Biggest Stadiums in The World By Capacity

Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is the largest sports stadium in the world followed by 8 college football stadiums and Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Stadiums are not only architectural marvels but massive theaters of entertainment, celebration, and passion. Among the largest fifty stadiums in the world, half are found in the United States, about a quarter in Europe, and the remaining quarter is scattered in Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia. Noticeably, the largest stadiums in the world host American college football teams. This list does not include stadiums that are now-defunct, such as the Strahov Stadium in Prague, which has a total capacity of 56,000 when seated (or 250,000 while standing) but is today only used as a training center.

Large Stadiums in the United States

The majority of the world’s largest stadiums are found in the US. Eight out of the top ten largest stadiums in the world are in the US where they play host to American football and baseball teams. Some of them are Michigan Stadium (107,601 people) in position two behind Rungrado, while Beaver Stadium (107,572), Ohio Stadium (104,944), and Kyle Field (102,733) complete the top five. In total, 25 stadiums among the top fifty are all in the US where they host American football and baseball games. The two sports demand larger playing area thereby providing for the construction of larger spectator areas on the fringes of the pitch. The two games are wildly popular in the US and hence the big stadiums to accommodate the thousands of fans who turn up at almost every game.

Sports Played in the Largest Stadiums

Gigantic stadiums are known to host rugby, cricket, and even martial arts festivals find their way into the list of the world’s largest stadiums. North Korea’s Rungrado 1st of May Stadium which is the world’s largest stadium with a capacity of 114,000 people hosts football games besides a festival called Arirang (gymnastic and artistic games). Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which hosts 100,024 people and is primarily a cricket ground comes in at number 10 among the world’s largest. Twickenham Stadium (82,000) in the United Kingdom mostly hosts rugby games and it comes in at position 30. Although soccer is the world’s most popular sport, it loses out in terms of its stadiums’ capacities. In total, only 14 stadiums know to host soccer make it to the top fifty, including Barcelona's Camp Nou (99,354), Johannesburg's Soccer City (94,736), and Mexico City's Estadio Azteca (87,000).

Increasing Capacities

Stadiums in the US and Europe are also increasing their capacities. For instance, Tiger Stadium expanded from a 92,400 to 102,321 capacity while Texas’s Kyle stadium can accommodate almost 21,000 more people from the previous 82,000 person capacity after its expansion. Wembley Stadium which comes in at number 17 among the world’s largest, was expanded from a 40,000 to a 90,000 capacity stadium in 2003. Russia's Luzhiniki Stadium was expanded some years ago to the current capacity of 81,000.

Biggest Stadiums in The World By Capacity

Rank	Stadium	Capacity	Location
1	Rungrado 1st of May Stadium	114,000	Pyongyang, North Korea
2	Michigan Stadium	107,601	Ann Arbor, Michigan, US
3	Beaver Stadium	106,572	State College, Pennsylvania, US
4	Ohio Stadium	104,944	Columbus, Ohio, US
5	Kyle Field	102,733	College Station, Texas, US
6	Neyland Stadium	102,455	Knoxville, Tennessee, US
7	Tiger Stadium	102,321	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US
8	Bryant–Denny Stadium	101,821	Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US
9	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium	100,119	Austin, Texas, US
10	Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)	100,024	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
11	Camp Nou	99,354	Barcelona, Spain
12	Soccer City	94,736	Johannesburg, South Africa
13	Sanford Stadium	92,746	Athens, Georgia, US
14	Rose Bowl	92,542	Pasadena, California, US
15	Cotton Bowl Stadium	92,100	Dallas, Texas, US
16	Wembley Stadium	90,000	London, England, UK
17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	88,548	Gainesville, Florida, US
18	Jordan–Hare Stadium	87,451	Auburn, Alabama, US
19	Bukit Jalil National Stadium	87,411	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
20	Estadio Azteca	87,000	Mexico City, Mexico
21	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium	86,112	Norman, Oklahoma, US
22	Memorial Stadium	86,047	Lincoln, Nebraska, US
23	Borg El Arab Stadium	86,000	Alexandria, Egypt
24	Salt Lake Stadium	85,000	Kolkata, India
25	Stadium Australia	83,500	Sydney, Australia
26	MetLife Stadium	82,500	East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
27	Croke Park	82,300	Dublin, Ireland
28	FedExField	82,000	Landover, Maryland, US
29	Twickenham Stadium	82,000	London, England, UK
30	Memorial Stadium	81,500	Clemson, US
31	Lambeau Field	81,441	Green Bay, Wisconsin, US
32	Signal Iduna Park	81,365	Dortmund, Germany
33	Stade de France	81,338	Saint-Denis, France
34	Estadio Santiago Bernabéu	81,044	Madrid, Spain
35	Luzhniki Stadium	81,000	Moscow, Russia
36	Notre Dame Stadium	80,795	South Bend, Indiana, US
37	Shah Alam Stadium	80,372	Shah Alam, Malaysia
38	Camp Randall Stadium	80,321	Madison, Wisconsin, US
39	Williams-Brice Stadium	80,250	Columbia, South Carolina, US
40	Estadio Monumental	80,093	Lima, Peru
41	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)	80,018	Milan, Italy
42	Guangdong Olympic Stadium	80,012	Guangzhou, China
43	AT&T Stadium	80,000	Arlington, Texas, US
44	Beijing National Stadium	80,000	Beijing, China
45	Grand Stade de Casablanca	80,000	Casablanca, Morocco
46	Stade 5 Juillet 1962	80,000	Algiers, Algeria
47	Stade des Martyrs	80,000	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
48	Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium	79,560	Tallahassee, Florida, US
49	Estádio do Maracanã	78,838	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
50	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	78,467	Los Angeles, California, US