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Magazine: World's 10 Biggest Stadiums

By Rob Jenkins in General News on 3rd Feb 2008 6:00

Have you ever wondered where Australia's famous M.C.G stands in the list of the world's largest sporting stadiums? Well the grand old 'G' fits snuggly into the top ten and is easily the oldest stadium in the list, it is joined not surprisingly by four stadiums from America. However, the Americans have a long way to go to match North Korea's amazing stadium. India show how much they love their sport, with two stadiums in the top ten. Our neighbours in Malaysia fall into the top three, and Mexico sit proudly inside the top five.

#1 - Rungnado May Day Stadium (150,000) North Korea
The monumental Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea was built in 1989 and seats a staggering 150,000 people. Resembling a blossom flower, it has sixteen arches arranged in a ring. In 1995, an incredible 190,000 people crammed in for a professional wrestling event. Its total floor space is over 207,000 m² (2.2 million ft²) across eight stories, and the lobes of its roof peak at more than 60 m (197 ft) from the ground. At the end of the 1990s, a number of North Korean army generals were executed by being burned alive in the stadium

#2 - Salt Lake Stadium (120,000) India
Salt Lake stadium is located in Salt Lake City, a district of Kolkata in India. Built in 1984, the stadium boasts a capacity of 120,000 over a three-tier construction and is mainly used for football and athletics events. The Salt Lake stadium hosts the home games of the East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Clubs; three of the big clubs in Indian football. Many of the home games of the India national football team are also played in Salt Lake, as are many important games in major stages of national tournaments.

#3 - National Stadium, Bukit Jalil (110,000) Malaysia
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium lies 20km south of Kuala Lumpur, in the National Sports Complex. Built for the 1998 Commonwealth Games, construction work began in 1992 and was completed three months ahead of schedule. It was built by United Engineers, Malaysia Bhd. The stadium is considered the best in Malaysia, and is the home of the Malaysian football team. The National Stadium is the central and most prominent sports building at the 1.2 km² National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil.

#4 - Estadio Azteca (114,465) Mexico
Used mostly for football matches, it is the home of the Mexican national team and Mexican club team America. It is the only stadium ever to host two World Cup final matches, in 1970 and 1986. The Azteca stadium towers over everything in the vicinity, and has been given an apt nickname "Coloso de Santa Ursula," in English meaning "Colossus of Santa Ursula". Santa Ursula refers to the part of town where the stadium resides in Mexico City. Estadio Azteca opened in 1966, and was considered one of the most modern sports arena in the world at the time.

#5 - Michigan Stadium (107,501) America
Nicknamed "The Big House", this is the American Football stadium of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Built in 1927, at a cost of $950,000 it had an original capacity of 72,000 which has gradually increased over the years through various expansions, maintaining its position as the largest American Football stadium. On June 21 2007, the University's Board of Regents approved a $226 million renovation and expansion project for Michigan Stadium, which is expected to be completed by 2010. The project includes replacement of some stands, widening of individual seats, widening of the aisles and installing hand rails, the addition of a new press box, eighty three luxury boxes, and 3,200 club seats raising its total seating capacity from 107,501 to around 110,701.

#6 - Beaver Stadium (107,282) America
Smaller than Michigan Stadium by just 219 seats, Beaver Stadium is the home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, and is located at the Pennsylvania State University. Assembled in its current location in 1960 with a capacity of just 46,284, the stadium is named after James A. Beaver, a former governor of Pennsylvania (1887-91) and president of the university's board of trustees. The natural grass playing field sits at an elevation of 1170 feet (356 m) above sea level.

#7 - Ohio Stadium (102,329) America
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Buckeyes American Football team at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Originally built in 1922, (having undergone numerous renovations over the years since then) the stadium officially holds 102,329. The stadium does not have field lights, and when night events do occur special lights must be temporarily installed usually by Musco Lighting. When the stadium was built, revolutionary architectural techniques were used during the building of the stadium. At the base is a slurry wall, to keep out the waters from the Olentangy River. The stadium sits on a flood plain.

#8 - Neyland Stadium (102,037) America
Another American football stadium, the Neyland Stadium serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team in Knoxville, Tennessee. While its current capacity stands at just over 102,000, the stadium did in fact hold 104,079 until a 2006 renovation when executive seating was installed. Over seventy nine years, the stadium has had sixteen expansions, starting in 1926 when the stadium was up-graded from a 3,200 to 6,800 capacity.

#9 - Melbourne Cricket Ground (100,000) Australia
The oldest of the stadiums on our list, it was built in 1853 with the first game of cricket played on 30 September 1854. Until the 1970s, up to 130,000 people could be crammed into the stadium, however, renovations and safety regulations have since restricted the capacity to its current 100,000. The M.C.G holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. Interna

tionally, the MCG is remembered as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The open-air stadium is also one of the world's most famous cricket venues, with the well-attended Boxing Day test match commencing on Boxing Day every year. The redevelopment in 2006 exceeded AUD$400 million and pushed the grounds capacity over the 100,000 mark, (when standing room is taken into account). It's our biggest stadium in Oceania and the only one to make the top ten list, Bung Karno Stadium in Indonesia just misses out. Bung Karno's official capacity was also 100,000 until 2007 when it was renovated for the 2007 Asian Cup, as Indonesia was one of the four nations to host the competition. The capacity has been reduced to just over 88,000.

#10 - Jawaharlal Stadium (100,000) India
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi India, was built by the Government of India in 1982. The massive facility is an all-purpose sports arena. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium also houses the headquarter offices of the Indian Olympic Association. India hosted the first Asian Games in March 1951 in New Delhi, and again the ninth Asian Games in 1982, when the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was first constructed. The stadium will also host the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games.

There are 1 comment on this article

07 Feb 08 by The Big Easssy

These stadiums are amazing! The Malaysia stadium is a stand out i think.

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