World’s biggest stadium: Know which one tops the list (2024)

The world’s biggest cricket stadium – the Narendra Modi Stadium in the Motera area of Ahmedabad -- is a refurbished stadium – earlier known as the Sardar Patel Stadium. It was inaugurated in 2020 and has the capacity to hold 132,000 spectators, making it the biggest cricketing venue ever.

Overall, it sits second behind the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, which is the world's biggest stadium, with a capacity of 150,000 .

Apart from its huge capacity, the Narendra Modi Stadium boasts of four dressing rooms, two gyms and a warm-up area. The new drainage system can make the ground match-fit in just 30 minutes and it also has LED lights instead of floodlights for day-night matches.

The premises of the stadium has a 55-room clubhouse, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a gymnasium, steam and sauna, and a squash court, making it a state-of-the-art facility.

The Motera stadium took four years to renovate to its current capacity and was built with an aim to make it the largest cricket stadium in the world.

Let’s have a look at others in the top five:

Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang

Capacity: 150,000

The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, also known as the Rungrado May Day Stadium, is the largest stadium in the world. It can officially accommodate 150,000 spectators.

Shaped like a parachute, the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is mainly used for football matches – it is the home stadium of the North Korea national football team. It has been designed to host multiple sports, including athletics. The Rungrado is the largest stadium in the world.

Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor

Capacity: 107, 601

Nicknamed ‘The Big House’, the Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan is the premier sports venue for the University of Michigan.

The largest stadium in the USA, the Michigan Stadium mainly hosts American football college matches.

At times, football matches are also played while the record attendance (105, 491) was for a National Hockey League (NHL) game between Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania

Capacity: 106,572

The second entrant from the USA in the list, the Beaver Stadium in the University Park of State College, Pennsylvania, is the world's fourth-biggest stadium.

Opened in 1960, the Beaver Stadium is mainly used for college American football and serves as home to Pennsylvania State’s college football team, the Nittany Lions. It also hosts college athletics occasionally.

Ohio Stadium, Columbus

Capacity: 102,780

The fifth-largest stadium in the world is the Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Known as ‘The Horseshoe’ or ‘The Shoe’ because of its unique shape, the Ohio Stadium was opened in 1922 and serves as the home ground for the state American football college team, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The stadium also hosts music concerts.

Largest stadium to host the Olympics

The Olympic Games has had a long history of hosting events in large capacity stadiums. The first Games, at Athens 1896, had its opening and closing ceremonies and hosted four sports at the Panathenaic Stadium, which can seat 80,000.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, host of the 1932 Summer Games, was the first Olympic venue to cross the 100,000 capacity mark.

Meanwhile, the largest stadium to host an Olympic Games comes from Down Under.

Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia is the largest stadium to host an Olympic Games to date.

Previously known as ANZ Stadium and Telstra Stadium, it was unveiled in 1999 - in time for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The Games' closing ceremony saw an attendance of 114,714 people.

Since its reconstruction in 2003, the capacity of the stadium has reduced to 83,500. However, it still holds the record of the largest crowd to attend an Olympic Games event.

World’s biggest stadium - list