You’ll find even more interesting information about one of the most popular sports in the United States in this post where we share the biggest football stadiums in USA.
The offense must gain at least 10 yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, the ball is turned over to the defense; if they succeed, a new set of four downs is provided to continue the drive.
We recently published the most recent ranking of the top 20 richest soccer players in the world.
A touchdown is scored by pushing the ball into the other team’s end zone, or a field goal is achieved by kicking the ball through the opponent’s goalposts. At the end of a game, the team with the most points wins.
In English-speaking nations where other styles of football are prevalent, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the words “gridiron” or “American football” are preferred.
American football is a sport that originated in the United States and evolved from soccer and rugby.
On November 6, 1869, the first American football game was played between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, utilizing rules based on soccer rules at the time.
The Top 10 Biggest Football Stadiums In USA
The top ten largest stadiums in the United States are shown below. They are arranged in ascending order of magnitude by stadium capacity, which is the highest number of spectators the stadium can regularly hold.
When the stadium is configured for football, this is meant to represent the permanently fixed seating capacity.
When stadiums are constructed for other sports, or by using temporary seating or allowing standing-room-only attendance, they can accommodate larger audiences.
1. Michigan Stadium
- Capacity: 107,601
- Opened: October 1, 1927
- Location: Ann Arbor
- Owner: University of Michigan
- Operator: University of Michigan
Nicknamed “The Big House”, Michigan Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan – one of the 50 USA states
It is the largest stadium in the United States and Western Hemisphere, the third-largest stadium in the world which earned it the number one spot on our list.
Its official capacity is 107,601, but has hosted crowds in excess of 115,000.
Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 and had an original capacity of 72,000. On October 1, 1927, Michigan played Ohio Wesleyan in the first game at Michigan Stadium, prevailing easily, 33–0.
The new stadium was then formally dedicated three weeks later in a contest against Ohio State on October 22.
On September 7, 2013, the game between Michigan and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attracted a crowd of 115,109, a record attendance for a college football game since 1948.
Michigan Stadium was designed with footings to allow the stadium’s capacity to be expanded beyond 100,000.
Michigan Stadium is used for the University of Michigan’s main graduation ceremonies; President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his Great Society program at the 1964 commencement ceremonies in the stadium.
Additionally, a 2014 International Champions Cup soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester United had an attendance of 109,318, a record crowd for a soccer match in the United States.
2. Beaver Stadium
- Capacity: 106,572
- Opened: September 17, 1960
- Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
- Operator: Pennsylvania State University
Next on the list of the biggest football stadiums in USA is Beaver Stadium.
It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909.
In 1909, New Beaver Field opened just northeast of Rec Hall, roughly in the current location of the Nittany Parking deck.
The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver who was a former governor of Pennsylvania (1887–91), president of the university’s board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown, Pennsylvania.
Beaver Stadium has an official seating capacity of 106,572, making it currently the second largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world.
In 2016, Beaver Stadium was voted the number-one football stadium in college football in a USA Today poll, garnering over 41 percent of the vote.
In March 2019, USA Today conducted another poll asking voters to decide the best stadium in the United States and Beaver Stadium beat Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse to claim the title of Ultimate Stadium.
3. Ohio Stadium
- Capacity: 102,780
- Opened: October 7, 1922
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
- Owner: Ohio State University
- Operator: Ohio State University
Also known as the Horseshoe, the Shoe, and the House That Harley Built, this stadium ranks the 3rd on the list of the biggest football stadiums in USA, and the primary purpose is the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.
It also serves as the site for the university’s Spring Commencement ceremonies each May.
It is the largest stadium by capacity in the state of Ohio and the third-largest on-campus football stadium in the United States and the fifth in the world.
From 1996 to 1998, Ohio Stadium was the home venue for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer prior to the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium in 1999.
In addition to athletics, Ohio Stadium is also a concert venue and has seen the likes of Pink Floyd, U2, Metallica, and The Rolling Stones among the many acts to have been played at the venue.
The stadium opened in 1922 as a replacement for Ohio Field and had a seating capacity of 66,210. The first game in the stadium was against Ohio Wesleyan University on October 7, 1922, and brought a crowd of around 25,000, which left people concerned because the stadium was half empty.
4. Kyle Field
- Capacity: 102,733
- Opened: September 24, 1927
- Location: College Station, Texas
The number four on our list of the biggest football stadiums in USA is the football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, United States.
Kyle Field has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent concrete stadium since 1927.
The seating capacity of 102,733 in 2015 makes the stadium the largest in the Southeastern Conference, the fourth-largest stadium in the United States, and the sixth-largest non-racing stadium in the world.
Within the state of Texas, Kyle Field has the largest seating capacity of any football stadium.
Kyle Field’s largest game attendance was 110,633 people when Texas A&M lost to the Ole Miss Rebels by the score of 35–20 on October 11, 2014. This was the largest football game attendance in the state of Texas.
In the fall of 1904, Edwin Jackson Kyle, an 1899 graduate of Texas A&M and professor of horticulture, was named president of the General Athletics Association.
5. Nyeland Stadium
- Capacity: 102,455
- Opened: September 24, 1921
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Owner: University of Tennessee
- Operator: University of Tennessee
Next on the list of the biggest football stadiums in USA is Neyland Stadium which serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team.
Also, it is used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Football League (NFL) exhibition games. The stadium’s official capacity is 102,455.
Constructed in 1921 as Shields–Watkins Field (which is now the name of the playing surface), the stadium has undergone 16 expansion projects, at one point reaching a capacity of 104,079 before being slightly reduced by alterations in the following decade.
Neyland Stadium is the fifth largest stadium in the United States, the seventh-largest stadium in the world, and the second-largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference.
The stadium is named for Robert Neyland, who served three stints as head football coach at the University of Tennessee between 1926 and 1952.
In 1962, the stadium was renamed Neyland Stadium in honor of General Robert Neyland, the recently deceased former athletic director and coach.
6. Tiger Stadium
- Capacity: 102,321
- Opened: November 25, 1924
- Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Popularly known as Death Valley, Tiger Stadium is an outdoor stadium located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the campus of Louisiana State University. It is the home stadium of the LSU Tigers football team.
Tiger Stadium opened with a capacity of 12,000 in 1924. Renovations and expansions have brought the stadium’s current capacity to 102,321, making it the third-largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the sixth-largest stadium in the United States and on our list, and the eighth largest stadium in the world.
Known for its electric game-day atmosphere, Tiger Stadium is also renowned for being one of the most difficult places to play – if you’re a visiting team that is.
More recently, in 2007, ESPN named Tiger Stadium “the scariest place to play”, saying that “Tiger Stadium is, by far, the loudest stadium in the country.”
7. Bryant-Denny Stadium
- Capacity: 100,077
- Opened: September 28, 1929
- Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The seventh spot on our list is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Opened 91 years ago in 1929, Bryant–Denny Stadium was originally named Denny Stadium in honor of George H. Denny, the school’s president from 1912 to 1932.
In 1975, the state legislature added longtime head coach and alumnus Paul “Bear” Bryant to the stadium’s name.
With a seating capacity of 100,077, it is the fourth-largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference, the seventh-largest stadium in the United States, and the tenth-largest stadium in the world.
8. Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
- Capacity: 95,594 (currently reduced from 100,119)
- Opened: November 8, 1924 (first game), November 27, 1924 (dedication)
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Owner: the University of Texas at Austin
- Operator: the University of Texas at Austin
With the recently reduced capacity to 95,594, Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium formerly War Memorial Stadium, Memorial Stadium, and Texas Memorial Stadium, is the eighth largest stadium in the U.S.A.
It has been home to the Longhorns football team since 1924. It sits at number 8 on the list of the biggest football stadiums in USA
Prior to construction to build permanent south end zone seating and luxury suites, the official stadium’s seating capacity was 100,119, which made the stadium the largest in the Big 12 Conference, the seventh-largest stadium in the United States, and the ninth largest stadium in the world surpassing Bryant-Denny stadium.
The DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium attendance record of 103,507 spectators was set on September 15, 2018, when Texas played The University of Southern California.
The University of Texas honored legendary football coach Darrell K Royal, who enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1943, played at the University of Oklahoma under legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson, and led Texas to three national championships and eleven Southwest Conference titles, by officially naming the stadium after him in 1996.
9. Sanford Stadium
- Capacity: 92,746
- Opened: October 12, 1929
- Location: Athens, Georgia
Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA).
The 92,746-seat stadium is the ninth-largest stadium in the United States on our list and the fourteenth-largest in the world.
Unlike most stadiums that have artificial playing surfaces, Sanford Stadium from the outset had, and continues to have a natural grass surface.
The seating capacity of the stadium was temporarily increased on September 21, 2019, to 93,246 for Notre Dame Game
The stadium is named for Dr. Steadman Vincent Sanford, an early major force behind UGA athletics. Sanford arrived at the University of Georgia as an English instructor in 1903.
He later became the faculty representative to the athletics committee and would eventually become president of the University and Chancellor of the entire University System of Georgia.
In 1911, he moved the university’s football venue from its first location, Herty Field, to a location at the center of campus which was named Sanford Field in his honor.
10. The Rose Bowl
- Capacity: 92,542
- Opened: October 28, 1922
- Location: Pasadena, California
- Owner: City of Pasadena
- Operator: Rose Bowl Operating Company
The stadium, which opened in October 1922, is a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. It is ranked number ten on our list of the top ten biggest football stadiums in USA.
The Rose Bowl, with a current capacity of 92,542 in an all-seated layout, is the world’s 15th-largest stadium and the United States’ 10th-largest stadium.
The Rose Bowl, one of the most famous sporting arenas in history, is best known as a college football facility, notably as the site of the Rose Bowl Game, for which it is named.
The Rose Bowl is also a well-known soccer facility, having hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, the 1984 Olympic Soccer Gold Medal Match, and several CONCACAF and USSF events.
Summary of the Biggest Football Stadiums In USA
Here’s a quick summary of the largest American Football Stadiums in the United States;
- Michigan Stadium
- Beaver Stadium
- Ohio Stadium
- Kyle Field
- Nyeland Stadium
- Tiger Stadium
- Brant-Denny
- Darrell Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
- Sanford Stadium
- The Rose Bowl
