The ten largest stadiums in Europe are also symbols of the cities that host them and are often at the center of ambitious redevelopment projects, without losing their original charm. However, the concept of the stadium has millennia-old roots, tracing back to ancient Greece. Let’s explore how these structures have evolved over time.
The word “stadium” comes from stade, a term the Greeks used to refer to the distance covered in early foot races (about 180 meters). The first stadiums were long and narrow, typically U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped. They were often carved into the sides of hills, like those in Thebes, Epidaurus, and Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games in the 8th century BC. The Romans improved the design of Greek stadiums by creating the circus and the amphitheater. The circus, such as the Circus Maximus in Rome, was used for chariot races, while the amphitheater, like the Colosseum, was designed for gladiatorial contests, focusing more on the spectator’s view than on the size of the arena.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, nearly two millennia passed before stadiums experienced a revival, driven by the return of the Olympic Games in 1896. The stadium for the first modern Olympics in Athens, considered the “father” of modern stadiums, was a reconstruction of one originally built by Herodes Atticus. This was followed by the White City Stadium in 1906, which could hold 150,000 spectators and boasted the first covered grandstand in history.
Over time, stadiums have become not only larger and more technologically advanced but also more sustainable and multifunctional. An example is the spectacular Al Bayt Stadium, built by Webuild for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, a hyper-technological facility where sustainability is seamlessly integrated with engineering expertise.
