30 Most Expensive Sports Stadiums in the World

While millionaire athletes like to splurge on fancy houses, billionaire owners prefer splurging on fancy stadiums. Some of the most impressive and luxurious pieces of architecture in the world are sports stadiums. And over the years with the rise of both engineering and technological advancements, these stadiums have gotten more and more expensive.

But what are the priciest sports venues out there? We found the most expensive, and they combined to cost about $36.6 billion, or about 3.5 times Jerry Jones’ net worth. These stadiums span the globe and are located on five different continents. The United States leads the way with 21 of the stadiums, but everywhere from England to Japan to Brazil also make the list. In fact, 17 of the 30 primarily feature sports other than American football.

How many of these venues have you been to? Here are the 30 most expensive sports stadiums in the world.

30. Paul Brown Stadium

Cost: $619 million

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Year opened: 2000

Sports: Football

Tenants: Cincinnati Bengals

Bottom Line: Paul Brown Stadium

Not even Jerry Jones had the nerve to name a stadium after himself, unlike the Brown Family did with Paul Brown Stadium. Paul Brown is the founder of the Bengals, and his son, Mike, is the current owner and the one who named the stadium after his father. But no one should be surprised, as Paul Brown also founded the Cleveland Browns and named the entire franchise after himself.

As for Paul Brown Stadium, it’s one of the few NFL venues that’s open on both ends. The open corners allow views into the stadium from the outside.

29. NRG Stadium

Cost: $624 million

Location: Houston, Texas, USA

Year opened: 2002

Sports: Football, Rodeo

Tenants: Houston Texans, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Bottom Line: NRG Stadium

The home of the Texans is unique in that its retractable roof splits apart at the middle and then retracts into each endzone. That makes it different from many stadiums in which the roof simply goes from one end of the stadium to the other.

While Texans games attract over half a million fans each year, that pales in comparison to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. That three-week event is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world and annually attracts over 2.5 million people every March.  

28. Ford Field

Cost: $658 million

Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Year opened: 2002

Sports: Football, Wrestling

Tenants: Detroit Lions

Bottom Line: Ford Field

Two years before Ford Field even opened, it was awarded a Super Bowl. That’s how much the NFL wanted to return to the Midwest, and it needed a domed stadium like this to do so. But even though it’s a dome, Ford Field is unique in that it has huge skylights and windows that allow sunlight into the stadium.

Also unique is that the playing surface sits 45 feet below sea level. The venue was constructed partly below elevation, as to not take the focus away from the rest of the city’s skyline.

27. Lincoln Financial Field

Cost: $667 million

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Year opened: 2003

Sports: Football

Tenants: Philadelphia Eagles, Temple Owls

Bottom Line: Lincoln Financial Field

The Linc was originally constructed at just over half a billion dollars, but renovations from 2013 to 2015 boosted the cost to two-thirds of a billion. It replaced Veterans Stadium, which was known not only for its concrete-like playing surface but also for having a jail cell in the bowels.

The Linc originally contained four cells to hold unruly fans during games, but they were removed two years after opening. The passionate fan base of the Eagles does remain, though, and the stadium gives the home team one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL.

26. Truist Park

Cost: $672 million

Location: Cumberland, Georgia, USA

Year opened: 2017

Sports: Baseball

Tenants: Atlanta Braves

Bottom Line: Truist Park

Located about 10 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, Truist Park was originally known as SunTrust Park from 2017 to 2020. Thus, it was “SunTrust Park” that appeared in many headlines in 2018 when a contractor’s body was found in a freezer at the park.

The man was working to install new beer technology that was expected to cut down on pour times when he got stuck inside the freezer. His body was discovered by a fellow employee, giving the venue an unwanted footnote in its stadium’s history.

25. Nissan Stadium

Cost: $678 million

Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Year opened: 1998

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: Yokohama F. Marinos

Bottom Line: Nissan Stadium

The first of nine foreign venues on this list, Nissan Stadium hosts one of the most popular Japanese soccer teams in the world. The Marinos compete in Japan’s J1 League, but they take a backseat to the other events that have taken place at the stadium.

This venue was in mind when Japan was awarded the 2002 World Cup, and Nissan Stadium hosted the final of that tournament. Nearly 20 years later, Nissan Stadium would also host soccer at the Tokyo Olympics, including the finals of both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

24. LoanDepot Park

Cost: $684 million

Location: Miami, Florida, USA

Year opened: 2012

Sports: Baseball

Tenants: Miami Marlins

Bottom Line: LoanDepot Park

This stadium opened as part of the Marlins’ rebranding from the “Florida Marlins” to the “Miami Marlins.” The venue is built in Miami's Little Havana and on the site of the former Orange Bowl. That land has proven to be quite costly, as despite LoanDepot Park being the third-smallest MLB stadium in terms of capacity, it is the fifth most expensive ballpark.

The venue underwent renovations in both 2016 and 2020 to presumably help the struggling Marlins’ offense. Hitters felt some of their batted balls weren’t becoming home runs and doubles like they were in other ballparks, so the distance to the outfield wall was shortened, and the wall itself was lowered.

23. Emirates Stadium

Cost: $700 million

Location: Holloway, London, England

Year opened: 2006

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: Arsenal

Bottom Line: Emirates Stadium

While most stadiums use field-level utilities such as changing rooms and media rooms, Emirates has these housed below ground level. The stadium has not one but two levels below ground that Arsenal uses as support facilities, meaning some press have to go upstairs to reach the field from the media room. 

The stadium bowl itself has four tiers and, just like American football stadiums, European soccer stadiums have club seating and box seats. With the high demand for Arsenal tickets and the relative wealth of their fans, it’s these premium-level sections that allow the club to really cash in. It’s estimated that the revenue from this premium seating alone nearly matches what Arsenal made from all of the seating in their old stadium of Highbury.

22. Little Caesars Arena

Cost: $733 million

Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Year opened: 2017

Sports: Basketball, Hockey

Tenants: Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings

Bottom Line: Little Caesars Arena

History was made when Little Caesars Arena opened in 2017 after the Pistons and Red Wings previously played in The Palace of Auburn Hills and Joe Louis Arena, respectively. Little Caesars Arena is located in downtown Detroit, so Motor City became the first city to have all four of its major pro sports teams within its downtown district.

The arena was an immediate hit for both those native to Detroit and visitors as well. Less than a year after opening, Little Caesars Arena was named “Sports Facility of the Year” at the 2018 Sports Business Awards.

21. Lucas Oil Stadium

Cost: $792 million

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Year opened: 2008

Sports: Football

Tenants: Indianapolis Colts

Bottom Line: Lucas Oil Stadium

The home of the Colts not only has a retractable roof, but it also has a retractable window on the north side of the stadium. It offers views of downtown Indianapolis and typically creates sunlight on one part of the field and a shadow on the other part.

But speaking of the retractable roof, sometimes, things don’t go as planned. That was the case in 2015 when, during a preseason game, a bolt fell from the roof as it was being opened. Three fans were injured, none seriously, and the roof temporarily remained closed while officials investigated the cause.

20. Citi Field

Cost: $817 million

Location: New York, New York, USA

Year opened: 2009

Sports: Baseball, Soccer

Tenants: New York Mets, New York City FC

Bottom Line: Citi Field

Located in the heart of Queens, the stadium will make fans wonder if they're actually in Brooklyn when they first visit. That’s because Mets owner Fred Wilpon was a Brooklyn native and had grown up rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Thus, Citi Field was adorned with many tributes to the Brooklyn Dodgers such as a rotunda for Jackie Robinson, who never played for the Mets. Wilpon eventually added more Mets imagery to the ballpark to even things out and also later said, “All the Dodger stuff — that was an error of judgment on my part.”

19. Nationals Park

Cost: $846 million

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Year opened: 2008

Sports: Baseball

Tenants: Washington Nationals

Bottom Line: Nationals Park

Most venues like to pay homage to the city they reside in, so naturally, Nationals Park has to remind folks that they are in the nation’s capital. From the upper deck, you can see glimpses of the U.S. Capitol, which is a little over a mile north of the ballpark.

Fans in the upper deck down the right-field foul pole can see the Washington Monument and National Cathedral during day games. But the granddaddy of them all, the White House, isn’t visible from the stadium, as it’s about 3 miles away.

17. Estádio Nacional de Brasília (Tie)

Cost: $988 million

Location: Brasilia, Brazil

Year opened: 1974

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: Brasilia, Legiao, Capital CF

Bottom Line: Estádio Nacional de Brasília

Also known as Mané Garrincha, this venue is the oldest on the list at nearly 50 years old. It certainly didn’t cost nearly $1 billion when it was built back then, but it underwent extensive renovations from 2010 to 2013 that boosted its total cost to $988 million.

But oddly, none of the top-flight soccer teams in Brazil compete in the stadium, as all of its tenants are from second- and third-tier leagues. The stadium, however, has hosted several important events, including games at the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

17. London Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $988 million

Location: Stratford, London, England

Year opened: 2012

Sports: Athletics, Soccer

Tenants: British Athletics, West Ham United

Bottom Line: London Stadium

Constructed specifically for the 2012 Summer Olympics, London Stadium is also nicknamed Olympic Stadium. It’s home to West Ham of the Premier League but has hosted just about every event, sporting and non-sporting, imaginable. It’s hosted rugby matches, cricket matches, athletics events, concerts and the first MLB games in Europe back in 2019.

MLB hasn’t returned abroad since then, but you can expect London Stadium to become its London home just as Wembley Stadium was the unofficial home of the NFL’s international series for so long.

16. Barclays Center

Cost: $1 billion

Location: New York, New York, USA

Year opened: 2012

Sports: Basketball

Tenants: Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty

Bottom Line: Barclays Center

When Jay-Z was a Nets’ minority owner, he helped rebrand and relocate the team from New Jersey to Brooklyn. Thus, it should come as no surprise that a Jay-Z concert was the first event at Barclays Center in 2012. 

While the arena certainly doesn’t have the prestige of Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, the NBA has taken a liking to it so much that they relocated the NBA Draft to Barclays after being in New Jersey’s Prudential Center for a number of years. But the arena is still a clear No. 2 to MSG. After all, when the NBA held the 2015 All-Star Game in New York, they used Barclays for events like the Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge but used Madison Square Garden for the actual All-Star Game.

13. Globe Life Field (Tie)

Cost: $1.1 billion

Location: Arlington, Texas, USA

Year opened: 2020

Sports: Baseball

Tenants: Texas Rangers

Bottom Line: Globe Life Field

It gets hot in Texas during the summer, and that isn’t conducive to spending three to four hours in an outdoor venue. Thus, the Rangers felt they needed an upgrade, so they constructed a new venue with a retractable roof right across the street from their original home.

But since Globe Life Field opened during MLB’s pandemic-affected season, the venue didn’t have a full house until its second year of existence in the 2021 season. However, it still got to take in some great baseball, as Globe Life Field hosted the 2020 World Series.

13. Krestovsky Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $1.1 billion

Location: Krestovsky Island, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Year opened: 2017

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: FC Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia National Football Team

Bottom Line: Krestovsky Stadium

Also known as Saint Petersburg Stadium, this venue took eight years to complete, due to funding issues. It broke ground in 2008 but didn’t officially open until 2017. Luckily, that was more than enough time for it to be ready for what it was originally intended for: the 2018 World Cup.

It has since become the go-to stadium for major soccer matches played in Russia, as it also hosted several matches during Euro 2020 (which took place in 2021). It's also scheduled to host the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final.

13. U.S. Bank Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $1.1 billion

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Year opened: 2016

Sports: Football

Tenants: Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Golden Gophers Baseball Team

Bottom Line: U.S. Bank Stadium

From 2003 to 2014, six new NFL stadiums opened, and they all had either retractable roofs or no roofs at all. U.S. Bank Stadium broke that streak because it has a fixed roof (those Minneapolis winters are no joke). The stadium has hosted a Super Bowl and a Final Four, but locals also know it for causing numerous bird deaths. 

Highly reflective glass on the stadium has led to many birds crashing into it and perishing as a result. There was even a study on the bird deaths, and officials found 74 birds — 60 dead and 14 injured — lying around the perimeter of the venue. By comparison, the previous death rate for a Minneapolis building during fall migration was 42 birds, making U.S. Bank Stadium almost twice as dangerous.  

12. Optus Stadium

Cost: $1.27 billion

Location: Burswood, Western Australia, Australia

Year opened: 2017

Sports: Australian rules football, Cricket, Rugby Union

Tenants: West Coast Eagles, Fremantle Football Club, Australia National Cricket Team, Western Australia Cricket Team, Perth Scorchers, Perth Scorchers Women, Australia National Rugby Union Team

Bottom Line: Optus Stadium

Also known as Perth Stadium, this venue is clearly a multipurpose stadium, hosting as many as three sports on a regular basis. It has world-class amenities with more than 1,000 TV screens inside the venue, including a pair of 3,700-square-foot screens on both ends of the stadium.

Fans don’t have to go very far to find food options either because anywhere inside Optus Stadium is no more than 130 feet away from a food outlet. There is also a microbrewery called The Camfield located just next to Optus that's open seven days a week.

11. Levi’s Stadium

Cost: $1.3 billion

Location: Santa Clara, California, USA

Year opened: 2014

Sports: Football

Tenants: San Francisco 49ers

Bottom Line: Levi’s Stadium

Located just outside of San Jose, Levi’s Stadium fully embraces being located in Silicon Valley. In conjunction with the 49ers, the stadium created an app designed specifically for home games. From the free app, a fan can have in-seat delivery, live streaming and even see navigation to help them find whatever they’re looking for. 

The stadium is also environmentally conscious and features a rooftop farm that’s 13,000 square feet. It is the first-ever rooftop farm on an NFL stadium and harvests herbs, vegetables, flowers and other crops for dishes served inside the stadium.

10. Singapore National Stadium

Cost: $1.31 billion

Location: Kallang, Singapore

Year opened: 2014

Sports: Cricket, Soccer

Tenants: Singapore National Football Team, Singapore National Cricket Team

Bottom Line: Singapore National Stadium

At 1,017.1 square feet, Singapore National Stadium has the largest dome in the world. It beats out AT&T Stadium in Dallas by just over 100 square feet, which is sure to make Jerry Jones unhappy.

The retractable roof takes about 25 minutes to fully open or close, and it’s made out of insulated metal to reflect sunlight. Even though part of the roof is translucent, the material still offers shade to those inside. At night, the roof can double as a giant projector screen — both inside and out — and contains roughly 3,000 LED lights.

9. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Cost: $1.33 billion

Location: Tottenham, London, England

Year opened: 2019

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: Tottenham Hotspur

Bottom Line: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

The home of the Spurs features the world’s first dividing, retractable field. On top is a football pitch — or soccer field — for Tottenham of the English Premier League. And once that opens up, a synthetic turf lies underneath and is used for the NFL London Games.

The NFL field is 1.6 meters below the soccer field, which is ideal since NFL team personnel stand along the sidelines. Without that lower height stationing personnel lower, then fans in the first few rows of NFL games would be unable to see the field.

8. AT&T Stadium

Cost: $1.48 billion

Location: Arlington, Texas, USA

Year opened: 2009

Sports: Football

Tenants: Dallas Cowboys

Bottom Line: AT&T Stadium

Formerly known as Cowboys Stadium and commonly called Jerry World, this venue is the largest in the NFL. The seating capacity is 80,000, but it can be configured to accommodate over 100,000 fans. That’s just what it did for its first regular-season game in 2009 when 105,121 fans saw the Cowboys lose to the Giants.

That remains the largest crowd to ever see an NFL regular-season game, but the largest crowd ever in AT&T Stadium goes to a basketball game. Dallas hosted the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and 108,713 crowded into the venue, making the game the highest-attended basketball game in history according to Guinness World Record.

4. UBS Arena (Tie)

Cost: $1.5 billion

Location: Elmont, New York, USA

Year opened: 2021

Sports: Hockey

Tenants: New York Islanders

Bottom Line: UBS Arena

The only venue on this list specifically constructed for hockey, UBS Arena is also the newest stadium listed. It opened in November 2021 and was necessitated when officials realized that Barclays Center wasn’t set up to host hockey. The Islanders played there from 2015 to 2020, and there were numerous obstructed-view seats. Business Insider even called one section “the worst seat in American professional sports.”

UBS Arena’s location in Elmont puts it the western half of Long Island. Thus, it’s the only New York venue of the four major sports that is not located in one of the five boroughs of New York City (or New Jersey).

4. Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $1.5 billion

Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Year opened: 2017

Sports: Football, Soccer

Tenants: Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC

Bottom Line: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Not to be confused with the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (now Caesars Superdome), which is home to the New Orleans Saints, “The Benz” is home to the Saints’ rival in the Falcons. It opened in 2017, hosted the CFP National Championship in 2018, hosted Super Bowl 53 in 2019 and would have hosted the 2020 Final Four had the pandemic not wiped it out.

One of the signatures of the stadium is a giant stainless-steel falcon just outside the gates. It is the largest freestanding bird sculpture in the world and features a 41-foot-tall falcon perched on top of a 13-foot-tall football. The falcon’s wingspan is 70 feet and the entire sculpture weighs over 73,000 pounds.

4. Wembley Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $1.5 billion

Location: Wembley, London, England

Year opened: 2007

Sports: Soccer

Tenants: England National Football Team

Bottom Line: Wembley Stadium

Built on the same site as the original Wembley Stadium, which opened in 1923, this Wembley Stadium is the premier soccer venue in the world. It is the largest stadium in the United Kingdom and second-largest in all of Europe after Camp Nou in Barcelona.

It hosts all of the major English soccer events, including the FA Cup Final and Community Shield, while it also hosted the NFL London Games when they began in 2007. It also had the honor of hosting two-time heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko’s final bout when he lost to Englishman Anthony Joshua in front of 90,000 in 2017.

4. Yankee Stadium (Tie)

Cost: $1.5 billion

Location: New York, New York, USA

Year opened: 2009

Sports: Baseball, Soccer

Tenants: New York Yankees, New York City FC

Bottom Line: Yankee Stadium

The original Yankee Stadium opened in 1923 and was demolished starting in 2009, which was the same year its replacement opened a block away. It’s a bit smaller than the original, as it seats about 6,000 fewer fans, but that is made up by increased comfortability. Seats are up to 2-inches wider as well as up to 10-inches longer, and there are 4,300 club seats; the original had zero. The Yankees’ clubhouse also more than doubled in size.

But one thing that remained is Monument Park, an open-air museum that honors all of the Yankee greats. There is also a non-Yankees monument included that is dedicated to the victims and first responders from the September 11 attacks.

3. MetLife Stadium

Cost: $1.7 billion

Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA

Year opened: 2010

Sports: Football

Tenants: New York Giants, New York Jets

Bottom Line: MetLife Stadium

Located 5 miles west of New York City, MetLife Stadium is home to both the Giants and Jets, just like its predecessor, Giants Stadium. Since it has two NFL tenants, instead of painting one team’s logo at midfield, the NFL shield is painted there instead. That’s to allow for a quicker changeover than switching back and forth between the Jets and Giants logos. Another feature related to the 50-yard line is the distance between the seats and the field. Just 46 feet separate the first row at the 50-yard line, making it the shortest distance in the NFL.

Even though those teams don’t get their logos at the 50-yard line, they do get their own locker rooms. MetLife Stadium has four locker rooms — one for the Jets, one for the Giants and two visitors’ clubhouses.

2. Allegiant Stadium

Cost: $1.9 billion

Location: Paradise, Nevada, USA

Year opened: 2020

Sports: Football

Tenants: Las Vegas Raiders, UNLV Rebels

Bottom Line: Allegiant Stadium

Opened in July 2020, it wasn’t until September 2021 that fans saw their first Raiders game from inside the Allegiant Stadium thanks to the pandemic. But it was well worth the wait for the venue that’s been nicknamed The Death Star.

Allegiant Stadium has 10 levels inside of it, and the exterior is in the renowned silver and black colors of the Raiders. The defining feature of the venue is an 85-foot-tall torch with a flame in it that pays tribute to late owner Al Davis. It is the largest 3D-printed object in the world, and before every home game, the Raiders invite an alumnus, celebrity or fan to light the torch in Davis’ honor.

1. SoFi Stadium

Cost: $5.5 billion

Location: Inglewood, California, USA

Year opened: 2020

Sports: Football

Tenants: Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers

Bottom Line: SoFi Stadium

You could add up the costs of the second, third and fourth most expensive stadiums, and they still wouldn’t equal the most expensive sports venue in the world. SoFi Stadium is about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, and it has a performance center attached to it called the YouTube Theater that hosts 6,000 people, which isn’t even factored into the 70,240 seating capacity.

As for the exorbitant cost to build SoFi Stadium, it was originally estimated to be $2.66 billion to build. However, a year-and-a-half into the construction, league documents produced by the NFL cited a need to raise the debt limit of the venue to $4.963 billion. Then, another four months before opening, an additional half a billion dollars in loans was approved by the NFL and the owners. But it was all worth it in the end, and the NFL even moved the NFL Network headquarters into a new 200,000-square-foot building located adjacent to SoFi Stadium.