You can learn a lot about a place by the sports that people follow and how many show up. I’m in Columbia, South Carolina on a training course run by Ifra, and <a href=”http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Columbia,+SC&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=33.97326,-81.018248&spn=0.004022,0.010815&t=h&iwloc=A”>right next door is the stadium of the college football team</a>. That’s college football, not pro. How big would you think the stadium is? 10,000? 20,000? Not even close. It’s 80,000. <br />
<br />
And it’s sold out. Every game. And it’s not even a good team – they <a href=”http://southcarolina.rivals.com/teamstandings.asp?Year=2005&Conf=8″>won 7, lost 5</a> last season. <br />
<br />
We’re going to a game tomorrow – a sell out – and I’ll try to get some photos on the site here, but this is an unbelievable crowd attendance. If you look at the stadia of the world, this is big. If you exclude stadiums for motor sports and horseracing, which are round a bigger area than a football pitch, this is the 31st biggest in the world. And this includes all football, cricket, althetics and American football. <br />
<br />
We talk about having great fans in the UK, but this is something else.<br />
<br />
Top stadiums of the world over 80,000 capacity, (excluding motor sports and horse racing)<br />
<br />
<table border=”1″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”2″ bordercolor=”#CECECE”> <tr> <td> </td> <td><b>Country</b></td> <td><b>Club</b></td> <td><b>Type</b></td> <td><b>City</b></td> <td><b>Stadium</b></td> <td><b>Capacity</b></td> <td><b>Built</b></td> <td><b>Seats</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1</td> <td>ESP</td> <td>FC Barcelona</td> <td>Soco</td> <td>Barcelona</td> <td>L’Estadi (Camp Nou)</td> <td>98 934</td> <td>1957</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2</td> <td>USA</td> <td>UCLA Bruins</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Pasadena</td> <td>Rose Bowl Stadium</td> <td>92 542</td> <td>1922</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3</td> <td>USA</td> <td>LSU Tigers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Baton Rouge</td> <td>Tiger Stadium</td> <td>92 400</td> <td>1924</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>4</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Alabama Crimson Tide</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Tuscaloosa</td> <td>Bryant Denny Stadium</td> <td>92 158</td> <td>1929</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>5</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Georgia Bulldogs</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Athens</td> <td>Sanford Stadium</td> <td>92 058</td> <td>1929</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>6</td> <td>USA</td> <td>USC Trojans</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Los Angeles</td> <td>L.A. Memorial Coliseum</td> <td>92 000</td> <td>1923</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>7</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Washington Redskins</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Landover</td> <td>FedEx Field</td> <td>91 665</td> <td>1997</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>8</td> <td>IND</td> <td>Bengal Cricket</td> <td>Cric</td> <td>Calcutta</td> <td>Ranji Stadium</td> <td>90 000</td> <td>-</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>9</td> <td>ZAF</td> <td>Orlando Pirates</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Johannesburg</td> <td>FNB Stadium</td> <td>90 000</td> <td>1989</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>10</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Florida Gators</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Gainesville</td> <td>Ben Hill Griffin Stadium</td> <td>88 548</td> <td>1929</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>11</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Auburn Tigers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Auburn</td> <td>Jordan Hare Stadium</td> <td>87 451</td> <td>1939</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>12</td> <td>ITA</td> <td>AC Milan/Inter</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Milano</td> <td>Stadio Giuseppe Meazza</td> <td>85 700</td> <td>1927</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>13</td> <td>ECU</td> <td>Barcelona SC</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Guayaquil</td> <td>Isidro Romero Carbo</td> <td>85 000</td> <td>1986</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>14</td> <td>RUS</td> <td>Spartak Moskva</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Moskva</td> <td>Luzhniki Stadion</td> <td>84 745</td> <td>1956</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>15</td> <td>AUS</td> <td>National Stadium</td> <td>Mix</td> <td>Sydney</td> <td>Telstra Stadium</td> <td>83 500</td> <td>1999</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>16</td> <td>UKR</td> <td>FK Dynamo Kyiv</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Kiev</td> <td>Stadion NSK Olimpiyskiy</td> <td>83 160</td> <td>1948</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>17</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Texas A&M Aggies</td> <td>AF</td> <td>College Station</td> <td>Kyle Field</td> <td>82 600</td> <td>1927</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>18</td> <td>IRL</td> <td>GAA-use</td> <td>GAA</td> <td>Dublin</td> <td>Croke Park</td> <td>82 500</td> <td>2002</td> <td>69 500</td> </tr> <tr> <td>19</td> <td>ITA</td> <td>AS Roma/SS Lazio</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Roma</td> <td>Stadio Olimpico</td> <td>82 307</td> <td>1952</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>20</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Florida State Seminoles</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Tallahassee</td> <td>Doak Campbell Stadium</td> <td>82 300</td> <td>1950</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>21</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Oklahoma Sooners</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Norman</td> <td>Gaylord Family Stadium</td> <td>82 112</td> <td>1923</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>22</td> <td>BRA</td> <td>Clube Atl�tico Mineiro</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Belo Horizonte</td> <td>Est�dio Magalh�es Pinto</td> <td>81 987</td> <td>1965</td> <td>59 042</td> </tr> <tr> <td>23</td> <td>TUR</td> <td>National Stadium</td> <td>Mix</td> <td>Istanbul</td> <td>Atat�rk Olimpiyat Stadi</td> <td>81 653</td> <td>2001</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>24</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Clemson Tigers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Clemson</td> <td>Memorial Stadium</td> <td>81 473</td> <td>1942</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>25</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Wisconsin Badgers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Madison</td> <td>Camp Randall Stadium</td> <td>81 321</td> <td>1917</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>26</td> <td>DEU</td> <td>Borussia Dortmund</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Dortmund</td> <td>Signal Iduna Park</td> <td>81 264</td> <td>1974</td> <td>53 675</td> </tr> <tr> <td>27</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Nebraska Cornhuskers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Lincoln</td> <td>Memorial Stadium</td> <td>81 067</td> <td>1923</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>28</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Notre Dame Fighting Irish</td> <td>AF</td> <td>South Bend</td> <td>Notre Dame Stadium</td> <td>80 795</td> <td>1930</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>29</td> <td>USA</td> <td>UAB Blazers</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Birmingham</td> <td>Legion Field Stadium</td> <td>80 601</td> <td>1926</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>30</td> <td>ESP</td> <td>Real Madrid CF</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Madrid</td> <td>Santiago Bernabeu</td> <td>80 354</td> <td>1947</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>31</td> <td>USA</td> <td><b>S. Carolina Gamecocks</b></td> <td>AF</td> <td><b>Columbia</b></td> <td>Williams Brice Stadium</td> <td><b>80 250</b></td> <td>1934</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>32</td> <td>USA</td> <td>New York Giants/Jets</td> <td>AF</td> <td>E. Rutherford</td> <td>Giants Stadium</td> <td>80 242</td> <td>1976</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>33</td> <td>PER</td> <td>Universitario</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Lima</td> <td>Teodoro Fern�ndez</td> <td>80 093</td> <td>2000</td> <td>60 000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>34</td> <td>USA</td> <td>Texas Longhorns</td> <td>AF</td> <td>Austin</td> <td>Texas Memorial Stadium</td> <td>80 082</td> <td>1924</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>35</td> <td>CHN</td> <td>Multi-use</td> <td>Mix</td> <td>Guangzhou</td> <td>Guangdong Stadium</td> <td>80 012</td> <td>2001</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>36</td> <td>COD</td> <td>National Stadium</td> <td>Mix</td> <td>Kinshasa</td> <td>Stade des Martyrs</td> <td>80 000</td> <td>-</td> <td>-</td> </tr> <tr> <td>37</td> <td>LBY</td> <td>Al-Ittihad Tripoli</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Tripoli</td> <td>11 June Stadium</td> <td>80 000</td> <td>-</td> <td>-</td> </tr> <tr> <td>38</td> <td>CHN</td> <td>Shanghai United</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>Shanghai</td> <td>Shanghai Stadium</td> <td>80 000</td> <td>1997</td> <td>all-seater</td> </tr> <tr> <td>39</td> <td>BRA</td> <td>S�o Paulo FC</td> <td>Soc</td> <td>S�o Paulo</td> <td>C�cero Pompeu de Toledo</td> <td>80 000</td> <td>1960</td> <td>-</td> </tr></table><br />
<br />
Source: worldstadiums.com