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When discussing the top ten most expensive stadiums in the world, many noteworthy options come to mind, along with the enormous sums of money involved. It's well-known that professional football today involves significant financial investments, and this reality also applies to the stadiums that host these games worldwide.
This post explores the top ten most expensive stadiums ever built – and some of the figures are just astounding!
Top ten most expensive stadiums in the world
The world's most expensive stadiums are mega structures that vary in size and design. Most importantly, the huge amounts of money that have gone into constructing some of these stadiums is mind-boggling. In most cases, the cost of building these stadiums runs into hundreds of millions of dollars, with some surpassing the billion mark.
The following are the most expensive stadiums in the world arranged in ascending order.
London Stadium: £486 million
London Stadium was purpose-built for the 2012 Olympics, which were, of course, held in London. The stadium was built for the grand price of £486 million, which comes in at around £679 adjusted for inflation in today’s money.
Although the stadium was constructed for this massive sporting event, it is now home to West Ham United, with a capacity of up to 60,000 spectators when full. It’s not like West Ham would always occupy the stadium post-Olympics, however, as other clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur also wanted the ground for themselves.
Krestovsky Stadium: £500 million
Over in Russia, we have another stadium where the total cost rose above £500 million. But just like some of the other most expensive stadiums highlighted here, this one was built with a specific purpose – to host the 2018 World Cup games.
Many people refer to this stadium as a spaceship design, for the slightly different aesthetics seen compared to other larger football stadiums around the world. And since almost 65,000 spectators can squeeze into the grounds here at full capacity, the roar during a big game is seriously impressive.
Allianz Arena: £500 million
While the initial cost of this statement wouldn’t specifically land it on our list of the most expensive stadiums, the unplanned costs that were passed onto the state were enough to push the Allianz Arena into this category.
Adjusted for inflation, the costs for the build and the necessary changes to the surrounding area surpassed £500 million, but then again, a stadium that will host a team like FC Bayern Munich needs this kind of cash boost. At full capacity, this arena can host over 75,000 fans too!
Santiago Bernabeu: £500 million
Believe it or not, the Santiago Bernabeu wasn’t the most expensive stadium in the world by a long stretch when it was initially built. However, the size certainly was one of the most impressive aspects of the stadium, but the sheer size is not a shadow on the more recent changes surrounding the club.
Recently, Santiago Bernabeu was rumoured to have cost investors more than £500 million in renovations. While it did not change capacity, the focus has been raising the stadium's height by adding a roof.
It is the home ground for Real Madrid, arguably the richest club in Europe. Santiago Bernabeu remains iconic in world football, so there is more to come here to thrill soccer fans. We also expect structural adjustments to the venue as clubs in Europe continuously upgrade their stadiums to accommodate more fans.
Estadio Nacional: £600 million
For our fourth ground in the list of most expensive stadiums in the world, we head to South America – Brazil. Estadio Nacional sits at the heart of Brasilia, Brazil’s capital, and it is the second-biggest stadium in Brazil.
Of course, such a feat wasn’t achieved without substantial financial backing, and the final construction cost here came in at approximately £600 million. This was back in 1974, and the stadium has since been renovated for some major upgrades.
Bramley-Moore Dock. £750 million
Everton F.C. is preparing to move into their new stadium, Bramley-Moore Dock, located on the waterfront, at the beginning of the 2025/26 Premier League season. Construction is currently underway on this state-of-the-art stadium, which is now considered one of the top ten most expensive stadiums ever built.
The estimated cost for construction of Bramley-Moore Dock currently stands at £750, which means the new stadium is more expensive than the initial construction costs for Santiago Bernabeu and even Bayern's Allianz Arena.
Bramley-Moore Dock will have a seating capacity of 52,888, although this number could increase with potential future remodelling plans from the Toffees. As it stands, the new Everton Stadium will have at least 16,000 more seats than Goodison Park.
The massive size of Bramley-Moore Dock has forced the club to employ more stadium stewards, so we could have double the current 500 employed at Goodison Park.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium: £1 billion
Despite football being much more popular in places like Europe, America is still a place where large investments are made into these kinds of structures.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of the most expensive stadiums ever built, but football isn’t the main sport played here. As you may have guessed, the main sport played at ‘The Benz’ as it is referred to is American Football, with Atlanta United being a bit of an add-on. Although accurate public figures have never actually been released, the stadium is rumoured to have cost well over £1 billion.
Moreover, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host some of the FIFA World Cup matches in 2026.
Singapore National Stadium: £1 billion
Finally, the Singapore National Stadium is another stadium that enters the £1 billion-plus category. Having opened back in 2014, this arena has gained a reputation as one of the most technologically advanced stadiums on the planet.
The stadium is fully dynamic. The seats can be moved around and adjusted based on the event and the expected spectator figures. Additionally, the roof is fully retractable, and the dome exterior even has moving parts – does it get more futuristic than that?
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: £1 billion
Having opened only in 2019, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the newer additions to this list. It is not only an ultra-modern stadium, but also one of the most expensive football arenas.
When the whole construction project was finished, the final estimate came in at approximately £1 billion. Then again, the stadium is hugely impressive, with a completely interchangeable pitch to accommodate American Football games as well as Tottenham’s football games.
Wembley Stadium: £1 billion
If you are reading this from the UK, this stadium needs no real introduction. Wembley Stadium is not just one of the most expensive stadiums in the UK but also one of the most expensive in Europe. With that, it makes it to this list of the top ten most expensive stadiums in the world.
Costing over £1 billion when it was built in 2007, Wembley is a mammoth stadium – with a capacity of 90,000. Moreover, Wembley hosts some of the biggest sporting events, especially in football. England national team matches are often staged at the venue.
Wembley is set to host some of the biggest football events in the 2024/25 season. Notably, the Three Lions will play most of their UEFA Nations qualifier at Wembley this year.
Yankee Stadium: £1.5 billion
To answer the question that everybody thinks when they see the name ‘Yankee Stadium’, yes, this stadium hosts football and baseball games.
While the New York Yankees are the most famous team that plays here, New York FC also plays here hence Yankee Stadium in the category of a football stadium.
Now, speaking of large investments, the total cost of this one was more than £1.5 billion, which is just an incredible amount of money to plough into an arena. This cost and expansion came at great public expense too, as many citizens weren’t happy about the surrounding parks being swallowed up by the new build. Still, Yankee Stadium enjoys a commanding lead among the top ten most expensive stadiums.