How do you define how popular a sport is? By the capacity of the stadiums, tv viewers or the number of bets and amount wagered on each sport? In this article, we have taken a look at the largest sports stadiums in the world. According to Wikipedia and other sources, the ten largest stadiums can be found in four countries and two continents.
7 out of 10 stadiums can be found in the United States, while the largest stadium is in India and the 2nd largest is in North Korea. The last stadium to qualify for this list is located in Teheran, Iran.
It is not surprising to see a cricket stadium topping the chart as it is also probably the most viewed sport in TV viewership. Having seven stadiums in the top list from the US is not a surprise itself but what most people probably did not expect is that 4 of these are college football stadiums and not stadiums for NFL teams.
With Ohio online sports betting going live on January 1st, 2023, one can expect that the 102,780 Ohio State Buckeyes fans watching the game will place their bets on their favourite team. Sports betting in the US is thriving, and by the end of 2023, around half of the 50 states are expected to offer online sports betting.
Europe has no stadium in the top list, and no new stadiums are being built that have a capacity of over 100K seats. If you were to bet real money on a new continent entering this top list, we would put our money on Africa, which with a growing population and economy at some stage, will have the demand for a new mega stadium.
Here are the most prominent sports stadiums in the world, ranked by capacity:
- Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat: This is the largest stadium in the world, with a capacity of 132,000 and is used mainly for cricket games. It is the largest stadium in the world by capacity.
- Rungado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea: This stadium has a capacity of 114,000 and is used primarily for soccer and athletics.
- Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 107,601 and is used primarily for American football. It is the largest stadium in the United States by capacity.
- Beaver Stadium in State College, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 106,572 and is used primarily for American football.
- Ohio Stadium in Columbus, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 102,780 and is used primarily for American football.
- Kyle Field in College Station, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 102,733 and is used primarily for American football.
- Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 102,455 and is used primarily for American football.
- Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 101,821 and is used primarily for American football.
- Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, United States: This stadium has a capacity of 102,321 and is used primarily for American football.
- Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran: This stadium has a capacity of 100,000 and is used primarily for soccer.
