In 776 BC, the Olympic Games of antiquity were hosted at the Olympia stadium in Peloponnese, Greece, an arena widely believed to be the world’s oldest stadium. The elongated U-shaped track and stand had a capacity of up to 45,000 people.
Almost 3000 years later, and the typology of the sports stadium continues to act as a gathering place for tens of thousands of eager spectators. As populations, and indeed revenue generated from sporting events continues to increase around the world, the design of sports stadiums is destined to follow suit.
Below, we have rounded up the 25 largest active sports stadiums in the world in terms of total capacity. The list spans 10 countries, with an impressive 15 out of 25 stadiums located within the United States. Note that this list does not include race tracks, closed or inactive stadiums, or figures attained from temporary spectator capacity.
1. Rungrado 1st of May Stadium / Pyongyang, North Korea
Architect: Unknown
Capacity: 114,000
Tenant: Korea DPR national football team
2. Michigan Stadium / Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Architect: Bernard L. Green / HNTB
Capacity: 107,600
Tenant: Michigan Wolverines football
3. Beaver Stadium / State College PA, USA
Architect: Michael Baker Jr., Inc. / Populous
Capacity: 106,600
Tenant: Penn State Nittany Lions football
4. Ohio Stadium / Columbus OH, USA
Architect: Howard Dwight Smith
Capacity: 104,900
Tenant: Ohio State Buckeyes football
5. Kyle Field / College Station, Texas, USA
Architect: F.E. Geisecke / Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam / Populous
Capacity: 102,700
Tenant: Texas A&M Aggies football
6. Neyland Stadium / Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Architect: McCarty Holsaple McCarty
Capacity: 102,400
Tenant: Tennessee Volunteers football
7. Tiger Stadium / Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Architect: Wogan and Bernard / Trahan Architects
Capacity: 102,300
Tenant: LSU Tigers football
8. Bryant-Denny Stadium / Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
Architect: Davis
Capacity: 101,800
Tenant: Alabama Crimson Tide football
9. Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium / Austin, Texas, USA
Architect: Herbert M. Greene
Capacity: 100,100
Tenant: Texas Longhorns football
10. Melbourne Cricket Ground / Melbourne, Australia
Architect: Ancon
Capacity: 100,000
Tenant: Melbourne Cricket Club
11. Camp Nou / Barcelona, Spain
Architect: Francesc Mitjans
Capacity: 99,300
Tenant: FC Barcelona
12. Soccer City / Johannesburg, South Africa
Architect: Boogertman & Partners / Populous
Capacity: 94,700
Tenant: South African national football team
13. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum / Los Angeles, California, USA
Architect: John and Donald Parkinson / DLR Group
Capacity: 93,600
Tenant: USC Trojans football, Los Angeles Rams
14. Sanford Stadium / Athens, Georgia, USA
Architect: CBRE | Heery
Capacity: 92,700
Tenant: Georgia Bulldogs football
15. Rose Bowl / Pasadena, California, USA
Architect: Myron Hunt
Capacity: 92,500
Tenant: UCLA Bruins football
16. Cotton Bowl Stadium / Dallas, Texas, USA
Architect: Mark Lemmon / George Dahl / Hellmuth Obata & Kassalbaum
Capacity: 92,100
Tenant: City of Dallas
17. Wembley Stadium / London, UK
Architect: Populous / Foster + Parters / Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners
Capacity: 90,000
Tenant: English national football team
18. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium / Gainesville, Florida, USA
Architect: Rudolph Weaver
Capacity: 88,500
Tenant: Florida Gators football
19. Jordan-Hare Stadium / Auburn, Alabama, USA
Architect: Warren, Knight, and Davis
Capacity: 87,400
Tenant: Auburn Tigers football
20. Bukit Jalil National Stadium / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Architect: Arkitek FAA / Weidleplan Consulting Gmbh / Shlaich Bergermann Partner / Populous
Capacity: 87,400
Tenant: Malaysia national football team
21. Estadio Azteca / Mexico City, Mexico
Architect: Pedro Ramirez Vazquez
Capacity: 87,000
Tenant: Club America, Cruz Azul, Mexico national football team
22. Memorial Stadium / Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Architect: John Latenser Sr. and Sons / Davis & Wilson
Capacity: 86,000
Tenant: Nebraska Cornhusker football
23. Borg El Arab / Alexandria, Egypt
Architect: Egyptian Armed Forces Corps of Engineers
Capacity: 86,000
Tenant: Egypt national football team
24. Salt Lake Stadium / Kolkata, India
Architect: Ballardie, Thompson & Matthews Pvt. Ltd / H.K. Sen & Associates
Capacity: 85,000
Tenant: India national football team
25. Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium / Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Architect: Layton & Kicks / Populous / 360 Architecture
Capacity: 84,400
Tenant: Oklahoma Sooners football
