UK arenas and stadiums: the big rooms, ranked by capacity

Capacity is the single most useful number when you are deciding whether to buy. Two venues can both be described as "the arena" and differ by a factor of four, and a room that size decides how quickly a show sells out.

The capacities below are sourced from public venue records where we have them, and left blank where we do not. A blank is deliberate: a made-up capacity would be worse than the gap.

Venue	Capacity	Upcoming shows
Ohio Stadium Columbus	102,780	1
Lambeau Field Green Bay	81,441	1
Principality Stadium Cardiff	78,000	3
SoFi Stadium Inglewood	70,240	2
SoFi Stadium Tours Inglewood	70,240	1
Soldier Field Chicago	61,500	1
Chase Field Phoenix	49,033	1
Petco Park San Diego	42,445	3
Finsbury Park London	40,000	7
Fenway Park Boston	37,402	1
Hersheypark Stadium Pennsylvania	30,000	1
DICK'S Sporting Goods Park Commerce City	27,000	1
Freedom Mortgage Pavilion Camden	25,000	2
Ruoff Music Center Noblesville	24,790	2
Co-op Live Manchester	23,500	15
United Center Chicago	23,500	14
Co-Op Live Manchester	23,500	1
Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls	23,000	3
KFC Yum! Center Louisville	22,090	2
Little Caesars Arena Detroit	22,000	12
Alerus Center Grand Forks	22,000	4
First Horizon Coliseum Greensboro	22,000	3
AO Arena Manchester	21,000	13
Ball Arena Denver	21,000	9
State Farm Arena Atlanta	21,000	9
AO Arena Manchester	21,000	2
Madison Square Garden New York	20,789	13
Amerant Bank Arena Sunrise	20,737	2
Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek Raleigh	20,601	3
Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek Circus Grounds Raleigh	20,601	2
Rupp Arena Lexington	20,500	5
Target Center Minneapolis	20,500	4
North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre Chula Vista	20,500	2
Capital One Arena Washington	20,356	10
Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre Phoenix	20,106	4
O2 Academy Glasgow	20,000	111
The O2 London	20,000	56
Bridgestone Arena Nashville	20,000	37
O2 Ritz Manchester	20,000	21
O2 Institute Birmingham	20,000	19

What the sizes mean in practice

Under 2,000 — a club or theatre. Popular shows sell out in minutes; the same artist will play a bigger room on their next tour.
2,000–6,000 — a large hall, academy or big theatre. Usually one night, occasionally two.
6,000–16,000 — an arena. Multi-night runs are common, so a sold-out Friday often means a Tuesday is still available.
Over 16,000 — a large arena or stadium. Rarely sells out instantly outside the very biggest names.