Who Has the Biggest NBA Stadium? The Craze for NBA is amazing as the league is owned, supported, and followed by almost every American household. In the 2019/20 NBA season, nearly 20 million fans attended the exciting NBA matches, with an average of 17-and-half thousand people attending each game.

That’s what brings colors to a game. The fans, the audiences, the views, the supporters cheering for the teams and adding to the atmosphere.

Why are Fans and Spectators important?

Over the years, no sport or carnival has been successful without audiences, viewers, and spectators. There are a number of factors that contribute to the importance of fans and their presence at any game or competition. The encouragement that players receive from the fans and spectators is certainly a great boost for the growth of the game. The financial factor associated with sponsorships and revenue generation has also become incredibly crucial.

Without fans’ support, presence, and contributions, any sport would die. The same is true with the NBA, as it has made efforts to inspire fans and enhance the viewership of the game. The attendances have also improved by introducing various facilities and enterprising features that only add to the viewership experience. The goal is to make the game attendance experience memorable so that the fans may have memories to take back home and look forward to returning to other games of their favorite teams.

This brings all the focus and emphasis on the quality of the Basketball Arenas of various NBA franchises. The game is no longer about sitting in a corner and watching the game. There are multiple other dimensions to it. The meals that are being offered, the comfort levels of the fans, the atmosphere of the stadium, and the facilities offered at the arenas all contribute significantly to the value of an NBA arena and enhance the overall viewership experience for the fans.

Who Has the Biggest NBA Stadium?

Suppose we judge the NBA arenas purely on the basis of their seating capacity. In that case, we obtain a very interesting list that also reveals insightful details about the seating capacities of all these NBA stadiums and Arenas. The 10 biggest NBA Arenas in terms of seating capacity are:

10. Oracle Arena

The Oracle Arena is the home to the star-studded Golden State Warriors team and has witnessed many moments of ultimate glory and triumph, especially during recent years. The total capacity of the Arena is 19,596, which makes it 10th on the list of the top 10 biggest Basketball Arenas.

Looking into the historical details reveals that the Arena construction had started in 1964, while it was opened for the general public in 1966.

The chief architects of this wonderful Arena were Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. They added to the charms, colors, and vibrancy of this wonderful Arena that now holds great importance for so many Warriors fans.

Back then, about 25 million USDs had been spent to construct this Arena to house thousands of basketball fans for all important NBA matches. Years later, the revenue generated from the Arena has touched billions of dollars. The Arena attracts a fair share of eyeballs for each game as stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson regularly feature the warriors in their season games.

9. American Airlines Arena

The home for the amazing Miami Heats, American Airlines Arena is situated in Florida and owes its name to American Airlines, which owns the naming rights of the Arena. A seating capacity of 19,600 does sound like a good number to house any NBA game. The Arena was constructed in the year 1999, with a total cost of about 213 million USD. 360 Architecture and Arquitectonica were involved in the designing process of the Arena.

In addition to the standard seating, the Arena also offers 2,105 club seats, 80 luxury suites, and 76 private boxes to add to the comforts and convenience of NBA lovers.

8. Air Canada Centre

The next name on the list of our top 10 biggest Arenas is the Air Canada Centre, which is located in Ontario. Toronto Raptors are the home team at this wonderful stadium that can manage as many as 19,800 spectators for different NBA games. The construction process had started in the year 1997. The total cost of construction was 265 Billion USD.

In addition to hosting basketball games, the Arena is used for various other purposes. The Air Canada Centre was listed as the fifth busiest arena in the world in the year 2008.

Currently, the Arena is operated by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment,

Brisbin Brook Was the main architect involved in erecting this well-constructed Arena. 

7. Madison Square Garden

It doesn’t get bigger than this. Regardless of the size and seating capacity, nothing beats the magnificent Madison Square Garden level. It is a multi-purpose indoor venue that is used as the home venue by the NBA franchise, New York Knicks, as they used to say about Big cities, that everything there is so big. The same can be said about this amazing Arena that offers it all for the viewers, spectators, and even the teams.

The Arena has a rich history and tradition associated with it. It is the oldest and most active Sports Arena in the US metropolitan and is also used by the NHL franchise New York Rangers as their home.

The construction for the Arena had started back in the year 1964. It took nearly four years for the Arena to go to completion and the budget for the enormous construction was 123 million USD. Charles Luckman Associates were involved in designing this stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity for 19,812 people, who enjoy a very rich, diverse, and unique experience of watching a basketball game at this iconic venue.

The Arena is operated by the Madison Square Garden Company, which controls and regulates all its functions and events. An invaluable construction, that too in the heart of New York City, with a great deal of history attached to it. It doesn’t get better than that. And, the Iconic Madison Square Garden has it all.

It is often referred to as the Mecca of the Basketball World.

6. Energy Solutions Arena

The Energy Solutions Arena is a multi-purpose indoor venue with a seating capacity of 19,911 people. The Arena is the home venue for the NBA franchise Utah Jazz and its naming rights were purchased by Energy Solutions in the year 2006.

While Utah is among the oldest teams in the NBA, so is the Arena, whose constructions had been started in the year 1990. The budget for the venue was around 93 million USD, which was smartly spent before the Arena was opened for the public in the following year.

FFKR architecture designed this particular stadium.

5. Wells Fargo Center

Another multi-purpose Arena with an astounding 20000+ spectator seating capacity that makes it the fifth-biggest Arena in the NBA circuit. The construction had started in 1994, and more than 210 million USD were spent on the construction process before the Arena was completed in 1996.

With a seating capacity of 20 328 spectators, the Arena is used as a home venue by the NBA franchise Philadelphia 76ers, who have enjoyed a great run at the venue. Similarly, the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia Soul have also used the venue for their home games as their home stadium.

Global Spectrum manages the Arena’s operations while Ellerbe Becket had designed the Arena. In addition to hosting all these teams, the Arena also has been used to host WWE Royal Rumble matches during the previous decade. Not just that, the Arena even hosted the all-important Democratic National Convention in 2016. This shows how busy an arena has been and how diverse its usage has been.

4. Verizon Center

The Verizon Center has remained the center of attention and attraction as it is one of the more famous Sports and Entertainment Venues in the United States of America. It is used as the home venue by the NBA franchise Washington Wizards, while the NHL franchise Washington Capitals have also adopted it as their home venue.

It is also important to mention that the Washington Mystics of the Women’s NBA team also uses the venue as their home.

It has a seating capacity of 20,356 people, making it fourth on our list of Top-10 biggest NBA Arenas. The Arena was constructed between 1995 and 1997, and almost 260 million USDs had been spent on its construction process. Currently, the Arena operates under the umbrella of Monumental Sports and Entertainment. Verizon Communications grabbed the naming rights for the Arena.

3. Quicken Loans Arena

The third-biggest Arena in the NBA world is Quicken Loans Arena which is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

As is evident by its location, the Arena is the home stadium for the team Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. In addition to this NBA franchise, AFL and AHL franchises also use the Arena as their home stadiums. These teams are Cleveland Gladiators of the AFL and Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL.

An amazing seating capacity of 20 562 people makes it a wonderful arena to attend basketball matches, as the energy at the venue can inspire anyone. Like many other Arenas, the construction for this particular Arena had also started during the 90s. The construction started in 1991, before eventually going to completion in 1994. Its construction cost was estimated to be around 100 million USD. Quicken Loans purchased the current naming rights of the venue in the August of 2005.

2. United Center

The second biggest Arena in the world of NBA is certainly among the more historic NBA venues in the history of the league.

It is located in Chicago and is the home stadium for the Chicago Bulls franchise. The construction of the Arena had been started in the year 1992 and was finally completed in 1994. These were the days of glory for the six-time NBA champions Chicago Bulls, who were a force to beat during the 90s. Players like Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippin, and Rodman would add to anyone’s delight, thrills, and excitement.

As the Arena was constructed during the golden era of the Chicago Bulls franchise, its seating capacity was given special importance. The primary reason behind that was the unbelievable support that the star players of the Bulls franchise received from the fans and supporters. They would turn up in huge numbers to see their favorite team dominate the opposition. The total construction cost of the Arena was 175 million USD. The naming rights of the venue are currently held by United Airlines, which pays a staggering 1.8 million USDs for the naming rights of this venue. That shows how significant a venue it is for the NBA fraternity.

1.    The Palace of Auburn Hills

The Palace of Auburn Hills is the biggest Arena in the world of the NBA, as its seating capacity of 21 231 spectators exceeds the seating capacities of all the other NBA arenas. The NBA franchise Detroit Pistons is the home team. It was constructed between 1986-88 for a total construction cost of about 70 million USD.

 It is important to mention that this is among the only two NBA arenas that have not sold their naming rights.