Largest stadiums in every US state

GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: A general view of Lambeau Field before a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears on September 13, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

From the aptly named "Big House" in Michigan to a little baseball stadium in Vermont, here is every state's largest sports venue on the basis of maximum seating capacity. Though football dominates, there are a few wild cards in the mix. For the purposes of this list, we excluded auto-racing tracks, though all instances in which they would be No. 1 are noted.

The Tuscaloosa home of the dominant Alabama Crimson Tide college football program seats 101,821 at full capacity, the fifth largest total of any stadium. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Talladega Superspeedway wins out with roughly 175,000 permanent seats.

Opened in 1983, Sullivan Arena in Anchorage seats 6,251 spectators and is one of only two entries on this list that is not primarily used for football.

Located in Tempe, the home of Arizona State Sun Devils college football seats 73,378 fans, beating out nearby University of Phoenix Stadium — home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and the Fiesta Bowl — by about 10,000.  

The Arkansas college football sanctuary in Fayetteville can pack in 72,000 screaming Razorbacks faithful.

It's a tight race with the Rose Bowl, but the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the state's largest city clocks in at a little over 93,000 seats, just ahead of its Pasadena counterpart's 92,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Sonoma's Infineon Raceway would lead the way with 102,000 permanent seats.

Home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, the stadium in the state's capital seats 76,125, holding a healthy lead over No. 2 finisher Folsom Field in Boulder, which seats 53,750.

The first of two Ivy League home stadiums to make the list, the home of Yale's football squad seats 64,269 and comfortably beats out UConn's Rentschler Field with only 40,000.  

Aptly named, the home of the University of Delaware football team, located in the town of Newark, seats 22,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Dover International Speedway dwarfs Delaware Stadium, coming in at 140,000 seats.

Florida has plenty of football cathedrals, but none bigger than the University of Florida's 88,548-seater. It's the 12th-largest football stadium in the country and beats out five other Sunshine State behemoths over 65,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Daytona Beach's Daytona International Speedway takes top billing with roughly 168,000 seats.  

The eighth-largest stadium in the country, the University of Georgia's hallowed ground sits 92,746 Bulldog fans, over 20,000 more people than can cram into Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton would be No. 1, seating roughly 125,000 people.

Home of the University of Hawaii's football team and the NFL's Pro Bowl, the Honolulu venue seats about 50,000 fans.

Known for the blue "Smurf Turf" that matches the team colors, the home of those loveable BCS-busting Boise State Broncos seats about 37,000 fans.  

The home of the NFL's Chicago Bears seats 61,500 people and leads the way by a very narrow margin. Memorial Stadium in Champaign, home to the University of Illinois football team, would be No. 1 if not for a recent seat reduction that dropped it down to just over 60,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet would be tops with about 75,000 seats.  

The historic home ground of Notre Dame football in South Bend seats 80,795 people, a solid 17,000 ahead of Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, home to the NFL's Colts. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, this one wouldn't even be close. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the highest capacity stadium facility in the world, seating 257,000+ around the track and featuring infield seating capacity to raise it up to 400,000.

The home of the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes in Iowa City seats 70,585, comfortably beating out the 55,000-seater in Ames that houses the rival Iowa State Cyclones.

In the closest race of the bunch, Kansas University's Memorial Stadium — with an official capacity of 50,071 — is just 71 seats ahead of rival Kansas State's 50,000-seat Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. With standing room and extra seating area accounted for, Kansas State's facility has actually recorded the higher record attendance number. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, would rank No. 1 with over 72,000 seats.

Home of University of Kentucky football, Commonwealth Stadium seats 67,606 Wildcats fans, holding a comfortable lead over Louisville's football stadium. Famed horse-racing facility Churchill Downs, if you're wondering, seats about 52,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Kentucky Speedway in Sparta would lead the way with about 107,000 seats.

Yes, more people can cram into seats in the cathedral of LSU football than in the Superdome. The Tigers' home field in Baton Rouge has 92,542 seats, making it the ninth-largest stadium in the country. New Orleans' Superdome seats a little over 73,000.

The home ground of the University of Maine's Black Bears in the town of Orono seats about 10,000, enough to make it tops in the sparsely populated state.

One of the few NFL facilities on the list, the home of the Washington Redskins in Landover packs in 82,000 fans on game days. It's the third-largest stadium in the league by seating capacity. The Ravens' home facility in nearby Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium, seats a little over 70,000 and comes in at No. 2.

Just shy of 69,000 fans can take a seat at the home of the New England Patriots in Foxborough. It holds a healthy 25,000-seat lead over the home of Boston College football, Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill.

They call it "The Big House" for a reason. The Ann Arbor home of University of Michigan Wolverines football seats over 107,000 fans, making it the largest stadium of its kind in the country. Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, home ground of the rival Michigan State Spartans, is No. 2 in the state at just over 75,000 seats. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn is ahead of Spartan Stadium at No. 2 with 85,000 permanent grandstand seats.

The domed home of the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis seats 64,111 at full football capacity. Nearby TCF Bank Stadium, home to the university's Gophers, seats a little over 50,000.

The University of Mississippi's Rebels call this stadium home, with 60,580 seats for fans. Second-place David Wade Stadium in Starkville — home to the rival Mississippi State Bulldogs — sits about 55,000 fans. UPDATE: We somehow overlooked Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, which also has a seating capacity over 60,000 seats. We regret the error. A phone call to that stadium to confirm capacity yielded a busy signal. A phone call to Ole Miss athletics confirmed the seating capacity of Vaught-Hemingway as 60,580.

The Kansas City Chiefs play in front of a seated crowed of as many as 76,416, about 5,000 more than can cram into the University of Missouri football team's Faurot Field in Columbia.

The home of the University of Montana's football team in Missoula — appropriately looked over by a random big hill — seats a little over 25,000 Grizzlies fans. UPDATE: Apologies for knocking the hill, which Montana fans are turning out in droves to point out is actually the 1,958-foot Mount Sentinel. Rock on!

A recent expansion put the home of Nebraska Cornhuskers football up over 87,000 seats, making it one of the top 15 largest in the country and easily largest in the state. TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha — home of the College World Series — is No. 2 in Nebraska with a little under 25,000 seats. UPDATE: A reader points out that a recent expansion in August makes it about 92,000 seats at Memorial Stadium.

Home of the Las Vegas Bowl and UNLV football, Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium leads the way in Nevada with a seating capacity of 36,800. The University of Nevada's Mackay Stadium comes in second with about 30,000 seats. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Las Vegas Motor Speedway would take the cake with about 142,000 seats.

Another Ivy League stadium makes the list, as the home of Dartmouth football in Hanover is tops in New Hampshire. It seats about 13,000 fans. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon would be running away with it, seating about 93,000 fans.

The shiny, shared new home of the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets — and home of the 2014 Super Bowl — in East Rutherford seats about 82,500 fans, outpacing the Rutgers football program's home stadium by about 30,000 seats.

The home of the University of New Mexico Lobos football team, University Stadium in Albuquerque can pack in about 40,000 fans on game days, about 10,000 more than New Mexico State's home stadium in Las Cruces.

With the New York City NFL teams outsourced to New Jersey, it clears the way for the Orchard Park home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills to take top honors in the Empire State. Ralph Wilson Stadium seats about 74,000 fans. Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is No. 2 with about 50,000 seats.

With over 73,000 seats, the Charlotte home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers is No. 1 in North Carolina. Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, home to University of North Carolina football team, comes in second with about 63,000 seats. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Charlotte Motor Speedway is easliy No. 1, with about 140,000 permanent seats.

With 25,000 seats at full capacity, the home of North Dakota State Bison football is the largest venue in the state — though it shrinks to 19,000 for the football set-up. The Alerus Center in Grand Forks is close behind, seating 21,000 at full capacity.

The fourth largest stadium in the country, the imposing horseshoe-shaped home of the Ohio State Buckeyes seats over 102,000 red-clad fans on game day, dwarfing the state's second-largest facility — the Browns' 73,000-seat FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

The home of the Oklahoma University Sooners football program, this mammoth stadium in Norman seats over 82,000 fans. Oklahoma State's Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater is in second place with just over 60,000.

The Eugene confines of the flashy, Nike-fueled University of Oregon Ducks football team seats about 54,000 people to lead the way. Oregon State's football stadium, Reser Stadium, seats around 45,000.

The imposing home of the Penn State Nittany Lions in State College hosts about 107,000 fans on game days, making it the second-largest football stadium in the country behind Michigan Stadium. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, home of the NFL's Eagles, seats a little over 68,000 to come in second. Note: With over 76,000 seats, Pocono Raceway in Long Pond would come in second.

Little 20,000-seat Brown Stadium in Providence, home of the Ivy League's Brown Bears, is tops in the nation's smallest state. The Dunkin' Donuts Center, home of Providence Friars basketball, comes in second with a capacity of 12,400.

That dramatic, steep stand can be found in Clemson, home of the Tigers. With about 82,000 seats, Memorial Stadium is one of the largest venues in the country. Columbia's Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the rival Gamecocks, comes in just short at a little over 80,000 seats.

The home of South Dakota State Jackrabbits football, located in the town of Brookings, seats about 15,000 fans at full capacity — good enough for No. 1 in the lightly populated state.

The robust round home of Tennessee Volunteers football in Knoxville can pack in about 102,000 fans, making it third on the list of all stadiums in the country. It dwarfs the second-ranked stadium in the state — LP Field in Nashville, home of the NFL's Titans, which seats about 68,000. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, NASCAR would once again be king. Bristol Motor Speedway can sit about 160,000 fans.

The epicenter of Longhorns football in Austin seats just north of 100,000 burnt orange faithful, good for No. 6 overall and No. 1 in the football-crazed state. Three other Texas stadiums rank in the top 25 overall — the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Kyle Field in College Station, and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Texas Motor Speedway would be No. 1 with about 138,000 permanent seats.

With room for about 64,000 fans, the home of BYU Cougars football in Provo is tops in Utah. The University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City comes in a distant second with around 45,000 seats.

One of the only non-football stadiums on the list, the University of Vermont's baseball facility, Centennial Field, is No. 1 in the state with about 4,400 permanent seats. The hockey team's 4,000-seat Gutterson Fieldhouse comes in at No. 2.

The home of Virginia Tech Hokies football in Blacksburg seats about 66,000 fans, about 5,000 more than Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, home of the rival Virginia Cavaliers. Note: With auto-racing tracks included, Richmond International Raceway is easily tops, with seating for over 100,000 fans.

The Seattle home of the University of Washington football program outranks the nearby facility for the NFL's Seahawks. The Huskies can seat about 70,000 fans on game days, their pro counterparts only about 67,000.

No surprise here. The Morgantown venue, home to the state's biggest football draw — the West Virginia University Mountaineers, seats about 60,000 fans. Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, home to Marshall University football, is second with about 38,000.

In one of the closest races on the list, the Green Bay confines of the NFL's Packers narrowly edges out the Wisconsin Badgers' facility thanks to a recent expansion. Lambeau checks in with an official capacity of 80,750 while the university's Camp Randall Stadium is just behind with 80,321. Your move, Madison.

The 34,000-seat home of Wyoming Cowboys football leads the way in the sparsely-populated state. Nearby (and quaintly named) Arena-Auditorium, home of the university basketball squad, is a distant second at around 15,000 seats.