Top 10 Largest Stadiums in the United States

The United States of America hosts many of the world's most popular sports teams and events, but which teams bring the most fans to each game and play in the biggest buildings?

Based on the list we're about to dive into, the answer to that question is: college football teams. Each of the 10 stadiums on this list belongs to a Division I College Football program.

And, while the Cotton Bowl would rank 10th on this list with a capacity of 92,100, it does not make the cut because it does not currently serve as the full-time host for any team.

Here, we have the list of the top 10 largest stadiums in the United States by seating capacity, courtesy of the NCAA website.

10. Rose Bowl

Capacity: 91,136
Tenant(s): UCLA Football, Rose Bowl Game
Location: Pasadena, California

The Rose Bowl opened in 1922 in scenic Pasadena, California, and provides some of the most beautiful views in American sports. It cost $272,198 to build at the time.

Traditionally, the Rose Bowl game — one of the New Year's Six bowl games — has kicked off at 2 PM local time so the broadcast would feature the Southern California sunset during the second half.

With an average attendance of just under 44,000 in 2023, according to Sports Illustrated, UCLA football fans filled the stadium slightly less than halfway for any given home game.

9. Sanford Stadium

Capacity: 92,746
Tenant(s): University of Georgia Football
Location: Athens, Georgia

Sanford Stadium plays host to one of the most successful College Football programs of the modern era, the Georgia Bulldogs.

The stadium cost $360,000 and opened in 1929, and since then, it has featured hedges surrounding the perimeter of the field. That has led commentators and writers to say that games at the stadium are played "between the hedges."

Sanford Stadium has been expanded five times since 1990, the most recent being in 2018. Its most recent major renovation was in 2017 and cost a reported $63 million to improve the west side of the stadium, move the locker rooms, and create a recruiting pavilion, among other things.

8. Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 100,119
Tenant(s): University of Texas Football
Location: Austin, Texas

The Texas Longhorns football program has improved in recent years, so much so that they sold 5,000 tickets more than the stadium can hold for a game against Georgia in 2024.

That contest saw a record attendance of 105,215 for this venue, which opened in 1924 and cost a grand total of $275,000.

The stadium has seen a series of renovations and expansions. It has been renovated four times since 2000, and has undergone two expansions in that time frame, one from 2006 to 2009 and another from 2019 to 2021.

Plus, it has had some serious cash poured into it: the north end zone expansion cost just under $150 million, and the south end zone expansion cost $200 million.

7. Bryant-Denny Stadium

Capacity: 101,821
Tenant(s): University of Alabama Football
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The newest stadium on this list so far, Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium has not yet reached its 100th anniversary. It was opened in 1929, and it cost $196,000.

The stadium was named after two key figures in the history of the University of Alabama: George H. Denny, who served as university president for 20 years, and Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six National Championships at Alabama.

Denny's name was attached to the stadium from its opening, while Bryant's was added in 1975 due to an act from the state legislature. Bryant coached for seven seasons at the stadium bearing his name before he retired.

6. Neyland Stadium

Capacity: 101,915
Tenant(s): University of Tennessee Football
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

The University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium is the cheapest on this list so far, with a cost of $42,000. It opened in 1921.

Neyland's record attendance of 109,061 was set in 2004 for a game against Florida. It has been expanded 13 times since it was opened, including three times in the 1960s alone, and renovated four times.

Renovations that took place between 2004 and 2010 cost $136.4 million. The renovations added club seats, widened concourses, updated the stadium's infrastructure, and more, according to the school's stadium master plan.

5. Tiger Stadium

Capacity: 102,321
Tenant(s): LSU Football
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Lousiana State University's Tiger Stadium is known as one of the most formidable environments in College Football, and it's six-figure capacity is a big reason why.

The stadium has grown from a 12,000 capacity when it opened in 1924 to its current capacity of 102,321. It cost $1.8 million to build the horseshoe of stands in 1936, which pushed the capacity to 46,000.

In 2012, the LSU board approved an $80 million renovation to the south end zone to add club seats, according to the school's student-run newspaper, and in 2017, the school added the privately-funded Skyline Club atop the south end zone upper deck.

4. Kyle Field

Capacity: 102,733
Tenant(s): Texas A&M Football
Location: College Station, Texas

Kyle Field was built because in 1904, a professor of horticulture named Edwin Jackson Kyle had $650 and a dream to promote the school's athletics, according to Texas A&M's Athletics website.

With that money, he purchased a grandstand from local fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers that could seat 500 people. In November of 1904, Texas A&M's board set the area as the permanent athletic field.

In 1929, a new concrete stadium was built on the site. It opened in time for A&M vs. Texas on that Thanksgiving, and it could seat 32,890 people.

Second decks were added in 1967, construction in 1998 and 1999 pushed it up to 82,600, and the most recent $450 million development saw the stadium reach its current capacity of 102,733. The stadium packed in a record crowd of 110,905 for a George Strait concert in 2024.

3. Ohio Stadium

Capacity: 102,780
Tenant(s): Ohio State University Football
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Ohio Stadium, known to Ohio State fans as The Horseshoe, is the third-largest stadium in the US, and each of the top three belong to Big Ten football programs.

The stadium opened in 1922, cost $1.32 million, and had a seating capacity of 66,210 when it began hosting games that year. In 1974, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Horseshoe had a track around it when it opened, but its removal helped raise the seating capacity, which reached 91,470 by 1991.

A major reconstruction started in 2000, which lowered the playing field to create a new seating deck, brought permanent seating to the stadium's south end, and added a 30-by-90-foot scoreboard for a total of $194 million. By the time renovations were completed, the stadium sat 99,000 fans, and the construction was funded entirely through donations and sales of club seats.

2. Beaver Stadium

Capacity: 106,572
Tenant(s): Penn State University Football
Location: College Park, Pennsylvania

The newest stadium on this list, Beaver Stadium, opened in Happy Valley in 1960. Initial construction cost $1.6 million, and its capacity on opening day was 69,000.

The stadium was expanded three times between 1972 and 1978, and it did not add lights until 1984. It was named after James A. Beaver, a governor of Pennsylvania and president of the school's board of trustees.

It is currently undergoing a renovation that will allow the stadium to be used year-round for a maximum cost of $700 million, according to the Penn State Athletics website, and is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2027 football season.

1. Michigan Stadium

Capacity: 107,601
Tenant(s): University of Michigan Football
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

It's called the Big House for a reason. Michigan Stadium opened in 1927 with an already huge capacity, especially for the time, of 72,000.

In addition to hosting Michigan football games, it has also hosted a world-record hockey crowd and a US-record soccer crowd. A total of 105,491 fans attended the 2014 NHL Winter Classic featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, and 109,318 attended a preseason friendly soccer match between Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The stadium's record attendance is 115,109 for a football game between Michigan and Notre Dame in 2013. The two identical 152 by 55 feet scoreboards are the third-largest in college football, trailing those at the stadiums of Auburn and Purdue.

The Big House's latest major renovation was in 2007 and cost $226 million to replace bleachers, widen aisles, install handrails, and add a new press box, among other things.