These Are the Most Outrageously Expensive Stadiums in the World

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By Grant Suneson Updated Published
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These Are the Most Outrageously Expensive Stadiums in the World

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[cnxvideo id=”882906″ placement=”ros”]While sports fans pay attention to the competition on the field, some may not know that the competition does not end there. The fields and stadiums are also the pride of team owners, and they all want the biggest, best, and most impressive stadiums they can possibly get. This has led to a rush of new, pricey venues sprouting up in the U.S. and around the world.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed various media sources, including the Brookings Institution and international soccer stadium database StadiumDB, to determine the most expensive stadiums around the world. Some arenas, such as Madison Square Garden in New York, have undergone major renovations worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But since the initial construction was much cheaper and happened a long time ago, MSG and other similar stadiums were not considered. We only included recently-built stadiums based on their initial construction costs.

Most of the 25 priciest stadiums in the world — 17 of them to be exact — are located in the United States. The other most expensive stadiums are scattered across Europe, Asia, and South America and now house soccer teams. Some of these stadiums have also been used for past Olympic games.

The newest stadium on list is the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Named after the Premier League team that plays there, the venue cost an estimated £1 billion, or roughly $1.3 billion — ranking among the top 10 most expensive stadiums in the world.

The Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones were the first in the NFL to break the $1 billion barrier when they completed AT&T Stadium in 2009. Since then, four new NFL stadiums that cost over $1 billion have opened. New NFL stadiums not only give teams and fans a new home, but they can also substantially increase the value of a franchise. These are the most valuable teams in the NFL.

The list of the most expensive stadiums will look very different in the 2020s. The Chargers and Rams will share a multibillion-dollar stadium in Southern California, and the Raiders franchise is moving to Las Vegas and building another expensive stadium to host the team. These are the cities that have lost the most teams.

Click here to see the world’s most expensive stadiums.

Nasibli95 / Wikimedia Commons

25. Baku Olympic Stadium
> Cost: $600.0 million
> Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
> Year opened: 2015
> Home to: Azerbaijan’s national soccer team

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24. Fisht Olympic Stadium
> Cost: $603.0 million
> Location: Sochi, Russia
> Year opened: 2014
> Home to: 2014 Olympics

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23. Paul Brown Stadium
> Cost: $619.0 million
> Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
> Year opened: 2000
> Home to: Cincinnati Bengals

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

22. NRG Stadium
> Cost: $624.0 million
> Location: Houston, Texas
> Year opened: 2002
> Home to: Houston Texans

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21. Estadio Nacional
> Cost: $632.5 million
> Location: Brasilia, Brazil
> Year opened: 2013
> Home to: Brazil’s national soccer team

Tom Pidgeon / Getty Images

20. Ford Field
> Cost: $658.0 million
> Location: Detroit, Michigan
> Year opened: 2002
> Home to: Detroit Lions

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19. Lincoln Financial Field
> Cost: $667.0 million
> Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Year opened: 2003
> Home to: Philadelphia Eagles

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Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images

18. Saint Petersburg Stadium
> Cost: $670.0 million
> Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia
> Year opened: 2017
> Home to: 2018 World Cup

Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

17. SunTrust Park
> Cost: $672.0 million
> Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> Year opened: 2017
> Home to: Atlanta Braves

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16. Nissan Stadium
> Cost: $677.7 million
> Location: Yokohama, Japan
> Year opened: 1997
> Home to: Yokohama F.Marinos

15. Marlins Park
> Cost: $684.0 million
> Location: Miami, Florida
> Year opened: 2012
> Home to: Miami Marlins

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Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

14. Little Caesars Arena
> Cost: $733.0 million
> Location: Detroit, Michigan
> Year opened: 2017
> Home to: Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings

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traveler1116 / Getty Images

13. Lucas Oil Stadium
> Cost: $792.0 million
> Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
> Year opened: 2008
> Home to: Indianapolis Colts

12. Citi Field
> Cost: $817.0 million
> Location: Queens, New York
> Year opened: 2009
> Home to: New York Mets

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

11. Nationals Park
> Cost: $846.0 million
> Location: Washington, D.C.
> Year opened: 2008
> Home to: Washington Nationals

Jan Kruger / Getty Images

10. Olympic Stadium
> Cost: $988.0 million
> Location: London, UK
> Year opened: 2012
> Home to: West Ham United

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9. Barclays Center
> Cost: $1.0 billion
> Location: Brooklyn, New York
> Year opened: 2012
> Home to: Brooklyn Nets, New York Islanders

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Matt Cardy / Getty Images

8. Wembley Stadium
> Cost: $1.1 billion
> Location: London, UK
> Year opened: 2007
> Home to: England’s national soccer team

7. U.S. Bank Stadium
> Cost: $1.1 billion
> Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Year opened: 2016
> Home to: Minnesota Vikings

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Mike Hewitt / Getty Images

6. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
> Cost: $1.3 billion
> Location: London, UK
> Year opened: 2019
> Home to: Tottenham Hotspur FC

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5. Levi’s Stadium
> Cost: $1.3 billion
> Location: Santa Clara, California
> Year opened: 2014
> Home to: San Francisco 49ers

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4. AT&T Stadium
> Cost: $1.3 billion
> Location: Arlington, Texas
> Year opened: 2009
> Home to: Dallas Cowboys

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Marilyn Nieves / Getty Images

3. Mercedes-Benz Stadium
> Cost: $1.5 billion
> Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> Year opened: 2017
> Home to: Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC

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2. Yankee Stadium
> Cost: $1.5 billion
> Location: The Bronx, New York
> Year opened: 2009
> Home to: New York Yankees

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1. MetLife Stadium
> Cost: $1.7 billion
> Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey
> Year opened: 2010
> Home to: New York Giants, New York Jets

Photo of Grant Suneson
About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.

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