Sports is the passion of millions of people all around the world. Some of these events are played in amazing stadiums which add to the excitement of the game.
The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is the biggest stadium in the world by seating capacity and is used for football matches, athletics, and games honoring the country’s infamous leadership. It’s a colossal stadium as it occupies an area of 20.7 hectares (51 acres).
It also has (unsurprisingly in North Korea) a dark side, because it’s believed that it’s used for public executions as well. You know, during half-time at the weekly football game while enjoying a cold beer.
The Motera Stadium is located in Ahmedabad and was formerly known as the “Gujarat Stadium.” The official name of the stadium is the “Narendra Modi Stadium,” a reference to India’s Prime Minister who proposed its construction.
It is used by the Indian national cricket team and the Gujarat cricket team. Cricket is the country’s most popular sport. The old stadium was demolished and completely rebuilt and completed in February 2020.
3. Michigan Stadium
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Capacity: 107,601
Michigan Stadium is the football stadium in Michigan used by the University of Michigan. It’s the biggest stadium in the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere. It is nicknamed “The Big House.”
It was constructed in 1927 and was built with footings, which means it would be easy to expand the stadium from its original capacity of 72,000. It has been expanded multiple times over the decades and the record attendance was 115,109 for a game between Michigan and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on September 7, 2013.
Location: State College, Pennsylvania, United States
Capacity: 106,572
Beaver Stadium is located on the campus of Pennsylvania State University and is home to the Penn State Nittany Lions since 1960. The stadium was named after James A. Beaver, a former Pennsylvania Governor and president of the university’s board of trustees.
The stadium is known to be one of the toughest for opposing teams because of the great student section. The stadium has been voted the best stadium in college football in 2016.
Ohio Stadium is also known as the “Horseshoe” and “The House That Harley Built” and is the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. The university’s Spring Commencement ceremonies are held in the stadium each May as well.
The stadium in Ohio was constructed in 1922 and originally had a seating capacity of 66,210. Renovations done in the early 2000s saw the running track removed and increased the seating capacity to 102,780.
Kyle Field is located on the campus of Texas A&M University and has been home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team since 1904. The original concrete stadium was built in 1927.
The stadium has been renovated in 2015 which increased the seating capacity to 102,733. It is the largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference and the fourth-largest stadium in the United States.
Kyle Field / Janreagan / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
7. Neyland Stadium
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Capacity: 102,455
The Neyland Stadium was built in 1921 and was originally called the “Shields–Watkins Field,” which is now the name of the playing surface. It is the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team and it’s the biggest stadium in Tennessee.
The stadium was named after Robert Neyland, the head football coach at the University of Tennessee between 1926 and 1952. The stadium has been expanded in multiple phases and once reached a capacity of 104,079 before being slightly reduced to its current capacity of 102,455.
8. Tiger Stadium
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Capacity: 102,321
Tiger Stadium is nicknamed “Death Valley” and is on the campus of Louisiana State University. This huge stadium in Louisiana is the home of the LSU Tigers football team since 1924.
When it opened it had a capacity of just 12,000 which means some serious renovations and expansion projects were done to get the stadium to its current capacity of 102,321.
The Bryant-Denny Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is home to the Alabama Crimson Tide football team since the year 1929.
The stadium in Alabama was originally called the “Denny Stadium” to commemorate the school’s president from 1912 to 1932, George H. Denny. The name of the longtime head coach and alumnus Paul “Bear” Bryant was added to the name in 1975.
UPDATE: The capacity of this stadium has been temporarily reduced to 100,077 because of an ongoing renovation project.
The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium was originally referred to as the “War Memorial Stadium” and is located on the campus of the University of Texas. It is home to the Longhorns football team since 1924.
The stadium was named after legendary football coach Darrell K Royal, who served as the head coach of the University of Texas from 1957 to 1976.
Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium / surelyitsjohn / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
11. Melbourne Cricket Ground
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Capacity: 100,024
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, southern Australia. The original cricket ground on its location was built way back in 1853 and had undergone numerous renovations since.
Apart from serving as a cricket ground, it’s also used for Australian Football League matches. It’s also home to Australia’s National Sports Museum. It’s by far the biggest stadium in Australia.
Camp Nou is the biggest football stadium in Europe and is home to the popular football club FC Barcelona. The stadium was completed in 1957 and has undergone several expansions since.
As of now, plans to further expand Camp Nou are underway and the renovated stadium will be referred to as “Nou Camp Nou,” which literally means the “New, New Stadium.” This renovation will increase the seating capacity to over 100,000 spectators.
13. FNB Stadium
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Capacity: 94,736
The FNB Stadium refers to the “First National Bank Stadium” and is commonly known as “Soccer City.” It’s the main venue of the South African National football tea and is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters.
The stadium is also the home of the South African Premier League club “Kaizer Chiefs F.C.” and was built in 1987. It hosted the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which was held in South Africa that year.
Sandford Stadium is located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is home to the Georgia Bulldogs football team. It was named in honor of Dr. Steadman Vincent Sanford, an early major force behind UGA athletics.
The stadium was originally constructed in 1929 and it’s known to have one of college football’s “best, loudest, and most intimidating atmospheres.”
TheCotton Bowl Stadiumis located on the site of the State Fair of Texas and was originally called “Fair Park Stadium.” It used to be called “The House That Doak Built” as well.
The stadium was originally constructed in 1930 and has been the home of multiple football teams and various soccer teams as well.
The Rose Bowl is located in Pasadena, California, a city in the northeast of Los Angeles County. The stadium was constructed in the early 1920s and completed in October 1922. It’s the biggest stadium in California.
It is one of the most iconic sports stadiums in the United States and is most famously known for football games, including the annual “Rose Bowl Game.” It also hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final.
Rose Bowl / Spatms / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
17. Wembley Stadium
Location: London, United Kingdom
Capacity: 90,000
Wembley Stadium is the national football stadium of the English National Football team. The original Wembley Stadium was demolished in the early 2000s and completely rebuilt.
The new Wembley stadium was opened in 2007 and became the second-largest football stadium in Europe. It’s also famous for concerts and annual American football games.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is officially known as the “Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.” This stadium in Florida is commonly referred to as “The Swamp” and was originally built in 1930 with a capacity of just 22,000.
It is the home of the University of Florida’s football team and is located on its Gainesville, Florida campus. It was named in honor of citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., an alumnus and major benefactor of the university and its sports programs.
Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home of the Auburn University Tigers football team and is located on the campus in Auburn, Alabama. It was named in honor of Ralph “Shug” Jordan, who owns the most wins in school history, and Cliff Hare, a member of Auburn’s first football team.
The stadium was originally constructed in 1939 and reached its current seating capacity of 87,451 after the 2004 renovations.
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium is located in the National Sports Complex which is to the south of the city center of Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur.
It’s a multi-purpose stadium and is the home of the Malaysian National Football team. The stadium was completed in 1998 and is currently undergoing major renovations, of which phase 1 was completed in 2017.
The Estadio Azteca is another multi-purpose stadium located in the capital of Mexico, Mexico City. It is home to Mexican football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul, and also to the Mexico national football team.
This stadium in Mexico is considered to be one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world and has hosted 2 FIFA World Cup Finals, in 1970 and 1986. It’s here that Diego Maradona scored a goal with his hand which has been referred to as the “Hand of God goal” and the “Goal of the Century.”
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is also known as “Owen Field” and “The Palace on the Prairie” and is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
The stadium in Oklahoma is the home of the Oklahoma Sooners football team and has been renovated during the 2000s. More plans to further increase the capacity are approved.
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium / Toniklemm / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
23. Borg El Arab Stadium
Location: Alexandria, Egypt
Capacity: 86,000
The Borg El Arab Stadium is also known as the “El-Geish Stadium” and is located in the sea resort Borg El Arab, about 25 kilometers west of Alexandria in Egypt.
It is the second-largest stadium in Africa. and it is the home of the Egyptian National football team.
Borg El Arab Stadium / Abdelrhman 1990 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
24. Memorial Stadium
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Capacity: 85,458
The Memorial Stadium is nicknamed “The Sea of Red,” and is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska.
It was built in 1923 and had an original capacity of 31,080. It is home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and is used for a variety of other university and state activities.
Memorial Stadium / Bobak Ha’Eri / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
25. Salt Lake Stadium
Location: Kolkata, India
Capacity: 85,000
The Salt Lake Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata. It used to be the largest stadium in the world with a capacity of 150,000 before a renovation seriously reduced its capacity in 2011.
The stadium is used for games of the Indian national football team.
Salt Lake Stadium / Debnathsonu1996 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
26. ANZ Stadium
Location: Sydney, Australia
Capacity: 83,500
The ANZ Stadium, which is officially known as “Stadium Australia” or “Sydney Olympic Stadium” and is located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. It was the main venue of the Summer Olympics of 2000.
The stadium is used for a variety of sports including rugby, soccer, cricket, and Australian rules football, and is home to the New South Wales Blues, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Capacity: 82,500
MetLife Stadium is located at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just 8 miles (13 km) west of New York City.
It is home to two National Football League (NFL) teams, the New York Giants and the New York Jets. It was originally known as the New Meadowlands Stadium and was opened in 2010.
Croke Park is a Gaelic games stadium located in Dublin, Ireland. It was named after Archbishop Thomas Croke and is commonly known as the “Croker.”
The site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports since 1891. It is the largest stadium in Europe which isn’t used primarily for association football. It also hosts games of the Irish National football team.
Croke Park / Wiki Commons
29. FedExField
Location: Landover, Maryland, United States
Capacity: 82,000
FedExField was originally known as the “Jack Kent Cooke Stadium” and is located near the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County, Maryland, U.S., which is just 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Washington, D.C.
The stadium is the home of the Washington Redskins football team and used to be the largest stadium in the NFL from 2004 until 2010.
Twickenham Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, southwest London, England. It is actually owned by the body of rugby in England, the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The stadium is the largest in the world dedicated to the sport of rugby union and the second-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It’s also famous for hosting concerts from superstars from all over the world.
Twickenham Stadium / Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0
