Stadium (sport)

A football stadium is the venue where football games are played. At a minimum, a stadium consists of a playing field, "sidelines" on opposite sides of the field for coaches and players not currently in the game, and seating for spectators (sometimes referred to as "the stands").

The term stadium came into the English language from Latin, where the correct plural form is stadia, a term which is almost never used in contemporary sports discussions. Instead, the conventional English plural "s" is used.

Sports architecture

Football stadiums are one of several specialised forms of sports architecture found on college and university campuses and in many urban communities. Other forms also include soccer stadiums, baseball parks, basketball arenas, hockey arenas, natatoriums for competitive swimming events, and others.

In professional football, a number of teams play in covered stadiums or "domes".

Large stadiums

Football stadiums are generally rated by the number of spectator (or "fan") seats they offer. A growing number of the largest campus stadiums at the Universities of Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and elsewhere seat more than 100,000 spectators.