This list ranks the 25 largest stadiums in the United States by seating capacity — the maximum number of fixed seats each venue holds for a football game. The lineup mixes massive college football cathedrals with NFL stadiums, several of which have been expanded again and again over the decades to fit more fans.
Michigan Stadium, known to nearly everyone as ‘The Big House,’ sits at the top with 107,601 seats, making it the largest stadium in the country. Penn State’s Beaver Stadium (106,304) is a close second, and eight stadiums in all top 100,000 before the gap widens fast. By the time the list reaches Empower Field at Mile High at #25, capacity has dropped by roughly 31,000 seats from the top.
Why Michigan Stadium Sits Alone at the Top
Michigan Stadium opened in 1927 in Ann Arbor and has been expanded multiple times since, including additions like luxury boxes and a press box built upward rather than out, which let the university keep adding seats without pushing the bowl’s footprint wider. That approach is a big reason ‘The Big House’ has held its spot as the country’s largest stadium for so long.
The margin at the very top is thin. Beaver Stadium, Ohio Stadium, Kyle Field, LSU’s Tiger Stadium, and Neyland Stadium all sit within about 6,000 seats of Michigan, and all are anchored by programs with massive, generations-deep fan bases that fill the stands every fall Saturday. Texas’s Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium round out the 100,000 club, both just north of 100,000 seats.
| # | Name | seats |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan Stadium | 107601 |
| 2 | Beaver Stadium | 106304 |
| 3 | Ohio Stadium | 102780 |
| 4 | Kyle Field | 102733 |
| 5 | Tiger Stadium (LSU) | 102321 |
| 6 | Neyland Stadium | 101915 |
| 7 | Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium | 100119 |
| 8 | Bryant-Denny Stadium | 100077 |
| 9 | Sanford Stadium | 93033 |
| 10 | Cotton Bowl | 92100 |
| 11 | Rose Bowl | 89702 |
| 12 | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium | 88548 |
| 13 | Jordan-Hare | 88043 |
| 14 | Memorial Stadium (Nebraska) | 85458 |
| 15 | MetLife Stadium | 82500 |
| 16 | Memorial Stadium (Clemson) | 81500 |
| 17 | Lambeau Field | 81441 |
| 18 | Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 80126 |
| 19 | AT&T Stadium | 80000 |
| 20 | Notre Dame Stadium | 77622 |
| 21 | Williams-Brice Stadium | 77559 |
| 22 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 77500 |
| 23 | Arrowhead Stadium | 76416 |
| 24 | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium | 76212 |
| 25 | Empower Field at Mile High | 76125 |
What ‘Capacity’ Actually Means at These Venues
Every number on this list reflects fixed seating capacity for football, not the higher figures a venue might post for a concert with floor seating added in. That’s why AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, lands at 80,000 for football despite being able to pack in well over 100,000 for a one-off event with standing room — its baseline football capacity is what’s ranked here.
College stadiums dominate the upper half of this list for a simple reason: campus venues are built to seat entire alumni bases and student bodies, often with bench-style general admission seating that packs more bodies into the same footprint than the individual stadium seats typical of NFL venues. That’s part of why pro stadiums like MetLife, Lambeau, and AT&T Stadium — all iconic, all built for huge crowds — still land in the second half of the list.
Entries Worth Knowing Beyond the Seat Count
A few venues here carry weight beyond their seat count. Lambeau Field is one of the most storied venues in American sports even though its capacity puts it in the middle of the pack. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has hosted the Olympics multiple times and remains one of the few stadiums in the world more than a century old still in regular use today. And AT&T Stadium’s massive center-hung video board remains one of the most talked-about features of any stadium on this list, regardless of where it ranks by seats.
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Largest Stadiums by Capacity FAQs
What is the largest stadium in the United States by capacity?
Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan — nicknamed ‘The Big House’ — is the largest, with a listed capacity of 107,601 seats.
How many NFL stadiums are among the largest in the country?
Only a handful. Most of the top entries on this list are college football stadiums; the highest-ranked NFL venue is MetLife Stadium at #15 with 82,500 seats.
Why are college football stadiums often bigger than NFL stadiums?
College programs built their stadiums to hold entire student bodies and decades of alumni, often using bench seating that fits more people per row, while NFL stadiums are generally built with fewer, wider individual seats and more premium seating areas.
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Photo by Alex Mertz on Unsplash.