10 biggest Championship football grounds 2025/26

In this post, the question that has been on everyone's lips will be addressed: What are the 10 biggest Championship grounds for the 2026-27 season?

England's second professional football tier, known as the EFL Championship, featured a variety of grounds in 2025-26, spanning a broad range of shapes and sizes.

The division remains home to some of the country's most iconic stadiums, though Coventry City's Coventry Building Society Arena and Ipswich Town's Portman Road will feature in the Premier League next season, while Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough – previously the largest in the division, will host League One football in 2026-27 after the Owls' relegation alongside Leicester City whose King Power Stadium previously ranked seventh.

Two relegated sides now see their grounds hit the top 10 too, with West Ham United's London Stadium featuring in the Championship for the first time.

While a number of clubs have opted to go down the route of modernising their facilities, many grounds still have an impressive history that can be experienced on matchdays.

A few of the teams in the second tier are some of England's biggest clubs and have a rich heritage and a passionate fanbase to match their iconic arenas. Each Championship stadium has their own unique characteristics that help turn it into their own fortress and make it a place where visiting teams do not want to go.

Within this post, we have ranked the 10 biggest Championship stadiums based on their seating capacity, with all ten accommodating at least 29,000 fans.

Ranging from urban centres to industrial heartlands, these large stadiums highlight the scale of this fiercely competitive league.

Read on to discover the stadiums featured in this list of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds, along with their opening years and the teams that call them home.

The 10 biggest Championship football grounds

Beginning with St Andrew's ranked at number 10, we have compiled a list of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds in England's Championship in ascending order.

10. St Andrew's

• Team: Birmingham City
• Capacity: 29,409
• Opened: 1906

St Andrew's has been Birmingham City's home since 1906 and moves into the Championship's top 10 after relegations and promotions from the 2025-26 season.

The ground remains one of the most recognisable football venues in the Midlands and saw its record attendance of 66,844 for an FA Cup tie against Everton in 1939.

The modern capacity, however, is less than half of that figure following the Taylor Report and subsequent conversion of all leading stadiums into all-seater venues.

The Blues' return to the Championship ahead of 2025-26 saw another traditional and significant stadium brought back into the second tier.

9. Bet365 Stadium

• Team: Stoke City
• Capacity: 30,089
• Opened: 1997

Previously named the Britannia Stadium, the ground has been the home of cult heroes Stoke City since it opened in 1997. The site rose to fame during the club's Premier League years, during which the Potters became renowned for their physicality and were admired by many.

A record attendance of 30,022 was achieved at the ground in 2018 during a Premier League clash with Everton. The Bet365 Stadium, built to replace the former Victoria Ground, cost the club over £14 million.

The Potters have seen an increase in home support in the first half of the 2025-26 season, averaging over 25,500 supporters per game after 10 outings at the Bet365 Stadium.

The venue has also hosted England youth teams, local fireworks displays and music concerts by artists such as Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams.

8. Ewood Park

• Team: Blackburn Rovers
• Capacity: 31,367
• Opened: 1882

Ewood Park has been the home of Lancashire outfit Blackburn Rovers since 1890. It is believed that the club first played at the site as early as 1881, although it was known as Ewood Bridge at that point and hosted a wide array of sporting events.

Its record attendance was set during an FA Cup sixth-round tie against Bolton Wanderers, with the match watched by over 60,000 fans. The ground was renovated as recently as 1995, when the modernisation of three of its sections was completed.

Primarily the home of Blackburn, Ewood Park has also hosted a handful of international matches, as well as six FA Cup semi-finals over the years. With Blackburn Rovers playing in the Championship for several seasons now, Ewood Park remains one of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds.

7. Molineux

• Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Capacity: 31,750
• Opened: 1889

Wolverhampton Wanderers' relegation from the Premier League at the end of 2025-26 saw Molineux join the list of the Championship's largest stadiums.

Wolves have played at the site since 1889, making it one of the longest continuously used professional football grounds in England.

While the stadium does have a long history, much of the present-day ground was constructed during large redevelopment works in the 1990s, while the rebuilt Stan Cullis Stand opened in its current form in 2012.

Molineux has hosted some of the most significant nights in Wolves' history, including famous European matches against leading continental opposition. It has also staged England internationals, UEFA competition and concerts away from the club's regular fixtures.

With a capacity of approximately 31,750, Molineux immediately becomes the Championship's seventh-biggest stadium. Its enclosed stands and distinctive gold seating also make it one of the division's most recognisable venues.

6. St Mary's Stadium

• Team: Southampton
• Capacity: 32,384
• Opened: 2001

With the Saints getting relegated from the Premier League during the 2024/25 season, their home stadium made it to this list of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds.

St. Mary's Stadium has a capacity of 32,384, but with the club considering redevelopment, that might soon change. St Mary's Stadium is also among the newest Championship grounds. The venue was opened in August 2001 and has been the home ground for Southampton ever since.

A clash with Coventry on 28 April 2012 remains one of the record attendances ever registered at the stadium. A total of 32,362 spectators attended the match, which was nearly the full capacity.

5. Bramall Lane

• Team: Sheffield United
• Capacity: 32,702
• Opened: 1855

Bramall Lane has played an integral role in English football and is currently regarded as one of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds. The stadium was opened in 1855 and is one of the oldest grounds in the world. It has been central to the club since its inception, providing the Blades with a platform to reach the Premier League heights multiple times.

Originally used as a cricket venue, the first football match hosted on the ground didn't take place until 1862 – a contest involving Sheffield FC and Hallam FC in a fixture widely regarded as football's first-ever local derby. Unfortunately, the game didn't quite meet expectations and ended in a goalless draw.

Bramall Lane was used regularly by the England national team in the past, particularly before Wembley opened in 1923. However, it still remains relevant in international football today and recently hosted four matches at the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.

Under new ownership in 2024, Sheffield United set out plans to expand their South Stand, however, plans are believed to be on hold until a return to the Premier League.

4. Cardiff City Stadium

• Team: Cardiff City
• Capacity: 33,280
• Opened: 2009

Cardiff City Stadium returns to the Championship and comes back in as its fourth largest ground after the Welsh side's promotion from League One.

Opened in 2009 as a replacement for Ninian Park, the ground was initially built with a capacity of around 27,000 before the addition of the upper tier of the Ninian Stand increased this beyond 33,000.

The stadium has also become an important venue for Welsh football. It has regularly hosted Wales men's and women's internationals and staged the 2014 UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Sevilla, as well as the 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League final.

A capacity crowd witnessed Wales' memorable European Championship qualifier against Belgium in June 2015, while Cardiff City's club-record attendance at the stadium was set when 33,082 watched a Premier League clash against Liverpool in April 2019.

3. Pride Park

• Team: Derby County
• Capacity: 33,597
• Opened: 1997

Pride Park is a relatively new stadium, having opened in 1997. It has been the home of Derby County for almost 30 years.

The ground may have one of the most interesting official opening stories in the entire country, given that Pride Park was first opened by the Queen, in front of a crowd of approximately 30,000 fans on 18 July 1997.

It wasn't until 4 August of that year that the Rams would host their first match at the stadium, welcoming Italian outfit Sampdoria to the venue, a game which left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of fans as the club slipped to a 1-0 defeat.

Having been built in an era controlled and regulated by various health and safety rules, Pride Park's record attendance is perhaps underwhelming compared to other clubs. It was set in 2000 when a crowd of 33,378 watched on as the Rams took on Liverpool in the Premier League.

2. Riverside Stadium

• Team: Middlesbrough
• Capacity: 33,746
• Opened: 1995

A throwback to a more traditional stadium style, Riverside Stadium opened in 1995 and has been the home of Middlesbrough Football Club ever since. Like many other grounds on this list, it was constructed in response to the Taylor Report, which mandated that all stadiums be all-seated facilities, leading to the replacement of the former Ayresome Park.

Its record attendance was set less than 10 years after its opening, when, in 2003, the England national team welcomed Slovakia to the ground in front of 35,000 spectators.

Riverside hosted several international fixtures during this time and has also been the venue for multiple rugby matches and music concerts. As one of the 10 biggest Championship football grounds, there are reportedly provisional plans in place to expand the current capacity if and when the club feel it is necessary.

1. London Stadium

• Team: West Ham United
• Capacity: 62,500
• Opened: 2012

The London Stadium becomes comfortably the Championship's largest ground following West Ham United's relegation from the Premier League in 2026. Its 62,500 capacity puts it almost 29,000 seats ahead of the second-placed Riverside Stadium.

The venue was originally constructed for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, staging athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies. West Ham moved from the Boleyn Ground to London Stadium in 2016 after the venue had been converted for regular football use.

Its capacity was initially limited to around 57,000 for West Ham fixtures but was later increased to 60,000 and then 62,500. That makes it one of the largest football stadiums in England and comfortably the biggest ground the Irons have occupied.

Alongside football, London Stadium has continued to host major athletics meetings, baseball games, rugby and concerts. However, its transformation from an athletics arena often divides supporters, particularly because of the distance between sections of the seating and the pitch.

Regardless of those debates, London Stadium's arrival gives the Championship one of the largest and most recognisable venues ever seen in England's second tier.

The biggest stadium ever in the Championship

Cover your eyes, Sunderland fans – you aren't going to like this. The biggest stadium to have been used by a side competing in the Championship was… St James' Park, the home of Newcastle United since 1892.

Although the Magpies are currently hailed as one of the best teams in the Premier League, that hasn't always been the case, and at various points, Newcastle have played their football in the second tier of English football.

This will change in 2026-27, though, with West Ham United playing Championship football at the London Stadium for the first time since their move, blowing away the previous largest capacity seen in England's second tier.

Matchdays at St. James' Park 😍

HWTL! ✊ pic.twitter.com/RnanyBlagA

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) May 11, 2024

Carrow Road expansion plans: Could Norwich's home ground join the Championship’s Biggest Stadiums?

According to recent reports, Norwich City have announced plans to expand Carrow Road, which currently holds 27,244 seats. The historic ground, home to the Canaries since 1935, is set for a facelift that includes a new fan zone behind the Barclay Stand, upgraded facilities, and a new segregated away entrance as part of proposed changes to the South and Regency Security Stands.

At present, Carrow Road ranks 12th among the 24 Championship venues, leaving Norwich outside the division’s top 10 largest stadiums. While the proposed expansion remains a long-term vision, it sparks an interesting question: where would Carrow Road stand among the Championship’s biggest grounds once the work is complete? With promotion ambitions and redevelopment plans in motion, the answer may ultimately depend on what division the Canaries are competing in when the project becomes reality.