events.

And in 2010, I thought it would be fun to have a place to document all of these travels. Seeing as blogs were new and innovative at the time, I thought I’d give it a go.

Since then, Itinerant Fan has grown into a reference guide for sports fans and avid travelers, as well as a journal for my own stadium visits. I sincerely hope my sports travel experiences can be of help to you as you make your own sporting itineraries and general travel plans!

Frequently asked questions

Do you produce all of the content on this site?
Not quite all of it, but about 99 percent of it. I do have a handful of occasional contributors.

Do you accept contributions?
Infrequently, but yes. If you have an idea for a contribution, I would be happy to discuss it if you reach out to me via one of the methods listed below. Please note that this site is specifically about traveling to be a spectator at professional and college sporting events. I reserve the right to not respond to any pitches that don’t fit this theme.

Do you accept donations?
I accept donations via Buy Me A Coffee. If you feel the content on this site is of value to you, I would certainly value it if you showed me a token of appreciation. Zero obligation, though!

Are all the stadium images on the site yours?
If they are not credited, then yes. Some images were taken by contributors or from stock photo outlets, in which case the credit is noted.

Can I use one of your images for my project?
Sure. Since most of my photos are of highly visible places, I don’t consider them exclusive property. However, I do ask that you give this site proper credit and link back to us.

How do you take your photos and videos?
With a good ol’ smartphone — currently I own an iPhone 13 Pro. Considering fans are not allowed to bring most professional photo and video equipment into major sports venues, I stick to accessible means of getting the media I need for this site.

Do you sell sports travel packages?
We do not. This site’s primary goal is to give inspiration and advice to independent travelers. However, this is a question I have been getting more frequently in recent months, so I wouldn’t rule out at least a partnership with sports travel agents or providers in the future.

So, how many of the “Big Four” venues have you visited?
As of April 2023, I have seen a home game for 109 of the 124 teams across the four major U.S. sports leagues. I have visited every current MLB ballpark and every current NHL arena. I’m lagging with the NFL and NBA but aspire to complete both of those lists within the next three years.

How do you choose when and where you travel?
Most of it is personal preference, but I give weight to places I haven’t yet visited or places that I haven’t visited in an appreciable amount of time. From there, it’s a matter of weighing game schedules against the days I can travel, after I’ve taken career and family concerns into consideration.

Do you travel and attend games with others?
Sometimes my family comes with me, and on a few occasions I travel with friends. But the majority of the time, I’m by myself. And sometimes I prefer it that way. As much as I’d like to kick back and watch games with companions, if I’m visiting a venue for the purpose of writing about it, I spend a lot of time walking around and taking pictures and video — things that I’ve found companions don’t always have the patience for.

How to contact me

Got an idea, a suggestion or any other type of feedback? You can reach out to me using the form below, or you can follow me by any of the social media accounts listed below:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @itinerantfan
• TikTok: @itinerantfan

Additionally, you can sign up for my newsletter for regular updates to Itinerant Fan and to the world of sports travel.

Happy travels!

— Edward de la Fuente
Founder, Itinerant Fan