All around the world, stadiums offer some of the biggest examples of architectural ingenuity. They are structures designed to impress, and each is catered for the location it’s in and the events they’re hosting.
This is particularly true with domed stadiums. These architectural marvels bring together the thrill of live events and the comfort of indoor spaces, providing a unique atmosphere for spectators and performers alike.
With this in mind, enjoy our guide to the top 20 stadiums with domes, featuring venues from Nagoya to New Orleans. Note, for this list, we’re only including stadiums that have domes. As such, venues that only have a retractable roof will not be included.
1. Caesars Superdome
Location: New Orleans, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 1975
First on our list of the top 20 stadiums with domes is the massive Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans. Renowned for its raucous atmosphere and sports tradition, the venue has hosted the New Orleans Saints since the 1970s.
With room for 70,000 spectators, it’s also the biggest domed stadium by capacity to be found anywhere in the world. It has also been centre stage for numerous memorable events, with seven Super Bowls and many major music concerts taking place at the Superdome.
2. Tokyo Dome
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1988
Hailed at the time of its 1988 opening as one of the world’s most futuristic venues, Tokyo Dome in Japan’s capital city has had a storied life since. As well as hosting regular baseball fixtures for Nippon-Ham Fighters, it has also been a regular setting for travelling musical performers and artists.
The Dome features a particularly striking architectural design, with a huge dome covering over 45,000 seats. It forms part of the wider Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex, which contains lots of shops, restaurants and an amusement park among other things.
3. Ford Field
Location: Detroit, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 2002
When thinking of the American city of Detroit, you probably think of the name Ford. And, since 2002, chances are that sports enthusiasts may think of the huge domed stadium it sponsors: the massive Ford Field.
After opening its doors, Ford Field has been home to NFL team Detroit Lions, becoming a widely known city landmark in the process. The iconic venue has a capacity of 65,000 seats and, thanks to its dome, ensures year-round play for the sports it hosts.
4. Taipei Dome
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 2023
The newest stadium with a dome to grace this list is the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan. When it first opens later this year, it will host a range of live events, from baseball and softball to concerts and e-sports.
With a cutting edge egg-shaped design, the venue is already more than making its mark on Taipei’s skyline. It will have a capacity of 40,000 seats for sporting events and 40,000 to 50,000 for concerts.
5. Sapporo Dome
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Main Sport: Football, Baseball
Opened: 2001
Sapporo Dome, located in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, is a particularly impressive domed stadium. That’s because it seamlessly switches between two regular sports, baseball and football. It accomplishes this via its ingenious movable pitch.
Opening just in time to host matches for the 2002 World Cup, Sapporo Dome has become one of the major landmarks in the city. Its primary tenants are football team Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and baseball club Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
6. Alamodome
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 1993
Built for a cost of $186 million, the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas is a vast domed indoor stadium that can seat over 64,000 people. Since opening in 1993, it has hosted a number of different events, such as football and basketball fixtures, concerts and exhibitions.
Its iconic dome structure makes it an imposing sight in the local area, and the venue is one of Texas’ primary live event destinations. At present, it is the home of the San Antonio Brahmas, who play in the XFL, and the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners.
7. Fargodome
Location: Fargo, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 1992
Fargodome, situated in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, is another of the world’s most impressive stadiums with domes. Home to the North Dakota State University Bison football team, it has put on live events since 1992.
The stadium has a capacity of over 18,000 seats, and is one of North Dakota’s biggest draws for musical artists. Once planned to have an inflatable roof, it was eventually constructed with a hard fixed roof.
8. SoFi Stadium
Location: Inglewood, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 2020
To put it mildly, no expense was spared when the mammoth SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Southern California was built. The mega stadium is comfortably the most expensive venue ever to be built, with a price tag of over $5 billion.
As well as hosting both the LA Rams and LA Chargers in the NFL, the 70,000 seat stadium has also regularly hosted concerts by the biggest performers around. Its jaw-dropping million-square-foot dome is so large that it encompasses not just the stadium itself but also the adjacent YouTube Theater.
9. Belluna Dome
Location: Tokorazawa
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1979
Baseball stadium Belluna Dome is another worthy entrant on our domed stadiums list. Indeed, the 31,000 capacity stadium is unique among such venues in that there is no wall behind the stands, meaning home runs can technically leave the stadium despite it being fully enclosed.
The stadium was built in 1979 under the name Seibu Lions Stadium. It remains the home venue for the Seibu Lions baseball team, but naming rights have since been snapped up by mail order company Belluna.
10. Saitama Super Arena
Location: Saitama, Japan
Main Sport: Wrestling/MMA
Opened: 2000
Staying in Japan, Saitama Super Arena is a mixed use indoor stadium that is renowned for its versatile usage. Thanks to a movable hybrid seating structure, the venue is able to host a variety of events including wrestling, basketball, volleyball and even American football.
The venue, whose capacity is ordinarily between 19,000 and 23,000 depending on the event, was designed by Dan Meis. Until 2010, it even hosted a museum dedicated to former Beatle John Lennon.
11. Telenor Arena
Location: Oslo, Norway
Main Sport: Football
Opened: 2009
Thanks to its frosty climate and highly variable daylight hours, the Scandinavian region is no stranger to domed stadiums. One of the more impressive of these is the 15,000 capacity Telenor Arena, located in Oslo, Norway.
This state-of-the-art venue is designed to accommodate a variety of events, and has hosted regular football and handball events. It is also one of the country’s premier venues for concerts – the likes of Rolling Stones, Drake and Elton John have all played at the stadium.
12. U.S. Bank Stadium
Location: Minneapolis, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 2016
Another stunning stadium with a dome can be found in the city of Minneapolis in the USA. The U.S. Bank Stadium, home to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, features a colossal angular glass dome that allows spectators to stare out into the clouds above the stadium.
The venue was complete in time for the 2016 football season, and ever since has become one of the most easily recognisable structures in the city. It has a capacity of 66,000, but this can be expanded for events which need less field space.
13. Tropicana Field
“The interior of Tropicana Field on Jan. 9, 2014” by Libertyernie2 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tropicana_Field_before_2014_East-West_Shrine_Game.jpg).
Location: Saint Petersburg, USA
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1990
Tropicana Field, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA, is one of the MLB’s most distinctive stadiums. It features a fully enclosed dome, which helps to shelter spectators from the sometimes turbulent Floridian climate.
Since its opening in early 1990, it has hosted a range of events, from Tampa Bay Rays baseball to live concerts. One particularly unique feature of Tropicana Field is the touch tank situated on its outfield, which is filled with live stingrays!
14. Gocheok Sky Dome
Location: Seoul
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 2015
South Korea has a range of impressive domed stadiums throughout the country, but perhaps the most recognisable is the Gocheok Sky Dome. Situated in the capital Seoul, it is designed primarily for baseball, with its primary tenants being Nexen Heroes of the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization).
The venue has a capacity of almost 17,000 seats, with more available for concerts and exhibitions. In late 2023, it will host the League of Legends World Championship, in addition to the many concerts it hosts every year.
15. Forsyth Barr Stadium
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Main Sport: Rugby
Opened: 2011
The 30,000 capacity Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, is one of the country’s most spectacular live venues. It has a versatile design, and has hosted a range of events, from rugby and football to major music tours such as Elton John.
It was opened in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand, in which the stadium held four fixtures. Its vast dome is made of ETFE, which is the same material used at other iconic structures such as the Allianz Arena in Munich, and the Eden Project in England.
16. Nagoya Dome
Location: Nagoya, Japan
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1997
Another of Japan’s most impressive stadiums with a dome is the Nagoya Dome. Situated in the city of Nagoya, it primarily hosts baseball but also puts on a range of other events, such as concerts and performances.
It features a vast geodesic dome, which covers the entire 36,000 seat capacity structure. Attached to the arena is a shopping centre, which includes a range of commercial offerings.
17. Olympic Stadium
Location: Montreal, Canada
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1976
The gargantuan Olympic Stadium located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is an iconic and historic domed stadium. Originally constructed for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it has since become a significant landmark in the city.
Designed by renowned architect Roger Taillibert, the Olympic Stadium features a distinctive inclined tower and a retractable roof. It has a seating capacity of over 56,000, and today hosts a variety of events including athletics, concerts, and soccer matches.
18. JMA Wireless Dome
Location: Syracuse, USA
Main Sport: American Football
Opened: 1980
The JMA Wireless Dome, formerly known as the Carrier Dome, is a spectacular domed stadium located in Syracuse, New York, USA. After opening in 1980, it has hosted events ranging from athletics and American football to wrestling and exhibitions.
The structure is fully enclosed with the help of a 220-ton roof, which was remodelled in 2020. With 49,000 seats available for spectators, it is the largest domed stadium in the entire Northeastern United States.
19. La Defense Arena
Location: Paris, France
Main Sport: Rugby
Opened: 2017
Paris is not short of impressive live event venues, but the 2017 opening of La Défense Arena represented the city’s first domed stadium. The 30,000 seat capacity stadium is located in the suburb of Nanterre, to the West of the capital, and close to the Grande Arche.
The stadium’s primary tenants are the rugby team Racing 92, making it one of the biggest rugby stadiums in Europe. It has also hosted a range of other events, including boxing, football and e-sports.
20. Kyocera Dome
Location: Osaka, Japan
Main Sport: Baseball
Opened: 1997
Last but not least on our top 20 list of domed stadiums is Kyocera Dome, situated in Osaka. This impressive structure was opened in 1997 and was named simply the Osaka Dome until Kyocera bought naming rights in 2003.
The 36,000 seat venue regularly hosts baseball, with baseball team Orix Buffaloes playing there since 2005. In addition to baseball, Kyocera Dome has hosted various events, including concerts, exhibitions, and other sporting tournaments.
Thanks for exploring the top stadiums with domes around the world with us. There’s no doubt that fully enclosed venues are particularly captivating, and that unique atmospheres can be created through their inclusion.
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Last Updated on 26 August 2023 by Michael
