Discover the Top 11 Biggest Stadiums in Texas

You’ve probably heard the axiom, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” That is true in more ways than one. Texas is the biggest state in terms of area in the contiguous United States. It also has the second-largest population in the nation, trailing only California. So, it stands to reason that such a vast state with such a huge population would be home to some crazy big stadiums. Here are the eleven biggest stadiums in the Lone Star State.

1. Kyle Field — 102,733 Capacity

Kyle Field is the largest stadium in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. It is one of two stadiums in the state with capacities over 100,000. Kyle Field occupies a spot on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, Texas, serving as the home for the school’s football team, the Aggies.

Edwin Jackson Kyle, a university professor, conceived the original vision for this stadium and even funded the initial stages of the project with his own money. Construction crews built the original Kyle Field in 1904, coming into existence twenty-eight years after the founding of the university in 1876. As the oldest public higher education institution in Texas, Texas A&M saw the completion of Kyle Field’s permanent concrete structure in 1927.

A huge expansion project in 2015 gave the stadium its current massive seating capacity. The stadium’s record attendance was on October 11, 2014, when the Aggies took on the Ole Miss Rebels. The stadium far exceeded its seating capacity as 110,633 people watched their beloved Aggies lose to the Rebels by a score of 35-20.

2. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium — 100,119 Capacity

Originally called War Memorial Stadium, the stadium on the University of Texas campus in Austin changed its name in 1996 to honor legendary coach Darrell K. Royal.

In 1924, construction crews built the original stadium with a then-massive capacity of 27,000 at a cost of $275,000. Adjusted for inflation, that amounts to around $4.8 million today.

Several expansion projects have increased the stadium’s current capacity. The Texas Longhorns football team now plays in front of more than 100,000 fans here, making it the second-largest stadium in the state and the seventh-largest in the nation. On September 10, 2022, the stadium set an attendance record when 105,213 fans watched the Longhorns lose to the Alabama Crimson Tide by a single point, with a final score of 20-19.

3. Cotton Bowl — 92,100 Capacity

This stadium in Dallas is located in Fair Park, the site of the Texas State Fair. It was originally known as Fair Park Stadium when it opened in 1930. 

The stadium has been the home of numerous teams since its inception. Football teams such as the Southern Methodist University Mustangs and Dallas Cowboys have played their home games here over the years. The stadium has also been home to soccer teams such as the Dallas Tornado and FC Dallas. It was one of the venues for the FIFA World Cup in 1994. The stadium also hosted a hockey game on January 1, 2020, when the Dallas Stars took on the Nashville Predators in the NHL Winter Classic.

The stadium lost its namesake college football game, the Cotton Bowl Classic, to AT&T Stadium in 2010. Today, the stadium is without a tenet, making it the largest stadium in the nation without a college or professional team.

4. AT&T Stadium — 80,000 Capacity (Expandable to 105,000)

At its listed capacity of 80,000, AT&T Stadium in Arlington is the third-largest NFL stadium in the country, behind MetLife Stadium (home of the New York Giants) and Lambeau Field (home of the Green Bay Packers). But when filled to its full expandable capacity of 105,000, it becomes the largest NFL stadium in the U.S., not to mention the biggest stadium in Texas.

AT&T Stadium opened as the new home of the Dallas Cowboys in 2009. The original cost estimate was $650 million, but the actual cost to build the stadium ballooned to $1.15 billion. While that seems expensive (and it is), it doesn’t come close to the eye-popping price tag of SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California. Exact numbers have never been published, but the cost to build SoFi Stadium was estimated to be around $5.5 billion. That’s higher than the GDP of many small nations!

AT&T Stadium’s price tag goes hand-in-hand with its team’s value. In 2022, Forbes declared the Dallas Cowboys to be the most valuable sports franchise in the world, worth a cool $8 billion. 

Along with the Cowboys’ home games, AT&T Stadium also hosts concerts, rodeos, high school sports tournaments, and much more. It is the host site for the Cotton Bowl Classic and the Big 12 Championship Game. The stadium has also been selected as one of eleven U.S. venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

5. NRG Stadium — 72,220 Capacity

This Houston stadium was completed in 2002 and was the first NFL stadium to feature a retractable roof. It is part of a larger collection of venues known as NRG Park. In addition to the stadium, the park is home to an auto racing speedway, convention center, and the Astrodome, which was the home of the Houston Astros and the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) for over 30 years. 

NRG Stadium is the home field for the Houston Texans, which Forbes ranked as the world’s seventeenth most valuable sports franchise worth $4.7 billion. Along with the Texans’ home games, the stadium hosts the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the biggest rodeo and livestock exhibition in the world. It is the home of the Texas Bowl during the college football bowl season, along with matches for the U.S. men’s national soccer team. The stadium has hosted two Super Bowls (2004 and 2017) and WrestleMania 25 (2009). Like AT&T Stadium, NRG Stadium is also scheduled to be a host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

6. Alamodome — 64,000 Capacity

The Alamodome opened in San Antonio in 1993 with the goal of increasing the city’s appeal for large conventions. It was also constructed in the hopes of attracting an NFL franchise. San Antonio’s NBA team, the Spurs, played their home games in the Alamodome until 2002. The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was held at the Alamodome.

The stadium was home to the San Antonio Texans of the Canadian Football League in 1995, and the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football in 2019. However, the vision for attracting an NFL team to the city never materialized.

Today, the Alamodome is home to the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL and the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners.

7. Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field — 60,454 Capacity

The name of this stadium may cause a bit of confusion for people outside of Texas. Jerry Jones is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and his NFL team plays in AT&T Stadium. But, in this case, it’s a different Jones and a different AT&T Stadium.

This stadium is located on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Clifford B. Jones was the third president of Texas Tech. Jones and his wife, Audrey, donated $100,000 toward the stadium’s construction. The venue opened in 1947 under the name Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, featuring a seating capacity of 27,000. It has been the home of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team ever since.

The stadium has undergone multiple expansions. Another renovation is slated to begin soon. Former player Cody Campell donated $25 million to the project 2021, so his name was added to the stadium’s moniker.

8. Sun Bowl Stadium — 51,500 Capacity

This stadium on the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) campus opened in 1963 as the home field for UTEP Miners football team. The stadium’s capacity is reported to be 51,500, although the school officially lists it at 46,670.

Like the Cotton Bowl, this stadium was named after its most famous annual game: the Sun Bowl. The Sun Bowl game has been played in El Paso since 1935.

The stadium was the short-lived home of the El Paso Patriots soccer team. It also hosted a simulcast of the Mass held by Pope Francis in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in 2016. Ciudad Juárez is only about five miles from El Paso.

9. Choctaw Stadium — 48,114 Capacity

This stadium opened as The Ballpark at Arlington on April 1, 1994, as the home of the Texas Rangers. The Major League Baseball team played its home games here until 2019. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts bought the naming rights to the stadium in 2021.

After the Rangers vacated the stadium, it was reconfigured for soccer and football. Today, Choctaw Stadium is home to the Arlington Renegades of the XFL, North Texas SC of MLS Next Pro, and the Dallas Jackals of Major League Rugby.

10 (tie). Rice Stadium — 47,000 Capacity

Rice Stadium is located on the campus of Rice University in Houston. The stadium was completed in 1950 and has served as the home field for the Rice Owls football team ever since.

Along with the Owls, the University of Houston played its football games at Rice Stadium from 1951 until 1964. The Houston Oilers played their games in the stadium for three years prior to moving to the Astrodome in 1968. Rice Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 1974, the first Super Bowl ever in Texas.

The most famous non-sporting event held at Rice Stadium was a presidential speech. On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous speech laying out aspirations for Americans to fly to the moon. In the speech, he declared, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…”

10 (tie). Amon G. Carter Stadium — 47,000 Capacity

This stadium is located in Fort Worth on the campus of Texas Christian University (TCU). It serves as the home of the TCU Horned Frogs football team. 

The stadium is named after Amon G. Carter, a Fort Worth businessman and publisher of the  Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper. Carter made a sizable donation for the stadium’s construction in 1928. The doors to Amon G. Carter Stadium were opened for the first game on October 11, 1930. The original stadium had a seating capacity of 22,000. Multiple expansion projects brought the stadium to its current capacity, tied for the tenth-largest in the state of Texas.

Along with the Horned Frogs’ home games, the stadium hosts the Armed Forces Bowl each year (previously known as the Fort Worth Bowl).

Summary of the Top 11 Biggest Stadiums in Texas

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Janreagan at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0 – License / Original

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