The largest stadiums in the world are primarily in the United States. The biggest stadium of all, though, is in North Korea. The second largest is in India.
Perhaps surprisingly, this collection of the 10 biggest stadiums on the planet is not littered with venues rich in sports betting history.
Largest Stadiums By Capacity:
The traditional arenas, the meccas of sport that sit high on bucket lists, are not big enough to make their way into this article.
Even the biggest Premier League stadiums cannot come close to the capacities of the 10 stadiums on this list, the smallest of which can host over 100,000 spectators.
10) Bryant-Denny Stadium – 100,077
The Bryant-Denny Stadium, home of the Alabama Crimson Tide, is the fourth-largest in its conference.
First opened in 1929, the stadium was named Denny Stadium until 1975 when the surname of Paul Bryant, a longtime head coach of Alabama, was added to its title. Bryant owned a 72-3 record as head coach at the stadium.
Despite its reputation, Bryant-Denny Stadium wasn’t the site of many of Alabama’s greatest moments.
Legion Field, a stadium with a bigger capacity through the middle of the last century, was used for many of Crimson Tide’s high-profile home games.
The stadium’s biggest official capacity was reached in 2010 at just shy of 102,000. Redevelopments in 2020 shaved off almost 2,000 seats.
9) Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium – 100,119
The current capacity of Darrell K Royal Stadium is actually around the 95,000 mark while they work on expansion, but we’ve generously given it the nod for its official capacity. The stadium has a record attendance of 103,507.
Home of the Texas Longhorns, this venue has had a string of different, albeit very similar, names. It was the War Memorial Stadium from 1924 to ’47, then Memorial Stadium, then Texas Memorial Stadium.
In 2020, it was announced a statue of Julius Whittier, the school’s first black football letterman, would be erected outside the stadium.
8) Tiger Stadium – 102,321
The inventively named Tiger Stadium is the home stadium of the LSU Tigers.
It is often referred to as Death Valley – an appropriate name for a home fortress in which the Tigers have won over 70% of their games.
Like every stadium in this article, Tiger Stadium has been expanded over and over. It had just a 12,000 capacity when it was first used in 1924 – 10,000 seats were added just seven years later, and the capacity was at almost 60,000 by 1953.
7) Neyland Stadium – 102,455
Named after Robert Neyland, who had three stints as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, Neyland Stadium’s current capacity is not the largest its ever been.
Along the stadium’s timeline, and its 14 renovations, it briefly had a capacity of over 104,000.
From 1921 until 1962, it was known as Shield-Watkins Field. That’s now the name of the playing surface, which switched back to grass from AstroTurf in 1994.
6) Kyle Field – 102,733
Home of the Texas A&M Aggies in one form or another since 1904, Kyle Field is the largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference and the fourth-biggest in the NCAA. It has an attendance record north of 110,000.
The Aggies made Kyle Field a ferocious place to visit in the 1990s, contributing to a winning percentage of 93.2%.
They have dropped off slightly since the turn of the century, but they still own an impressive record at the stadium since it was constructed in 1927.
5) Ohio Stadium – 102,780
Already an impressive venue when first opened, Ohio Stadium’s original capacity was 66,210. That has grown over the years, with the Ohio State Buckeyes now owning the fifth-biggest stadium in the world.
Previously used for athletics, Ohio Stadium’s primary purpose has been hosting the Buckeyes, but it has more recently become a concert venue with high-profile acts performing there, including Taylor Swift and U2.
The Bosa brothers are just two of the NFL stars who were roared on by the Buckeyes faithful at Ohio Stadium.
4) Beaver Stadium – 106,572
Beaver Stadium is the home of the Penn State Nittany Lions. It has been so since 1960, when its capacity was around 47,000.
Expansions have been frequent over the decades, with the stadium reaching a peak capacity of 107,282 following a 2001 renovation.
The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium is hostile and ground-shakingly loud. It has won awards for being the toughest stadium for college athletes to play at.
3) Michigan Stadium – 107,601
While the listed capacity is under 108,000, Michigan Stadium (brilliantly nicknamed The Big House) has registered attendances of over 115,000.
It has the title of being the biggest stadium in the USA. Beyond being the home of the Wolverines, Michigan Stadium has been used for exhibition soccer matches, ice hockey games and political events. It owns several attendance records.
Real Madrid and Manchester United met in a 2014 friendly, which had the most spectators for a soccer match in the USA.
2) Sardar Patel Stadium – 110,000
Top of the largest cricket stadiums list, Sardar Patel Stadium is India’s only representative on this list and the only stadium to host cricket matches. Melbourne Cricket Ground just missed out by 53 seats.
Demolished in 2015, Sardar Patel was completely rebuilt for 2020, taking its capacity to 110,000, over double what it was previously.
It will be a venue for international matches for all three formats and will occasionally pop up in the football odds.
1) Rungrado 1st of May Stadium – 114,000
Located in Pyongyang, Rungrado May Day Stadium is a multi-purpose venue and the largest stadium in the world.
Football matches and athletics are held at Rungrado 1st of May Stadium as well as the Arirang Festival.
It has also been used for political functions, including Kim Jong-un hosting Xi Jinping to a gymnastics and artistic performance in July 2019.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Tony Ding / AP Photo*
