
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