Which NFL stadium is the smallest? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Bears are exploring a new stadium in Arlington Heights, and there is a lot of reasons why the team is exploring leaving Soldier Field.
The team would like a domed stadium to attract events year round, state of the art facilities to keep up with other NFL teams and most notably, seating capacity.
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Soldier Field is currently the smallest stadium in the NFL with a capacity of 61,500. For one of the countries' largest metropolitan areas to have the smallest NFL stadium is absurd.
To put it into perspective, University of Illinois's Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 60,670. Notre Dame in South Bend has a stadium that seats 77,622 fans.
And the University of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium has a capacity of 80,321, which to be fair would make it the fourth-largest NFL stadium in the country.
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Here is a list of every NFL stadium, from smallest to largest.
Name | Capacity | Location | Team(s) | Opened |
---|---|---|---|---|
Soldier Field | 61,500 | Chicago, IL | Chicago Bears | 1924 |
State Farm Stadium | 63,400 | Glendale, AZ | Arizona Cardinals | 2006 |
Ford Field | 65,000 | Detroit, MI | Detroit Lions | 2002 |
Allegiant Stadium | 65,000 | Paradise, NV | Las Vegas Raiders | 2020 |
Hard Rock Stadium | 65,326 | Miami Gardens, FL | Miami Dolphins | 1987 |
Paul Brown Stadium | 65,515 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati Bengals | 2000 |
Raymond James Stadium | 65,890 | Tampa, FL | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1998 |
U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,655 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota Vikings | 2016 |
Gillette Stadium | 66,829 | Foxborough, MA | New England Patriots | 2002 |
Lucas Oil Stadium | 67,000 | Indianapolis, IN | Indianapolis Colts | 2008 |
FirstEnergy Stadium | 67,895 | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Browns | 1999 |
Acrisure Stadium | 68,400 | Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2001 |
Levi's Stadium | 68,500 | Santa Clara, CA | San Francisco 49ers | 2014 |
Lumen Field | 69,000 | Seattle, WA | Seattle Seahawks | 2002 |
TIAA Bank Field | 69,132 | Jacksonville, FL | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1995 |
Nissan Stadium | 69,143 | Nashville, TN | Tennessee Titans | 1999 |
Lincoln Financial Field | 69,596 | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Eagles | 2003 |
SoFi Stadium | 70,000 | Inglewood, CA | Los Angeles Rams/Chargers | 2020 |
Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 71,000 | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta Falcons | 2017 |
M&T Bank Stadium | 71,008 | Baltimore, MD | Baltimore Ravens | 1998 |
Highmark Stadium | 71,608 | Orchard Park, NY | Buffalo Bills | 1973 |
NRG Stadium | 72,220 | Houston, TX | Houston Texans | 2002 |
Caesars Superdome | 73,208 | New Orleans, LA | New Orleans Saints | 1975 |
Bank of America Stadium | 75,523 | Charlotte, NC | Carolina Panthers | 1996 |
Empower Field at Mile High | 76,125 | Denver, CO | Denver Broncos | 2001 |
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium | 76,416 | Kansas City, MO | Kansas City Chiefs | 1972 |
AT&T Stadium | 80,000 | Arlington, TX | Dallas Cowboys | 2009 |
Lambeau Field | 81,441 | Green Bay, WI | Green Bay Packers | 1957 |
FedExField | 82,000 | Landover, MD | Washington Commanders | 1997 |
MetLife Stadium | 82,500 | East Rutherford, NJ | New York Giants/Jets | 2010 |
It also doesn't help that Soldier Field is the oldest stadium by a large margin. It was originally built in 1924, though the Bears didn't move in until 1971. The stadium has undergone multiple renovations over the years, most recently in 2004.