It's well known that Old Trafford is the largest stadium in
the Premier League. A fact that is perhaps not so well known is that the
biggest football stadium in the world is actually located in North Korea, seems
bizarre but it's true. In fact, the full capacity crowds at Old Trafford and
Goodison Park combined would nearly fit into the May
Day Stadium in Pyongyang, just to give this fact a bit of context.
Whilst it makes sense that many of the biggest club stadiums
in England are the home of teams currently playing in the Premier League, there
are several venues in leagues below that would certainly not look out of place
in the top flight, in terms of spectator capacity least.
Each of the stadiums listed below has the ability to hold
significantly more spectators than the Vitality Stadium, home of A.F.C
Bournemouth. In fact, this particular stadium, with a capacity of just north of
11,000, wouldn't look out of place amongst the majority of grounds found in
League 2.
So without further delay, here is a list of the five biggest
stadiums in English football, outside of the top fight.
5. Pride Park
Pride Park Stadium is the 16th largest football
ground in England and the 20th largest stadium in the United
Kingdom. It boasts a capacity of 33,597 and is the home ground of English
Football League club Derby County. The club came close to winning promotion to
the Premier League in the 2018/19 Championship
season but narrowly lost out in the play-off final against Aston Villa.
In addition to being the home of Derby County, Pride Park Stadium
has hosted two England international football matches. The record attendance
for a competitive Derby County match at Pride Park is 33,378 for the game
against Liverpool in 2010.
4. Riverside Stadium
Coming in at 4 in our list of the 5 bigger stadiums in the
English Football League is the Riverside Stadium. This stadium opened in August
1995 and has a current capacity of 34,742. Middlesbrough play their home
football matches at the Riverside Stadium and there is room for expansion to
42,000 seats if required by the club.
The record attendance for a Middlesbrough match is 34,836 vs Norwich City in December 2004 but the overall record is 35,000. This was achieved when England met Slovakia in a European Championship qualifying game in June 2003.
3. Elland Road
Leeds United have been out of the top flight of English
football for some time but this does not stop them from attracting big crowds
at their stadium, Elland Road. This stadium has a long history having opened
back in 1897. It became the permanent home of Leeds United in 1919, when the
football club was formed.
The current capacity of Elland Road is 37,890 but the record
attendance is set at 57,892 for the match between Leeds United and Sunderland
in 1967. Elland Road has played host to the FA Cup semi-final, England
internationals and games at Euro 96.
2. Hillsborough
One of the 5 biggest stadiums in the English Football League
is the home of Sheffield Wednesday, Hillsborough. This stadium is just two
years younger than Elland Road having opened in September 1899. The current
capacity of Hillsborough is 34,854 but the record for the highest attendance is
72,841 for an FA Cup fifth round game in February 1934 against Manchester City.
1. Stadium of Light
Currently, the biggest stadium in the English Football
League is the Stadium of Light, the home of Sunderland A.F.C. which can hold up
to 49,000 fans, although their average attendance since dropping down to league
one falls far short of this mark. The Stadium of Light is the 9th largest
stadium in England and the capacity increases to 57,556 for music concerts and
other events.
Its shares its name with the home of Benfica in Portugal.
However, the reason it was named the Stadium of Light is because of the former
Monkwearmouth Colliery site on which the stadium now stands. The record attendance
at the Stadium of Light is 48,353 when Sunderland played Liverpool in April
2002. The overall record is 54,259 for the Diamonds World Tour in June 2013.
