How Big Is a Football Stadium?

The size of an American football stadium can range from a few thousand seats for smaller high school stadiums to upwards of 111,000 for the NFL's Cowboys Field in Dallas, Texas, which opened in 2009.

  1. High School Stadiums

    • Smaller high school stadiums typically have rows of bleachers on home and visitor sidelines. Attendance can be a few hundred to a few thousand. Some larger schools have bigger stadiums. Texas, renowned for the quality of its high school football, has several stadiums that hold more than 15,000 fans, including San Antonio's Alamo Stadium, which has a capacity of 23,000.

    College Stadiums

    • The largest college football stadiums are larger than some of the largest professional football stadiums. Several colleges have stadiums that hold more than 90,000 people, and four stadiums hold over 100,000 people. As of August 2010 by Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which holds 107,282, was the largest Division I school stadium. Low-end capacity for Division I college stadiums is around 30,000 to 50,000 seats.

    NFL Stadiums

    • Dubbed the "Taj Mahal" of football, the $1.2 billion Cowboys Field, home to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, opened for football in 2009. It holds 80,000 standard seats but easily expands to 111,000 for some NFL games and special football events. FedEx Field in Maryland, home to the Washington Redskins, is the second largest NFL stadium, with a capacity of 91,704. The smallest NFL stadiums hold around 60,000 spectators.