The ten biggest permanent sports stadiums on Earth, ranked by official seating capacity — from India's 132,000-seat cricket colossus down to the last venue to break 100,000 seats.
Quick answer: 1. Narendra Modi Stadium, 2. Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, 3. Michigan Stadium, 4. Beaver Stadium, 5. Ohio Stadium, 6. Kyle Field, 7. Tiger Stadium, 8. Neyland Stadium, 9. Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, 10. Bryant–Denny Stadium.
This is a ranking of the ten largest sports stadiums currently in use anywhere in the world, measured by official listed seating capacity. It is for anyone curious about which venues pack in the most spectators — and where the line between "huge" and "world's biggest" actually falls. The list is dominated by two sports on opposite sides of the planet: cricket and American college football. India's Narendra Modi Stadium tops the table, North Korea's Rungrado 1st of May Stadium holds second, and the remaining eight seats are all filled by U.S. college football's cathedral-sized venues — every one of which seats more than 100,000 people.
The world's largest stadium and largest cricket ground, seating 132,000 — a clear margin above every other venue on the list. It first opened in February 2020 in the Motera district of Ahmedabad and was formally inaugurated under its current name in February 2021.
North Korea's showpiece multi-purpose stadium is the largest outside cricket, listed at 113,281 seats after a 2014 renovation replaced bench seating with individual seats. It was built in 1989 with an original stated capacity of 150,000; independent observers now estimate roughly 114,000.
"The Big House" is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, home to University of Michigan football. Its official capacity of 107,601 is routinely exceeded on game days.
Home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the U.S. at a listed 106,572 seats.
"The Horseshoe" is home to Ohio State Buckeyes football, with a listed capacity of 102,780 seats.
Home of the Texas A&M Aggies and the largest stadium in the SEC, Kyle Field seats a listed 102,733.
"Death Valley" is home to LSU Tigers football, with a listed capacity of 102,321 seats.
Home of the Tennessee Volunteers, Neyland Stadium has a listed capacity of 101,915 seats.
Home of the Texas Longhorns, this Austin venue is listed at 100,119 seats.
Home of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Bryant–Denny is listed at 100,077 seats — the tenth and last stadium in the world to top the 100,000-seat mark.
| # | Name | Location | Primary use | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad, India | Cricket | 2020 |
| 2 | Rungrado 1st of May Stadium | Pyongyang, North Korea | Football / multi-purpose | 1989 |
| 3 | Michigan Stadium | Ann Arbor, USA | American football | 1927 |
| 4 | Beaver Stadium | State College, USA | American football | 1960 |
| 5 | Ohio Stadium | Columbus, USA | American football | 1922 |
| 6 | Kyle Field | College Station, USA | American football | 1927 |
| 7 | Tiger Stadium | Baton Rouge, USA | American football | 1924 |
| 8 | Neyland Stadium | Knoxville, USA | American football | 1921 |
| 9 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium | Austin, USA | American football | 1924 |
| 10 | Bryant–Denny Stadium | Tuscaloosa, USA | American football | 1929 |
Stadiums are ranked strictly by official/listed maximum seating capacity (the number of permanent spectator seats), highest to lowest. Only permanent stadiums currently in use for sport are included; temporary structures and demolished or closed venues are excluded. Capacity figures come from Wikipedia's aggregated "List of stadiums by capacity," cross-checked against venue-specific sources (individual Wikipedia articles, the ICC venue page, and StadiumDB). Because the metric is seating capacity, venues whose headline figure includes standing room are counted on their seated total only — for example the Melbourne Cricket Ground's 100,024 figure is 95,000 seats plus 5,000 standing, so it falls below the tenth entry and is excluded. Where a venue's official figure differs from independent post-renovation estimates — as with Rungrado 1st of May Stadium — the item note records the discrepancy. Capacities reflect listed seating and do not account for standing overflow or single-game attendance records that exceed the official figure.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, is the world's largest stadium and largest cricket ground, with an official seating capacity of 132,000.
Michigan Stadium ("The Big House") in Ann Arbor is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, with an official capacity of 107,601. It ranks third in the world on this list.
Eight of the top ten are U.S. college football venues. American college football regularly draws six-figure crowds at flagship state universities, which built and repeatedly expanded enormous stadiums to match — so once you get past cricket's largest ground and North Korea's Rungrado stadium, the rest of the 100,000-plus club is all college football.
Based on official listed seating capacity, exactly ten permanent, in-use sports stadiums seat more than 100,000 people — the ten venues on this list, ending with Bryant–Denny Stadium at 100,077. The Melbourne Cricket Ground's total capacity of 100,024 includes 5,000 standing spaces, so its ~95,000 seated capacity falls just outside the list.