Biggest Stadium in the US (2026): Top 20 by Capacity

The biggest stadium in the US is Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, which seats 107,601. Beaver Stadium at Penn State is second at 106,572 and is expected to pass it during the 2026 season. The surprise for most readers is what comes next: 17 of the country’s 20 largest stadiums are college football venues, and the largest NFL stadium ranks only 15th.

Why is the list dominated by college football?

Because American universities got there first and never stopped building. Michigan Stadium opened in 1927 with 72,000 seats and has been expanded six times. Ohio Stadium dates to 1922, Neyland Stadium to 1921, Tiger Stadium and Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium to 1924. Each of those started as a concrete bowl on land the university already owned, with a captive student and alumni audience that grew every decade.

The NFL went the opposite way, and it was a rule that caused it. The league’s television blackout policy banned local broadcast of any game that failed to sell its non-premium seats, so building past roughly 80,000 seats meant risking a blackout in your own market every week. The policy has been suspended since 2015, but the stadium stock it produced is still standing. No NFL venue lists more than 82,500 seats today.

The 20 biggest stadiums in the US (2026)

Build costs below are as originally reported for the structure named, not inflation-adjusted.

#	Stadium	Capacity	Opened	Build cost	Owner	Primary tenant	Corporate naming rights
1	Michigan Stadium	107,601	1927	$950,000	University of Michigan	Michigan (NCAA)	None
2	Beaver Stadium	106,572	1960	$1.6m	Penn State University	Penn State (NCAA)	None
3	Ohio Stadium	102,780	1922	$1.34m	Ohio State University	Ohio State (NCAA)	None
4	Kyle Field	102,733	1927	$485m (2013–15 rebuild)	Texas A&M University	Texas A&M (NCAA)	None
5	Tiger Stadium	102,321	1924	$1.82m (1936 horseshoe)	Louisiana State University	LSU (NCAA)	None
6	Neyland Stadium	101,915	1921	$42,000	University of Tennessee	Tennessee (NCAA)	None
7	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium	100,119	1924	$275,000	University of Texas	Texas (NCAA)	None
8	Bryant–Denny Stadium	100,077	1929	$196,000	University of Alabama	Alabama (NCAA)	None
9	Sanford Stadium	93,033	1929	$360,000	University of Georgia	Georgia (NCAA)	None
10	Cotton Bowl	92,100	1930	$328,200	City of Dallas	Red River Rivalry (NCAA)	None
11	Rose Bowl	89,702	1922	$272,198	City of Pasadena	UCLA (NCAA)	None
12	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	88,548	1930	$118,000	University of Florida	Florida (NCAA)	None (donor name)
13	Jordan–Hare Stadium	88,043	1939	$1.45m	Auburn University	Auburn (NCAA)	None
14	Memorial Stadium, Lincoln	85,458	1923	$482,939	University of Nebraska–Lincoln	Nebraska (NCAA)	None
15	MetLife Stadium	82,500	2010	$1.6bn	NJ Sports & Exposition Authority	Giants and Jets (NFL)	MetLife, $400m over 25 years
16	Memorial Stadium, Clemson	81,500	1942	$125,000	Clemson University	Clemson (NCAA)	None
17	Lambeau Field	81,441	1957	$960,000	City of Green Bay	Packers (NFL)	None
18	Notre Dame Stadium	80,795	1930	$750,000	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame (NCAA)	None
19	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium	80,126	1923	$293,000	University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma (NCAA)	None (donor name)
20	AT&T Stadium	80,000	2009	$1.15bn	Dallas Cowboys	Cowboys (NFL)	AT&T, since 2013

Two figures in that table do more work than the capacity column. Only two of the 20 carry a corporate name, and 14 are owned by state universities. The biggest stadiums in America are, overwhelmingly, public assets with donor names on them rather than commercial properties.

Which NFL stadium is the biggest?

MetLife Stadium, at 82,500 seats. It is also one of only two NFL venues shared by two franchises, hosting both the Giants and the Jets.

#	Stadium	Capacity	Opened	Cost	Team(s)
1	MetLife Stadium	82,500	2010	$1.6bn	Giants, Jets
2	Lambeau Field	81,441	1957	$960,000	Packers
3	AT&T Stadium	80,000	2009	$1.15bn	Cowboys
4	Empower Field at Mile High	76,125	2001	$400.7m	Broncos
5	Bank of America Stadium	75,037	1996	Privately financed	Panthers

AT&T Stadium is the caveat. Its listed 80,000 seats expand with standing-room configurations that have carried single-event crowds past 100,000, which makes it the largest NFL venue by peak capacity even though it is third by seats. The full breakdown of all 30 venues, with costs and naming-rights holders, sits in the ranking of the largest NFL stadiums. For the people paying for these buildings, see who owns the Dallas Cowboys.

Which MLB, NBA and soccer venues are the biggest?

Dodger Stadium leads baseball at 56,000, the United Center leads basketball at 20,917, and Bank of America Stadium is the largest venue used by a soccer club.

Largest MLB ballparks

#	Ballpark	Capacity	Opened	Team
1	Dodger Stadium	56,000	1962	Los Angeles Dodgers
2	Chase Field	48,330	1998	Arizona Diamondbacks
3	T-Mobile Park	47,929	1999	Seattle Mariners
4	Coors Field	46,897	1995	Colorado Rockies
5	Yankee Stadium	46,537	2009	New York Yankees

Largest NBA arenas in the US

#	Arena	Capacity	Opened	Team
1	United Center	20,917	1994	Chicago Bulls
2	Capital One Arena	20,333	1997	Washington Wizards
3	Little Caesars Arena	20,332	2017	Detroit Pistons
4	Xfinity Mobile Arena	20,007	1996	Philadelphia 76ers
5	Madison Square Garden	19,812	1968	New York Knicks

Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena at 19,800 would rank fifth on a league-wide list, but it is in Canada. Full detail on all 30 venues is in the ranking of the biggest NBA arenas.

Largest soccer venues

#	Venue	Capacity	Opened	Club	Note
1	Bank of America Stadium	75,037	1996	Charlotte FC	Curtained to about 38,000 for most MLS matches
2	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	71,000	2017	Atlanta United	Soccer configuration 42,500, expandable
3	Lumen Field	68,740	2002	Seattle Sounders	Shared with the Seahawks
4	Geodis Park	30,109	2022	Nashville SC	Largest purpose-built soccer stadium in the country

Which US stadium record changes next?

Beaver Stadium’s, during the 2026 season. Penn State’s $700 million revitalization is adding an upper bowl on the west side, and athletic director Pat Kraft has said capacity should reach roughly 108,000 and could exceed 109,000 by the time USC visits in October. That would end Michigan Stadium’s long run at the top of the American list, though neither comes close to the global leader covered in the ranking of the largest stadiums in the world.

Construction continues through the season and finishes for 2027, so treat any Beaver Stadium number quoted this autumn as provisional until Penn State publishes a final figure. More capacity tables are collected on the stadiums hub.