Michigan Stadium’s nearly three-decade reign as the “Big House," the largest stadium in the country, might be in jeopardy.
That's according to Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News, who reported Wednesday that Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said this week that Beaver Stadium's ongoing $700 million renovation, which includes new bleacher seats on the west side of the stadium, could increase capacity from 106,572 to around 109,000. By the time Penn State faces USC on Oct. 10, Kraft expects all the upper bleachers to be in place, and that could potentially surpass Michigan Stadium’s capacity.
Built in 1927, Michigan Stadium has a current capacity of 107,601 and is the third-largest stadium in the world behind Narendra Stadium (132,000) in India and Rungrado 1st of May Stadium (114,000) in North Korea, Chengelis reported.
“We continue to count, but I think we’ll be north of 108,000,” Kraft told Penn State beat writer Audrey Snyder in an "Inside the Lions" substack article. “I think we could get to 109,000, but what people don’t understand is there are all these nooks and crannies that we’re using now.”
It wouldn't be the first time Michigan Stadium lost its claim to being the nation's biggest. In 1997, Tennessee expanded Neyland Stadium to overtake the top spot at a capacity of 102,854, but by 1998, Michigan Stadium had increased its capacity to 107,501 to regain the title.
Michigan Stadium maxed out at a capacity of 109,901. However, it dropped to 107,601 in 2015 due to the removal of seats and the addition of handrails to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, Chengelis reported.
