The Stadium

Lore & Background

The word 'stadium' originated from the ancient Greek stadion at Olympia, where for about half a century the only event was a race of one stadion length. The oldest known stadium was probably built by the Indus Valley Civilization around 2000 BC at Dholavira and Juni Kuran. The Stadium at Olympia in Greece hosted the ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC. Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, including the Stadium of Domitian in Rome. The Panathenaic Stadium hosted attempted revivals of the Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875, the first modern Olympics in 1896, the 1906 Intercalated Games, and some events of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Reader's Guide

Most stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 are used for association football. Other popular stadium sports include gridiron football, baseball, cricket, the various codes of rugby, field lacrosse, bandy, and bullfighting. Many large sports venues are also used for concerts. Many modern designs are increasingly incorporating sustainability features such as energy efficiency and proper waste management systems.

Did You Know?

• The largest stadium crowd ever was 199,854 people watching the final match of the 1950 World Cup at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã on 16 July 1950.
• The English use of 'stadium' comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding a Roman track of such length.
• Most dictionaries provide for both 'stadiums' and 'stadia' as valid English plurals.