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Thursday, December 4, 2008

The World's Biggest Non-Racing Sports Stadiums

No.1: Rungrado May Day Stadium (Pyonyang, North Korea)



Capacity: 150,000

Built: 1989

A multi-use stadium highlighted by soccer matches, May Day Stadium is also the site of national gymnastics as artistic spectacles in North Korea.



No. 2: Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata, India)



Capacity: 120,000

Built: 1984

India's largest stadium offers 70 acres for soccer, track and field, cricket and volleyball.



No. 3: Beaver Stadium (State College, Pa., U.S)



Capacity: 107,282

Built: 1960

North America's largest sports venue sits in a college football hotbed, filling up regularly for Penn State Nittany Lions home games. The official capacity doesn't include standing room: Over 110,000 have crammed in on five occasions, including this season's 46-17 rout of Michigan.



No. 4: Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S)



Capacity: 106,201

Built: 1927

The Wolverines football house lost the No.1 college football spot to Penn State following a renovation that dropped about 1,300 seats. But the $226 million project will ultimately grow capacity to over 108,000 by 2010, putting Michigan back on top.



No. 5: Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico)



Capacity:105,064

Built: 1966

The home of the Mexican National football (soccer) team hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics and two FIFA World Cup finals. It's owned by Mexican television giant Televisa.



No. 6: Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, Tenn., U.S)



Capacity: 104,079

Built: 1921

Sixteen expansions since its opening have made Neyland Stadium, home to the University of Tennessee football team, the Mecca of college football in the south--the only non-Big Ten venue in the 100,000 and over club. As if visitors needed any clues, the end zones' orange-and-white checkerboard patterns make it clear they're in Volunteer country.



No. 7: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio, U.S)



Capacity: 101,569

Built: 1922

Like Big 10 brethren Michigan and Penn State, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team plays to 100,000-plus crowds every Saturday. A late-'90s renovation added a larger press box, luxury suites and 2,500 club seats. The place proved too expansive for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, which moved into a 22,500-seat soccer stadium in 1999.



No. 8: Bukit Jalil Stadium (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)



Capacity: 100,200

Built: 1998

Originally built to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the stadium now hosts the Malaysian national soccer team.



No. 9: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (New Dehli, India)



Capacity: 100,000

Built: 1982

A multiuse facility for sporting events and concerts, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, marking the first time the games will be held in India.



No. 10: Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne, Australia)



Capacity: 100,000

Built: 1853

The central stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics has been trimmed back from over 120,000 seats after safety concerns led to renovations. Australian Rules Football and FIFA World Cup soccer is also held there.



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