England is home to several impressive football grounds and many of them can be found outside of the Premier League. When it comes to spectator capacity, the biggest grounds in England might be considered small when compared to the largest football stadium in the world – that accolade goes to the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, surprisingly enough. Nevertheless, there are some pretty big venues in the country and this includes the homes of several clubs playing in the English Football League.
Read on to see which are the biggest stadiums in the EFL for the 2019/20 season.
Pride Park – 33,597
Pride Park is situated on the outskirts of Derby city centre and is the home of Derby County Football Club. It opened in 1997, which is when The Rams moved here from their previous stadium, the Baseball Ground. This modern stadium has a capacity of 33,597 – and this maximum capacity was reached during an international match between England and Mexico in May 2001.
The stadium has also played host to the FA Women’s Cup Final plus an international match between Brazil and Ukraine. The highest average league attendance for a Derby County season came in 2007/08 which was the last time they featured in the Premier League.
Riverside Stadium – 34,742
The Riverside Stadium is the home of Championship side Middlesbrough Football Club, and is a stadium which took a surprisingly short time to build. Construction time took a total of just 32 weeks, which is impressively fast considering and much quicker than one would assume it would take. The Riverside was also the first stadium to be built that complied with the Taylor Report.
It opened in August 1995 and currently has a capacity of 34,742, although this has changed a couple of times over the years. The first match at the Riverside Stadium saw Middlesbrough play Chelsea in-front of a crowd of 28,286 people. The England international team and the GB Olympic football team have also played at this venue.
Elland Road – 37-890
Elland Road is the oldest stadium in this list and comfortably one of the English Football League’s biggest stadiums in 2019/20. It opened for play in 1897 and has been the home of Leeds United ever since. The current capacity of Elland Road is 37,890 but the record for the highest attendance at the stadium is 57,892 when Leeds United met Sunderland in March 1967. This was back before compulsory seating was introduced.
When the East Stand was opened in 1993, it held the record for being the largest cantilever stand in the world.
Hillsborough Stadium – 39-732
Hillsborough Stadium runs Elland Road close for being the oldest stadium in the list having opened in 1899. Much like Elland Road, Hillsborough has had one consistent occupant throughout its history which is Sheffield Wednesday, who currently playing in the Championship.
The overall capacity of the stadium is 39,732 but the current capacity has been reduced to 34,854 on safety grounds. Hillsborough Stadium has played host to World Cup and European Championship matches plus an England European qualifying game. The highest attendance recorded at Hillsborough Stadium was 72,841 for the FA Cup match between Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester City in 1934. It is a stadium which is remembered for the tragic events which occurred on 15th April 1989, when a fatal human crush claimed the lives of 96 football fans.
Stadium of Light – 49,000
The Stadium of Light, is English Football League’s biggest stadium 2019/20, despite it being home to a team playing in League One. You might assume that the Championship would have the biggest stadium in England, outside of the Premier League, but Sunderland’s relegation from the top flight followed by relegation from the Championship in the following year has resulted in that not being the case.
It opened in 1997 as a replacement for their previous venue, Roker Park. During the construction of the stadium it became known as the “Wearside Stadium” and “New Roker Park”. However, its official name of Stadium of Light was unveiled in a ceremony in July 1997 and was chosen to reflect the coal-mining heritage of the region.
The stadium can hold 49,000 fans, which would make it the 8th largest in the Premier League, if Sunderland were competing in the top flight this season.
The record attendance for a football match at the SOL stands at 48,353 for a match between Sunderland and Liverpool in April 2002.
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