The 5 Biggest Sports Stadiums in the World

With sports becoming more widely viewed across the world, it’s important to have enough seats for your stadium’s in-house games, no matter the sport. Across the globe, different stadiums have been constructed, renovated and redesigned to incorporate the mass growth of live onlookers.

In America, most of the largest stadiums by volume are used for playing American Football, while others in places such as India are used for massive cricket events. Keep reading, as we dissect the top five biggest sports stadiums in the world by seating capacity, as well as mention where the stadiums are located, how many people they can seat and when the largest event took place at that stadium.

#5: Ohio Stadium – 102,780 total capacity

The American-based Ohio Stadium is currently home to the Ohio State Buckeyes, located in Columbus, Ohio. Built in 1922, the stadium seats around 102,780 fans for an exciting college football experience like no other. In November 2016, Buckeye Football set its record attendance of 110,045 people in a game vs. Michigan State. While Ohio Stadium isn’t the biggest by capacity, it’s only one of the many college football stadiums that house over 100,000 occupants.

#4: Beaver Stadium – 106,572 total capacity

Like Ohio Stadium, Beaver Stadium is another college football venue and is located in University Park, Pennsylvania. Home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, Beaver Stadium can hold upwards of 106,572 football fanatics, although it did exceed this capacity in 2018 in a home game vs. Ohio State. This game attracted 110,889 people in-house, making it one of the most attended college football games in NCAA history, only behind the largest American college football stadium of all time, Michigan Stadium.

#3: Michigan Stadium – 107,601 total capacity

Michigan Stadium was built back in 1927 in the city of Ann Arbor to host massive Wolverine games with up to 107,601 attendees. Currently, it’s the largest football and sports stadium (although only used for football) in the U.S. and is the third largest stadium in the entire world. In 2013, Michigan Stadium housed approximately 115,109 attendees for a highly-anticipated match vs. Notre Dame. That’s why it has earned the title of biggest stadium in the United States.

#2: Rungrado 1st of May Stadium – 114,000 total capacity

Next up is Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, located in Pyongyang, North Korea. While supposedly hosting the North Korean national football team and other mass festival games, the Pyongyang stadium contains up to 114,000 seats, making it the second-largest sports stadium in the entire world. It’s important to keep in mind that the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is multipurpose, and there have been multiple types of sports-related events that draw in mass viewership. For instance, the 2002 Arirang Performances had over 100,000 participants showcase their gymnastic and artistic skills, drawing an extremely large viewership to the already packed North Korean venue.

#1: Narendra Modi Stadium – 132,000 total capacity

Finally, the biggest sports stadium in the world is Narendra Modi Stadium, recorded to seat upwards of 132,000 occupants. If we consider the population density of India, it’s no surprise the Ahmedabad, Gujarat stadium has seats for so many. Cricket is a hugely popular sport not only in India, but across the world, and the Narendra Modi Stadium is the perfect in-house venue for all the India national cricket team games. While never exceeding its capacity (yet), the 2022 IPL Final reached a height of 101,566 attendees, so in the case that 20-30 thousand more tickets are sold, Narendra Modi Stadium has plenty of space.