British soccer team Manchester United plans to build a new 100,000-seat capacity, state-of-the-art stadium after 115 years of playing at Old Trafford. The project, which is being delivered by starchitect Norman Foster’s firm and due to open within the next five years, has an estimated price tag of $2.6 billion (£2bn) – making it one of the most expensive sports facilities in the world.

However, stadium construction is notorious for going over budget and over schedule, no matter the sport. From National Football League (NFL) monoliths in the US to Premier League palaces and Olympic showpieces, read on to discover the world's 12 most expensive stadiums, ranked by total cost. We also reveal who paid for them and whether they came in on time and on budget.

All dollar amounts in US dollars and the cost of pre-2022 projects have been adjusted for inflation.

The Minnesota Vikings NFL team had long shared Minneapolis’ Metrodome stadium with local baseball team the Minnesota Twins. The facility’s air-supported roof, comprising layers of fabric and Teflon-coated fiberglass material, had a reputation for struggling in the city’s harsh winters. In fact, it completely collapsed in a December 2010 blizzard that left the stadium defunct for the rest of the season.

In 2012, the Minnesota Legislature and the Minneapolis City Council approved funding for a new multi-purpose stadium to replace the Metrodome. Construction started in 2013 and lasted two-and-a-half years, finishing on schedule in 2015 though slightly over budget at $1.1 billion, the equivalent of $1.46 billion (£1.1bn) in today's money.

That’s not to say the project went smoothly. Polling showed little more than a third of the state supported taxpayer money being used for the construction. 

Criticism mounted as construction continued. Designed to mimic a Viking longboat, the hulking edifice is suited to the brutal local climate. It eschews a retractable roof for one made of weatherproof translucent panels that allow an inflow of natural daylight but no snow.

However, environmental groups quickly pointed out that birds are unable to distinguish this particular glass and called for a different type that would protect migrating species. The cost difference, estimated at $1.1 million (£850k), was deemed too expensive. A 2019 study determined that the stadium kills at least 100 birds a year.

Fans, however, appear to love the facility, voting the Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium’s game-day experience as the best in the NFL in 2024.

One of the most widely recognised teams in the NFL, it may surprise sports fans to discover the Dallas Cowboys actually play in Arlington, Texas. With the team’s lease at Texas Stadium set to expire in 2008, and the owners eager to have a facility capable of hosting mega sports events like the Super Bowl, they set their sights on building a brand-new stadium ready for the 2009 season.

In April 2004, the team proposed a location in Dallas, with construction expected to cost $650 million ($1.1bn/£850m today) and taxpayers picking up $425 million ($718m/£555m today) of the total. County officials declined the opportunity. Just two months later, Arlington officials revealed arrangements for a new stadium with the city contributing around half the cost and with any increases covered by the Cowboys, who also secured a sizable loan from the NFL. 

Construction started in 2006 and was completed in time for the 2009 season. However, the estimated price tag had nearly doubled to $1.15 billion, or $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) in 2025 money.

There’s a lot of bang for your buck at this stadium though. It seats 80,000 but can hold up to 105,000 with standing capacity. Plus, it was deemed one of the grandest stadiums when it opened, boasting the world’s largest Jumbotron video screen and a retractable roof, along with guest amenities like plush stadium seats, luxury boxes and even an art collection.

As with many of the venues on this list, AT&T Stadium is more than just a home to the Cowboys. It hosts an array of sports and cultural events including the heavyweight boxing match between Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul in 2024. It’s currently undergoing a $295 million (£228m) renovation in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

There’s a similar story behind the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Levi’s Stadium. As in Dallas, city and team officials struggled for nearly a decade to reach an agreement on replacing Candlestick Park. In 2006, the owners switched tactics, pursuing a new facility 40 miles (65km) south in Santa Clara, California.

Though the agreements – which specified the team could keep San Francisco in its name – didn’t require taxpayer money, officials chose to put the initiative to a vote with a ballot measure in June 2010, which passed with 58% support. Construction started in Santa Clara in April 2012.

The new stadium finished on time and on budget at $1.3 billion in 2014, the equivalent of $1.74 billion (£1.35bn) today. Design and construction for the 68,500-seat facility emphasised sustainability, making it the first new-construction NFL stadium to achieve LEED Gold certification. This included using recycled and reclaimed building products, installing solar panels and even creating a green roof with vegetation native to the Bay area.

However, a few issues cropped up following its opening. Fans suffered heat exhaustion sitting in the stadium's eastern side, where there isn't any shade, during early season games. Due to its proximity to the San Jose airport and other design factors, it’s not possible to add any sunshades or other structures that would increase the stadium’s height. Meanwhile, pilots flying in and out of the nearby airport reported being blinded by the stadium’s lights during night games in 2015.

Despite these early hiccups, Levi’s Stadium saw 97% of 49ers season ticket holders renew their membership over the first four years. It’s also hosted all sorts of American football competitions as well as concerts, FIFA and Major League Soccer (MLS) games and even motorcross and monster truck events over the last decade.

The UK’s Wembley Stadium in North London cost more than £789 million to build when it opened in 2007, the equivalent of $1.8 billion (£1.4bn) in 2025 money. The initial budget in 2000 was only half that at £326.5 million ($788m/£609m today). There were numerous delays to construction, ranging from a lack of financing to dodgy sewer pipes, all driving up the costs.

Around £161 million ($345m/£267m today) of public money was used to fund the construction, and the stadium opened a year behind schedule.

An international icon, the stadium seats 90,000 and is the largest in Europe. Wembley regularly hosts high profile sporting events and concerts. It also provided a temporary home for Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur during its own stadium construction project.

Governing body the Football Association (FA) had considered selling the venue to Shahid Khan, owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the Premier League’s Fulham Football Club, for £600 million in 2018, the equivalent of $994 million (£768m) today. Khan eventually withdrew his offer and the deal fell through.

In 2024, officials announced the stadium’s construction loans would be paid off by the end of the year.

Santiago Bernabeu, home of football’s powerhouse team Real Madrid, is nearing the end of a massive four-year renovation project. The cost is expected to total €1.76 billion ($1.9bn/£1.5bn) when completed later this year, increasing the capacity from 81,000 to 85,000 seats.

The famous facility has seen a number of refurbishments since its inception in 1947, with this most recent work approved in 2011 to give it a dramatic facelift. Construction started in 2019 and was initially scheduled for completion in 2022, but the project has been subject to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Along with an avant-garde façade, the upgraded venue now features a retractable roof and leisure amenities like a luxury hotel and shopping mall. The club hopes to transform the stadium into a tourist attraction, drawing in more than just football fans. In fact, it was confirmed in January that the stadium will host the Miami Dolphins American football team during the NFL’s international series in 2025.

For most of the renovation period, Real Madrid continued to play at Santiago Bernabeu, with one break from March 2020 to September 2021.

It cost roughly the same amount to build a new stadium for the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, who moved into the replacement for White Hart Lane in 2019 at a cost of £1.2 billion. That's £1.5 billion ($1.9bn) today.

While construction only took three years, with the team playing two seasons at Wembley Stadium in the interim, the idea of a new facility dated back at least two decades. Various options for Tottenham’s new home even included taking over the Olympic Stadium in London’s nearby Stratford neighbourhood – a move that would have saved hundreds of millions in construction costs but which sparked instant backlash.

The club secured planning permission for a new facility adjacent to the existing White Hart Lane in September 2011, and the privately funded project began construction in 2015.

The club’s wishlist included flashy new amenities to transform the football grounds into a world-class entertainment venue and “maximise revenue at all times”, according to Forbes. There’s a microbrewery and heated seats, and it’s the first purpose-built NFL stadium outside of the US to feature an artificial turf hidden below the pitch. It hosts at least two NFL games a season in London.

Beyond sports, its 62,850-seat configuration for concerts makes it the largest club stadium in London, bringing in big names in music and entertainment. For example, Beyoncé will perform six shows there this summer as part of her upcoming tour.

Los Angeles is home to two NBA teams: the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers. Neither team originated in the city, but eventually both found their way there through a series of sales that moved them to California. The Clippers struggled for many years, even being described as “perpetually lousy” before billionaire and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took ownership in 2014 – a watershed moment that marked a new era of success for the team.

As you might imagine, there’s a heady rivalry between the two, especially considering that up until last summer, the two sides shared Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as the Staples Center).

With Ballmer’s backing, the Clippers set out to build their own stadium in Inglewood, with costs estimated at $1.2 billion (£930m) when construction started in September 2021. With post-COVID inflation, that figure grew to at least $2 billion (£1.5bn), making the 18,000-seat Intuit Dome one of the most expensive stadiums in the world – though it's also one of the smallest on this list.

Said to have spared no expense, the high-tech arena offers facial recognition software for ticketing, a massive 'halo' scoreboard that encircles the top of the stadium and luxury suites. It also boasts some sustainability credentials through solar panels and heat pumps.

When the Georgia Dome opened in 1992, it was the largest covered stadium in the world. For 25 years it was the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Georgia State University’s American football team and the annual Peach Bowl tournament, among many other events. However, it no longer met the requirements for hosting the Super Bowl.

In an effort to build an upgraded facility for the Falcons, having secured around $200 million ($270m/£209m today) of public funds to aid the project, construction started in 2014 for the 72,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It opened in 2017 at a cost of $1.6 billion, or $2.1 billion (£1.6bn) in 2025 money.

The picture shows the Georgia Dome (left) before demolition and the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium (right).

The new facility isn’t without controversy. The surrounding neighbourhood has long struggled with economic insecurity, and plans for the new venue raised concerns about gentrification as investors bought up adjacent land. Residents also sued the team in 2017 over millions in unpaid property taxes, which the state supreme court later ruled against.

Like all the recently built stadiums on this list, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is capable of hosting a vast range of sporting events, concerts and more. It boasts sustainability credentials and high-tech features like facial recognition for ticketless entry and checkout-free food and drink sales.

Finding a new home is an old habit for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. Previously known as the Oakland Raiders, the team moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s and then back to Oakland in 1995 before heading east to Las Vegas in 2019.

The move also upgraded the club’s home turf from a shared facility with the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team to a purpose-built stadium, paid for with $750 million ($950m/£734m today) in public subsidies. The project was completed on time and on budget at $1.9 billion when it opened in 2020. That's $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) in today's money.

Featuring a specially designed glass roof for sun protection, entertainment lounges, a nightclub and massive doors that open on to the famous Las Vegas strip, the stadium has been designed to provide day-long entertainment for fans. Purpose-built for the team, the black façade with silver lighting is distinctively on brand for the Raiders.

With a retractable grass playing field, the 65,000-seat facility can be expanded to accommodate 7,000 people outside of gameday, completely adaptable for concerts and other off-season entertainment. In fact, Allegiant Stadium generated more than $70 million (£54m) from events unrelated to Raiders games in 2023, more than any other NFL stadium.

Located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium is home to two different New York NFL teams: the Jets and the Giants. The rivals have long shared a venue, and in 2010 they even split the $1.6 billion construction costs, which is $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) today, to replace Giants Stadium.  

Purpose-built for sharing, the stadium has 10,000 club seats and 200 luxury suites and has been designed with coloured illumination and video screening to provide a distinctive setting for each team.

Just 5 miles (8km) from New York City, the 82,500-seat stadium has hosted many of the world’s top sporting events over the last 15 years. It’s also a popular stop on concert tours, with many of the biggest musicians often performing multiple shows.

Major renovations this year will increase the size of the playing field by removing 2,000 seats, enabling the stadium to host games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including the final. The works are estimated to cost $14 million (£11m).

On the other side of the Hudson River you'll find Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009 at a cost of more than $2.3 billion, or $3.4 billion (£2.6bn) today. It replaced the previous stadium (pictured upper left) that dated back to 1923 and is currently home to Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.

Around $1.2 billion (£920m) of the 47,400-seat stadium's total cost came from public funds, according to the New York Times. Initially expected to cost over a billion dollars in 2006, the project was already 30% over budget within two years. The city ended up footing almost half of the bill.

The only baseball stadium to make the list, the second most expensive stadium ever built is largely used as a ballpark. MLB teams typically play 162 games per season, half at home, and more if they make the playoffs.

Though it's hosted several Major League Soccer matches, along with occasional collegiate sports, it’s not a venue positioned to attract mega entertainment events. A sports stadium through and through, it offers tours and is home to the New York Yankees Museum.

The most expensive stadium ever built is SoFi Stadium, another shared NFL facility located in Los Angeles.

It was initially meant to be used solely by the LA Rams but brought the Los Angeles Chargers on board during the planning process for the privately funded, $5.5 billion project (almost twice the original estimate). Adjusted for inflation, that price tag climbs to an astronomical $6.8 billion (£5.3bn).

The project broke ground in 2016, and construction was expected to last just three years. However, it was delayed due to extreme rainfall and finally opened in 2020.

It’s the largest facility in the NFL and designed to be a destination for major sporting events like the Super Bowl, as well as concerts and other entertainment. The 70,200-seat stadium expands to a capacity of more than 100,000 and offers 260 executive suites among other luxury amenities.

Part of the stadium’s steep cost is due to its ambitious engineering. The field is sunk into the ground as a protective measure for any seismic activity, and for similar reasons, the free-standing roof doesn’t connect to any of the facility’s walls – there are 37 massive, earthquake-resistant columns holding it up. The roof is also anchored by a colossal double-sided video screen centred over the field. This also provides a rooftop screen so passengers going to and from nearby LAX airport can catch a glimpse of the game during takeoff and landing.

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