UK is home to some of the top football clubs in the world and some of these teams have sensational stadiums as their home grounds. However, in terms of capacity, what are the top 10 biggest stadiums in UK?
The top 10 biggest stadiums in UK in terms of capacity starts with the Wembley Stadium which has a capacity of 90,000. Manchester United’s Old Trafford comes in second place with a capacity of 75,635 and then followed by the Principality Stadium in Cadiff.
Global Watch Football has compiled a list of the top 10 biggest stadium in UK in terms of capacity and a little information about the stadium. Keep reading to find out more
The Top 10 Biggest Stadiums In UK
Here is the list of the top 10 biggest stadiums in UK:
- Wembley Stadium
- Old Trafford
- Principality Stadium
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- London Stadium
- Celtic Park
- The Emirates
- The Etihad
- Anfield
- St James Park
Let us look at each of them in greater detail:
1. Wembley Stadium – 90,000 Capacity (London)
Home grounds for the England National Team, the Wembley Stadium was built between 2002 to 2007 for an estimated cost of £974 million. The Wembley Stadium is arguably one of the most well-known stadiums in the world.
You may watch play-off finals from most divisions, the League Cup final, the FA Cup semifinals, and the FA Cup final at Wembley in addition to England games. High-profile games like the Champions League final and, in the future, the European Championships final are occasionally held there as well. It may accommodate musical performances, with Muse’s 2007 tour establishing a record for attendance.
The highest attendance ever recorded at the stadium was 89,826 which saw a match between Chelsea and Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Didier Drogba scored an extra-time goal to win the trophy for Chelsea with a score line of 1-0.
2. Old Trafford – 75,365 Capacity (Manchester)
Manchester United has called Old Trafford their home since since it opened in 1910. It cost the club about £90,000 to begin construction in 1909 and be completed in 1910. The stadium is filled with “nods” to the team’s great past, such as sculptures honoring Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson, as well as a stand bearing his name. The Hillsborough Disaster Taylor Report was published in the 1990s, which led to several key stadium improvements.
As a result of the FA’s decision to mandate all top-flight stadiums to be all-seaters, the venue’s capacity was temporarily reduced to 44,000 while it was still under construction. Naturally, it recovered and currently has the UK’s largest club-side stadium by capacity. The venue has previously played home to FA Cup semifinals, rugby league and rugby union games, as well as concerts from a variety of performers, in addition to United games.
The highest attendance ever recorded at Old Trafford was back in 1939. A total of 76,962 spectators were in attendance to watch the game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.
3. Principality Stadium – 74,500 Capacity (Cardiff)
The Principality Stadium, also known as the Millennium Stadium to most people due to sponsorship, serves as both the permanent home of the Wales national rugby team and the temporary home of the Wales national football team. But for many English football fans, it served as the venue for the FA Cup and League Cup finals from 2001 to 2007 when Wembley was being renovated. The estimated cost for construction is about £121,000,000.
Nowadays, rugby matches are the main events hosted there, and those were also the most well-known ones. For instance, the Rugby League Challenge Cup finals, Heineken Cup finals, and the 1999 Rugby World Cup final have all taken place there on a regular basis.
Of course, there are other uses for the Principality outside sports, as with other significant stadiums. Since it debuted in 1999, a lot of music concerts have taken place there. On the eve of the new millennium, the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers performed there, and other artists including Bon Jovi, Madonna, and The Rolling Stones have also performed there. It has even appeared on screen a few occasions, most notably in the films 28 Days Later and a Doctor Who episode.
The match between Wales and Italy in 2002 saw a record 72,500 spectators at the stadium.
4. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – 62,850 Capacity (London)
The unimaginatively called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which was constructed to replace White Hart Lane, is the third-largest stadium in England and can lay claim to have the only retractable, divvyable surface in the nation. This was incorporated into the plan so that the stadium could serve several purposes—it also accommodates NFL games, concerts, and other events of a similar nature.
Some supporters refer to the stadium as the New White Hart Lane because it was constructed on the location of the previous stadium. However, the naming rights are still open, and it is hoped that a sponsor would step forward and provide the team with further funding.
Although the project didn’t start until 2016, construction on the new stadium had been been planned since 2007. Until that time, the stadium was still being used as some of it was being torn down. Tottenham declared Wembley their home throughout the interim years until the new stadium was completed before this ultimately became unworkable in May 2017. It cost the club a whooping £1 Billion to construct.
Tottenham played host to Crystal Palace in their inaugural game at their new home, defeating them 2-0. This was also the same score they used to defeat Manchester United in their final game at the previous White Hart Lane in 2017.
The highest recorded attendance was a game between Tottenham and Chelsea in 2019 where 61,104 fans were in attendance.
5. London Stadium – 62,500 Capacity (London)
The history of the London Stadium is brief yet intriguing. West Ham United has taken over the stadium, which was originally intended to serve as the focal point for the 2012 Summer Olympics when London served as the host city. The transfer to the Olympic Stadium has undoubtedly helped West Ham improve their game as far as their home field is concerned. Known for the majority of its life as Upton Park but suddenly became The Boleyn Ground just as the Hammers were getting ready to depart it. It took £486,000,000 to construct the stadium between 2008 and 2011.
The stadium served as the Olympics’ “jewel in the crown,” not the least because it played host to “The Greatest Show on Earth” during its opening ceremony. The event, which Danny Boyle directed, was a masterful examination of all that is admirable in Great Britain. The 2015 Rugby World Cup was one of the events that took place at the ground in addition to football, cricket, American football, baseball, and motor racing. West Ham United vs Everton in 2019 had a record attendance of 59,988 fans.
6. Celtic Park – 60,411 Capacity (Glasgow)
Celtic, one of the clubs that competes in the annual Old Firm rivalry with city rivals Rangers, owns the largest stadium in Scotland. Contrary to popular belief, it didn’t undergo any especially significant renovations until the 1990s after it opened in 1892. The ground was largely the same in 1994 as it had been 112 years before, despite the addition of cover to the terraces and the installation of floodlights. At the time of construction, it took £35,000 to complete it.
Celtic ran into problems since they couldn’t really afford to develop the stadium due to the Taylor Report’s directive that all stadiums should become all-seat affairs. It wasn’t until Fergus McCann purchased the team that construction could begin on it. Over the next four years, a phased stadium rebuild took place, and it was finally finished in 1998.
In addition to football events, the venue has also played host to a large number of music concerts, athletic competitions during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, rugby games, shinty-hurling contests, and the Cycling World Championship. At some point or another, the stadium’s stage has hosted performances by The Who, Bryan Adams, Prince, and Wet Wet Wet.
83,500 spectators were in attendance in 1938 to watch Celtic vs Rangers. This is well over the stadiums capacity.
7. The Emirates Stadium – 60,260 Capacity (London)
Arsenal’s home grounds, The Emirates, was constructed to take the place of their previous home, Highbury. Only Wembley and Old Trafford in England can accommodate more fans than The Emirates, and all three of those venues may have the same sterile feel that comes with big, excessively constructed stadiums. The club has made an effort to address this by “Arsenalizing” the stadium. In 2004 to 2006 when it was being constructed, it cost £470,000,000.
The stadium was one of the first to depart from the English custom of having four distinct stands and choose the more continental appearance of continuous seating in the form of a “bowl.” It has sometimes hosted Brazil international friendlies in addition to Arsenal games. Seven different occasions have this occurred, however only two of them included matches against “Home Nations” like Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. The Emirates has the capacity to host musical performances. Coldplay became the first band to sell out the stadium for a concert, and Bruce Springsteen held the first there.
Arsenal’s game against Manchester United in 2007 had the highest attendance at the stadium with 60,161 fans attending.
8. Etihad Stadium – 55,097 Capacity (Manchester)
Manchester had a modestly ambitious goal of hosting the Olympics in 2000. A stadium that could serve as the primary venue for the majority of the events—their version of the Olympic Stadium—was one of the requirements for their candidature. Even though the city’s application was ultimately turned down, the Manchester City’s Stadium was nonetheless built. The venue was chosen to host The Commonwealth Games in 2002, but it was of little comfort.
When Manchester City opted to leave Maine Road, it was transformed into a football stadium after that. For sponsorship purposes, it is referred to as The Etihad Stadium, and Manchester City have called it home since 2003. When the stadium was first built which cost £134,000,000, it could accommodate 47,726 people; after one of the stands was renovated, that number rose to 55,097. The stadium has also hosted boxing bouts, rugby matches, and a handful of music concerts in addition to City games and athletics competitions. City’s game against Leicester City in 2016 recorded the highest attendance of 54,693.
9. Anfield – 54,000 Capacity (Liverpool)
One of the most recognisable football venues in the world, Anfield was once the home of Liverpool’s city rivals Everton. However, a rent disagreement led to their departure for their own stadium, leaving the stadium’s owner, John Houlding, without a club to use it for football. As a result, Liverpool Football Club was established.
The Hillsborough Disaster, in which 96 football fans lost their lives as a result of police negligence and an unfit football field, led to the stadium’s most significant renovation. The capacity of the stadium had to be decreased to about 44,000 since it had to become an all-seater. The Main Stand was renovation in 2016, increasing the venue’s seating capacity by roughly 10,000. Anfield has held rugby league, boxing, exhibition tennis, and European Championship events in addition to Liverpool games in 1996. Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952 saw 61,905 people in attendance.
10. St. James Park – 52,405 Capacity (Newcastle)
Since 1880, St. James’ Park has been used for football, and since 1892, Newcastle United has called it home. Due to the club’s ambition to increase the stadium’s size and the residents’ desire to prevent that from happening, there have been predictions that the team might leave the stadium on a number of times. Instead, the stadium has undergone multiple development phases, giving it a strangely uneven appearance.
Throughout the 1990s, the ground saw a variety of expansions, developments, and changes, most notably in 1993 and 1998. Since 2007, it has been owned by the much-lamented Mike Ashley, who has promoted his sportswear brand Sports Direct using the stadium. In addition to rugby union and rugby league games, charity competitions, and music performances, it has frequently hosted international football. The record attendance was in 1930, a game between Newcastle United and Chelsea. 68,386 people were in attendance.
Final Thoughts
That completes our list of the top 10 biggest stadiums in UK in terms of capacity.
