• The court of Chichen Itza is a massive 225 feet wide and 545 feet long.
• At the ends of the court, the stone walls featured stone hoops, engraved with feathered serpents - images of the deity Kokulkan.
• The court has excellent acoustic qualities, amplifying the cheers of fans and the calls of the ballplayers.
• The sides of the court are lined with benches for spectators. The benches are sloped to help keep the ball in the courts.
• At the end of many games, the losing team was beheaded and sacrificed to the Mayans' deities. That said, the Ball Game occasionally served as a substitute for war.
• A variation of the Ball Game, Ulama is still played today— minus the ritual killing of the losing team.

The Mesoamerican city of Chichen Itza is home to the best-preserved, and largest playing court for the first ball sports played in a team.

The popular sport is known as the "Ball Game" and has been played since 1650BCE. It was played by all its major civilizations from the...