The 5 most costly stadiums in America, are additionally a number of the costliest arenas on the planet. They embody main cities equivalent to New York, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, and big-name sponsors equivalent to SoFi and MetLife.
Yearly, cities substitute dated stadiums with trendy services that supply better revenue potential. Extra seats, luxurious packing containers, parking, larger ticket costs, and high-priced concession fares are all elements that make new stadiums enticing to cities and sports activities franchise house owners.
Nonetheless, it is not simply the development of latest buildings that modifications the rankings of the highest 5. Elaborate renovations propel the general building prices of those buildings up the rankings as nicely.
Key Takeaways
- The checklist of pricey stadiums modifications over time as new ones are constructed and outdated ones are revamped at a excessive price.
- SoFi Stadium is the costliest.
- Yankee Stadium is the costliest baseball stadium, although it’s ranked fifth total.
5. Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY
Capability: 50,000
Price: $1.5 Billion
Alongside along with his crusty temperament, pseudo-guest appearances on Seinfeld, and keenness for hiring and firing Billy Martin, former New York Yankees proprietor George Steinbrenner may even be well-remembered for his $1.1-billion contribution to the Yankees’ new ballpark. Many baseball followers have been hesitant to see the unique Yankee Stadium demolished, however spectacular efforts have been taken to maintain the historical past of the outdated constructing current within the new park.
From the structure of the sphere to the design of the doorway, the general form and design mimic the unique 1923 ballpark blueprint. Even old-school touches have been fostered into the brand new design, equivalent to operated by hand scoreboards within the left and proper fields. And, in fact, Monument Park, the shrine from outdated Yankee Stadium that honored baseball legends equivalent to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, was additionally relocated to the brand new park.
$2.20 Billion
Yankee Stadium solely price $1.5 billion, however that was again in 2009. Adjusted for inflation in late 2024, the worth is nearer to $2.20 billion.
4. Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, GA
Capability: 71,000
Price: $1.5 billion
To not be confused with the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., the Mercedes-Benz Stadium changed the Georgia Superdome as the house of the Atlanta Falcons in 2017. It was the positioning of the Tremendous Bowl in 2019, marking the primary time that Atlanta hosted the occasion since 2000.
The stadium’s signature characteristic is its retractable roof, which operates on a complicated rail system and, when open, is meant to provide the visible impression of a set of chicken wings. In the meantime, the stadium’s “100 Yard Membership” is an expanded concession and viewing space that extends the size of the soccer discipline. In March 2019, Mercedes-Benz Stadium turned the primary to go cashless and solely settle for credit score and debit playing cards for concession transactions.
3. MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, NJ
Capability: 82,500
Price: $1.6 billion
New Jersey presently claims the world’s most costly stadium, however once you study the main points of the financing, it is little surprise they have been capable of construct such a powerful stadium. Two of the NFL’s most outstanding groups, the New York Jets and the New York Giants shared the development prices equally and continued their stadium-sharing plan after they performed within the outdated Big Stadium. Accomplished in 2010 and referred to as MetLife Stadium, the brand new constructing is the most important NFL stadium with out a dome.
Some intelligent know-how was included into the design of Metlife Stadium, equivalent to lighting the outside in both Jets’ inexperienced or Giants’ blue (relying on the house group), putting in over 2,200 HD shows all through the constructing, and the power to trace concession gross sales as they happen. The final functionality permits the stadium’s administration to shortly tackle shortages, lengthy lineups, and different customer support points. After all, even alien know-how will not fill the stands in case your group stinks, which was duly famous by Giants’ proprietor, John Mara.
“I have been on this enterprise lengthy sufficient to know that nothing enhances the fan expertise greater than placing a successful group on the sphere,” Mara mentioned.
2. Allegiant Stadium
Las Vegas, NV
Capability: 65,000
Price: $1.9 billion
Accomplished in 2020, the brand new residence of the Las Vegas Raiders prices a whopping $1.9 billion. The 65,000-seat facility can also be the house stadium of the College of Nevada, Las Vegas. With almost two million sq. toes, it is no shock that the stadium price a fairly penny. The power features a translucent roof for out of doors daylight and partitions that may be opened for a view of the Las Vegas Strip.
However the partitions and home windows aren’t the one motive Allegiant prices almost two billion {dollars}. Probably the most costly options is on the bottom: the stadium was constructed with two separate enjoying fields. The primary, manufactured from synthetic turf, is utilized by the UNVL for school video games. The second discipline is manufactured from actual grass, planted in a large tray of soil that may be rolled out on a whole lot of digital wheels. The four-foot-deep, twenty-million-pound discipline permits the Raiders to play on actual grass and filth–even in the course of the desert.
1. SoFi Stadium
Inglewood, CA
Capability: 70,000
Estimated price: $5.5 billion
The most important price ticket goes to SoFi Stadium, the brand new residence for the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. Accomplished in September of 2020, the large facility is scheduled to host the Tremendous Bowl in 2022 and the opening and shutting ceremonies of the Olympic Video games in 2028.
SoFi Stadium was initially priced at just below $2 billion, however after quite a few building delays and value overruns, Rams proprietor Stan Kroenke would finally pay greater than double that quantity for the 70,000-seat enviornment. After borrowing a further $500 million from the NFL to get the venture over the end line, the SoFi Stadium lastly opened in 2020.
As a result of it was privately financed, there are not any public figures on the price of SoFi Stadium. Primarily based on building prices, it’s estimated to have price round $5.5 billion.
The Backside Line
Our world’s grandiose stadiums are greater than merely infrastructure for giving the native group a spot to play and rock stars a stage to carry out on. These buildings can turn out to be printing presses for money-generating income from ticket gross sales, merchandise, concessions, promoting/naming rights, and parking charges whereas serving as an emblem of sports activities and tradition for every constructing’s respective metropolis.
The development of some buildings has proven to be a sensible use of tax {dollars}, and a few stadiums have revitalized cities and offered them with regular money cows. Different cities have been burned by inflating building and restore prices, and typically, they by no means discover a strategy to produce an sufficient return on their investments.