The 10 Biggest Football (Soccer) Stadiums in the United Kingdom (by capacity)

This stadium is the home of Liverpool F.C. Most true football fans, or people who just know something about this sport and have heard about the Liverpool F.C. , might think that the team has a large stadium, at least the forth or third on the list. I can assure you: it is only the 11^th. The Anfield is a football stadium nowhere else but in Liverpool. It was built in 1884. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since 1892, when they formed. Before that year it was the home of Everton F.C. (Then they moved to Goodison Park). The record attendance in the stadium was noted in 1952 on an FA cup match against the Wolverhampton Wanderers, 61,905 people were curious to watch it. The Liverpool F.C. is popular with their amazing performance at the Anfield. The team had a wonderful winning period, that included 85 matches at home, which is an astonishing fact (scored 212 goals <> Got 35).

This stadium is also called as Etihad stadium because of the sponsor of the team it hosts. That team is the Manchester City. The City of Manchester stadium is a bit newer than the Liverpool’s one. It was built about 120 years after the Anfield. This great stadium hosted the Premier League Final match in 2012. The Manchaster City won the P. League with two last-minute goals by Edin Dzeko and Kun Agüero. Those goals were scored in the 92^th (2-2) and the 94^th (3-2) minutes. With the 2 unbelieveble goals the City got 3 points for the match and the final result became 89 pts for City which was equal to Manchester United's 89 points, and the City won the league because of the better goal difference. This stadium also hosted the Final of the UEFA Cup (Europe League now) in 2008.

The Stadium of Light is a football stadium in Sunderland. Sunderland A.F.C. is a Premier League team. The structure was built in 1997 with 42,000 seats (It was renewed in 2002 and 7 thousand seats were added). The Highest attendance in league at the stadium was recorded in 2002 on a match against Liverpool, but even then the stadium was not full. As the other ones, this stadium also hosts events apart from football competitions. Great musicians played there as Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Rihanna, Pink and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The one of the greatest stadiums in Scotland is the Ibrox Stadium. The edifice is the home of Rangers F.C. in Glasgow. Ibrox is the 3^rd biggest football stadium in Scotland after the Hampden Park and the Celtic Park. It was built in 1899 with the name Ibrox Park. The Ibrox Park was completely rebuilt in 1971 after the tragical Ibrox disaster, when 66 people died and more than 250 got injured. The record attendance of the stadium is an awesome number: 118,567 which was recorded in 1939 on the Old Firm (the big opponent’s match Rangers vs Celtic). This is definitely the absolute record for any British league matches. This number means that, considering the population of Scotland in 1940, every 39^th Scottish person was in the stadium.

The Hampden Park stadium is the 2^nd largest one in Scotland. Hampden Park is used by the Scotland National Football team, also by the Queen’s Park F.C. Hampden was the largest stadium when it was built (1903) with 100,000 seats. The capacity reached 150.000 between 1927 and 1937. The record attendance derives from that time with 149,415 for a Scotland v England match 1937. 149,415 is the record of all European international matches. World record of attendance on club matches was recorded here too: 147,365 on a Celtic v Aberdeen meeting. After taking tighter safety regulations the stadium had been rebuilt, which meant the decreasing of the capacity. Hampden is a UEFA category four stadium, it hosted Champions League finals and a UEFA Cup final.

The owner of this stadium is the Newcastle United. However the stadium was opened in 1892 as Newcastle’s stadium, it was used for football in 1880 already. Between 1998 and 2000, the building got expanded. The construction was also used for international matches, and it was a locale of the 2012 Olympic Games, besides it gave place to 3 matches of the European Championship 1996. In addition to the regular ones, St James’ Park hosted some charity football matches, also Rock concerts. The record attendance comes from 1930 against Chelsea, when standing was allowed on the terraces.

The Celtic Park is the 5^th largest football stadium in the United Kingdom and the largest one in Scotland. The stadium of the national rugby team is the biggest of its kind. It is also known as Parkhead or Paradise as the Celtic fans call it. The Parkhead was opened in 1892, five years after the formation of Celtic. Record attendance was noticed in 1938 on an Old Firm derby, when the stadium reached the 83,350 people mark. The Paradise was renovated between 1994-1998. The Celtic Park is available for international matches too, while the Hampden is unavailable. Occasionally the Celtic Park is used for concerts, for example The Who and the U2 performed there.

Emirates stadium is the home ground of Arsenal F.C. (the Gunners) from London. Emirates stadium is also known as Ashburton Grove. This is the 3^rd largest football stadium in England by the capacity. The Emirates stadium is a relatively new stadium with its 7 years. The confluence of the United Arab Emirates appears in the construction cost of the Emirates stadium (the name comes from the Emirates Airline, the sponsor of the football team). The facility cost 470 million pounds. The highest participation was 60,961 when they played against Manchester United, but the lowest attendance didn’t decrease below 46,000.

The stadium was opened in the summer of 1999 as the national stadium of Wales, situated in Cardiff. This stadium is second to none in Wales by capacity. However it is originally used by the Wales national rugby union team, it is also used by the Wales national football team. It hosted the FA Cup final in 2006 (Liverpool - West Ham) and the Football League Cup final in 2007 (Chelsea - Arsenal). The stadium hosts some other events such as the Welsh Rally Great Britain, Speedway Grand Prix and various music concerts. It was mainly built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The Millennium stadium is the second largest stadium with retractable roof, and it was the second to be built with that feature.

The Old Trafford is situated in Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of the Manchester United since 1910. The Manchester United is the one of the best English football teams, with the more Premier League titles. Old Trafford is also known as The Theatre of Dreams. The facility is the second largest football stadium on the British Isle and in England after the Wembley. The Theatre of Dreams (As Sir Bobby Charlton called it) is a UEFA category five stadium. Whem the Wembley was unavailable for the national team, Old Trafford hosted the international matches (for example: England – Hungary 1-3). Even a few matches of the 1966 Football World Championship and also the 1996 Football European Championship were played at the Old Trafford. The Champions League Final in 2003 was played there too (Milan v.s. Juventus). The highest attendance was recorded in 1939 on an FA Cup match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town with 76,962 spectators.

Wembley stadium is second to none when it comes to capacity. This is the 2^nd largest stadium in Europe after the Camp Nou (99,354). The tenant of the stadium is the England national football team. The structure was built through 5 years from 2002 to 2007 with an incredible amount of 750 million pounds, on the place of the previous Wembley stadium (1923). The Wembley is one of the greatest stadiums which has UEFA category five. In Great Britain there are three stadiums with that title, the Old Trafford (England), the Wembley (England) and the Millennium Stadium (Wales). The Live Earth concert series, which started in 2007 is yearly organized in the Wembley stadium. The purpose of the concert series is to draw the attention of people to the Global Warming. The Wembley hosted a great deal of important matches: Olympic Games Final 2012, FA Cup Final, Champions League Final in 2011 and 2013, and many other events such as a Madonna concert, Take That concert, but the Muse and the Green Day also performed there in the giant stadium.

These stadiums are the largests in UK as of now (2013)