The 30 biggest sports stadiums in the world, ranked by crowd capacity Part 1

By Alan Dawson

The world is home to some truly gigantic sports venues, covering much-loved sports like football, soccer, and rugby.

To work out which non-racing stadium is king, we have collected official crowd capacity data from the venues to produce a power ranking based on their size as of March 2018.

When it comes to game day, it is fair to say these stadiums can become as heavily-populated as small cities.

29 (tied): Twickenham — London, England
Getty Images
Capacity:82,000.

Home team: England national rugby union team.

Twickenham has been around since 1907 and has grown into the second-largest stadium in the UK, and the fourth-largest in Europe. It has hosted Rugby World Cup games for the 1991, 1999, and 2015 tournaments. It is also a prime music venue.

29 (tied): FedExField — Landover, Maryland, United States
Getty Images
Capacity: 82,000.

Home team: Washington Redskins (NFL).

NFL franchise Washington Redskins has played its home games at FedExField since 1997, but the stadium has also hosted concerts for The Rolling Stones, U2, and Taylor Swift.

28: Croke Park — Dublin, Ireland
Getty Images
Capacity:82,300.

Tenant: Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

Croke Park is known as the home of gaelic football, the Gaelic games, and hurling.

27: Metlife Stadium — East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Getty Images
Capacity:82,500.

Home teams: New York Giants and the New York Jets (both NFL).

MetLife, an insurance company in New York City, bought the naming rights for the stadium in 2011, shortly after the venue was constructed at a cost of $1.6 billion. It has hosted the Super Bowl, WrestleMania, and popular music artists like Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Guns N’ Roses.

26: Stadium Australia — Sydney, Australia
Getty Images
Capacity: 83,500.

Home team: New South Wales Blues (rugby league).

Built specifically for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the ANZ Stadium — or Stadium Australia — remains a multi-sport venue having hosted rugby league, rugby union, soccer, cricket, and motor sports.

25: Salt Lake Stadium — Kolkata, India
Associated Press
Capacity:85,000.

Home team: Indian national football team (soccer).

The Salt Lake Stadium is the biggest stadium in India by seating capacity and has hosted major youth soccer tournaments like the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

24: Memorial Stadium — Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Getty Images
Capacity:85,458.

Home team: Nebraska Cornhuskers (college football).

Known as the “Sellout King,” the Memorial Stadium and Cornhuskers have a sellout streak that dates back to 1962. This is where every ticket for each event is sold.

23: Borg El Arab Stadium — Alexandria, Egypt
Associated Press
Capacity:86,000.

Home team: Egypt national football team (soccer).

The stadium was originally commissioned to be a part of Egypt’s bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was eventually awarded to South Africa. It was built by the Egyptian Armed Forces Corps of Engineers.

22: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium — Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Getty Images
Capacity: 86,112.

Home team: Oklahoma Sooners (college football).

First opened in 1923 at a cost of $293,000, the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium has undergone numerous renovations and expansions with a further $125 million put to good use.

21: Estadio Azteca — Mexico City, Mexico
Reuters
Capacity:87,000.

Home teams: Mexico national football team and Club América (both soccer).

The largest stadium in Mexico, the Estadio Azteca has hosted the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. It was also one of the host stadiums for the 1968 Summer Olympics, has welcomed musicians like Paul McCartney and U2, and has been a venue for religious events and funeral services.

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