6 ms·

Chariot Racing was huge. The largest stadium ever built was the Circus Maximus which could hold over 150,000 people. The stadiums in the world right now don’t

Chariot Racing was huge. The largest stadium ever built was the Circus Maximus which could hold over 150,000 people. The stadiums in the world right now don’t even come close.

blackguardx 7y ago
It seems like the modern equivalent is NASCAR or F1. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway fits over 250,000 people.
- arethuza 7y ago
  Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't in the middle of Washington DC though! The Circus Maximus is right at the bottom of the Palatine hill in the centre of Rome.
  - jsjohnst 7y ago
    > isn't in the middle of Washington DC though 1) the speedway is far bigger in overall size than Circus Maximus 2) They likely didn’t have the same concerns over safety, noise (which is far louder with cars than chariots), traffic flow in/out, etc 3) didn’t likely have the same NIMB issues we’d have today
    - jsjohnst 7y ago
      Re: #1, decided to look it up to get the exact difference. Based on km² data from Wikipedia, Indy is over 30x larger than Circus Maximus.
Leherenn 7y ago
Even if we leave aside race tracks, there's a few stadia over 100k, especially college football in the US. Michigan college is at 107k apparently. Camp Nou (Barcelona) is close to a 100k as well. They used to be bigger, in the 150k/200k range in the 20th century, back before safety concerns were really a thing.
eru 7y ago
Not just huge as a sport, but enormously important to politics as well. They nearly brought down Constantinople: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots
andrepd 7y ago
That's not remotely true. The 1950 world cup final (the famous Maracanaço), for example, had 200,000 people in the seats.
- RobLach 7y ago
  Ahh that’s true. I stand corrected. I incorrectly assumed that the largest sports stadium since that time would be around today. I also did not consider race tracks which do cross that bound.
  - andrepd 7y ago
    Yes, the thing is stadiums in those days were massively unsafe and uncomfortabe: cramped all standing sections, no amenities, etc. Over time safety standards improved and so even if stadiums are physically the same size or even bigger, the density is much lower. The biggest football stadium nowadays I believe is Camp Nou, short of 100,000. The new Maracanã seats only 80,000 :p
Balgair 7y ago
Chariot racing was big for a long time in the classical world. The Nika Riots of Justinian were sparked during a race. The Blues and Greens were almost psuedo religions in Constantinople, giving out food and healthcare in some cases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

Chariot Racing was huge. The largest stadium ever built was the Circus Maximus which could hold over 150,000 people. The stadiums in the world right now don’t even come close.

blackguardx 7y ago

It seems like the modern equivalent is NASCAR or F1. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway fits over 250,000 people.

arethuza 7y ago
Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't in the middle of Washington DC though! The Circus Maximus is right at the bottom of the Palatine hill in the centre of Rome.
- jsjohnst 7y ago
  > isn't in the middle of Washington DC though 1) the speedway is far bigger in overall size than Circus Maximus 2) They likely didn’t have the same concerns over safety, noise (which is far louder with cars than chariots), traffic flow in/out, etc 3) didn’t likely have the same NIMB issues we’d have today
  - jsjohnst 7y ago
    Re: #1, decided to look it up to get the exact difference. Based on km² data from Wikipedia, Indy is over 30x larger than Circus Maximus.

Leherenn 7y ago

Even if we leave aside race tracks, there's a few stadia over 100k, especially college football in the US. Michigan college is at 107k apparently. Camp Nou (Barcelona) is close to a 100k as well. They used to be bigger, in the 150k/200k range in the 20th century, back before safety concerns were really a thing.

eru 7y ago

Not just huge as a sport, but enormously important to politics as well. They nearly brought down Constantinople: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

andrepd 7y ago

That's not remotely true. The 1950 world cup final (the famous Maracanaço), for example, had 200,000 people in the seats.

RobLach 7y ago
Ahh that’s true. I stand corrected. I incorrectly assumed that the largest sports stadium since that time would be around today. I also did not consider race tracks which do cross that bound.
- andrepd 7y ago
  Yes, the thing is stadiums in those days were massively unsafe and uncomfortabe: cramped all standing sections, no amenities, etc. Over time safety standards improved and so even if stadiums are physically the same size or even bigger, the density is much lower. The biggest football stadium nowadays I believe is Camp Nou, short of 100,000. The new Maracanã seats only 80,000 :p

Balgair 7y ago

Chariot racing was big for a long time in the classical world. The Nika Riots of Justinian were sparked during a race. The Blues and Greens were almost psuedo religions in Constantinople, giving out food and healthcare in some cases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots