Crowds of fans and music lovers gather at the stadiums, which are mainly used as venues for sports matches and concerts, for experiences of a lifetime. The construction of the world's largest sports stadiums involves high costs, which is justified, in addition to the size of the facilities, by the complexity of developing the infrastructure and the associated workforce. Construction and maintenance costs are offset by amounts received from ticket sales, merchandise products and rental fees, and these same revenues also bring profit.
The construction and subsequent operation of stadiums also creates jobs, and major sporting events boost tourism in the host city and increase tax revenues.
All of these things contribute to enhancing the region's competitiveness in the long term, and can even strengthen the country's economic position.
It is therefore no coincidence that stadiums are being built in many parts of the world at a cost of billions of dollars.
One of the most expensive stadiums in the world to date is one of the landmarks of St. Petersburg, Krestovsky Stadium, also known as Gazprom Arena, which was built for the 2018 World Cup at a cost of $1.1 billion (about 380 billion Hungarian forints), and is also home to the football team FC Zenit.
California's iconic Levi Stadium, a football stadium built at a cost of $1.3 billion (about 455 billion HUF), continues the series, and is also the home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. The 75,000-seat stadium has generated more than $2 billion (700 billion forints) in recent years.
Taylor Swift's two concerts this year brought in only $33 million (about 11 billion Hungarian forints).
Construction of AT&T Stadium in Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys, cost $1.48 billion (about 520 billion HUF). The retractable roof complex can accommodate up to 100,000 people.
Built at a cost of $1.5 billion (approximately 520 billion HUF), Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium is also the home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and was also the site of the 2019 Super Bowl. The uniquely designed building has a circular projector Its 600 square meters of space and a special openable roof structure provide natural light, and on the side of the building facing the city, a 16-storey-high glass wall provides an extraordinary experience.
Another interesting feature of the stadium is the huge metal bird sculpture measuring 12.5 meters high and weighing almost 37 tons in front of the building, created by Hungarian sculptor Miklós Gábor Szocki.
(He also made an eagle statue in front of Groupama Square in Budapest.)
Wembley Stadium, also built at a cost of $1.5 billion (about 520 billion HUF), is the largest stadium in the United Kingdom. The English sports fan haven can accommodate 90,000 fans and was opened in 2007 on the original Wembley site.
SoFi Stadium, considered the most expensive stadium in the world, cost much more, thanks to the privately financed $5.5 billion (1,925 billion HUF) Gigaproject. The more than 70,000-seat sports and entertainment complex opened in 2020 in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles. The massive facility is also the home stadium for the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
