US World Cup stadiums are blowing European football fans’ minds, ‘on another level’

Europe are known for some outstanding football stadiums.

Spotify Camp Nou. The Bernabeu. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AFP

But Europeans have been left blown away by some of the stadiums that are being used for the 2026 World Cup.

In total, there are 16 venues being used across the United States (11), Canada (2), and Mexico (3), of which only a few are associated with the beautiful game.

Take the Estadio Azteca for example – known as Mexico City Stadium to adhere to FIFA regulations for the summer tournament – an 83,000-plus amphitheatre in Mexico City that has so much heritage behind it.

But all of the stadiums being used in the States were not primarily built for football – or soccer – but for the NFL instead.

Dallas Stadium, which is home to Jerry Jones‘ Cowboys, Los Angeles Stadium of which hosts both the Rams and the Chargers, and Atlanta Stadium, home to the Falcons, with its immediately recognizable huge Mercedes-Benz star on its retractable roof, are just a few of the venues at this year’s World Cup that have left travelling football fans marvelling.

In fact, some fans have been left so astounded by the advanced technology used in some of these stadiums, that they are of the view that Europe’s most elite cannot even compete.

“American sports infrastructure is pure wealth flexing. Their stadiums got better tech than airports, better screens than movie theaters, and more luxury than some resorts.,” one fan posted to X.

“Are stadiums in Europe built out of mud and old cabbage or something,” a second user questioned.

“What on earth is this stadium man How can any stadium in Europe even compete. USA are on another level when it comes to this. In terms of infrastructure and scaling no one can compete with the USA,” a third said of the Atlanta Stadium.

“The funniest thing about this World Cup is that people are somehow shocked that country as rich as USA built some good stadiums for it and they pretend its some kind of a miracle,” a fourth weighed in.

Getty

Getty

“Nahh these guys are gone It is crazy how—unlike Qatar in 2022—none of these American stadiums was just built for the 2026 World Cup.. they just had to remodel some things, mainly the turf.. These stadiums are 5, 10, 20, 50+ years old. Where the Americans were some 30 years ago, many nations haven’t even reached there yet ,” a fifth noted.

But one American fan was quick to point out that if fans are impressed by the current stadiums, they may be left even more captivated by some that are currently in the process of being built, or those whose plans for a new stadium are still in the early phases of planning.

“Europeans and tourists in the US for the FIFA World Cup are marveling at all of our incredible stadiums,” the fan wrote. “But are they aware that we have 6 additional NEW transformative NFL stadiums currently under construction or in the process of finalizing plans? America is on another level.”

New, technologically advanced, stadiums are currently being built

Some of the NFL’s smaller market teams are getting huge upgrades, such as that of the Tennessee Titans, whose New Nissan Stadium – expected to open in 2027 – has a dream, and a very realistic chance, of one day hosting the Super Bowl for the very first time.

Similarly, the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs are moving away from the iconic Arrowhead Stadium and across state lines to Wyandotte County in Kansas, where they will soon be breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art, domed stadium – again with the intention of perhaps one day getting the chance to host a Super Bowl.

While some are building from the ground up, with the Buffalo Bills moving just 200 yards away from their previous home and into the New Highmark Stadium that will open on September 17, other teams, like that of the Jacksonville Jaguars are revamping their current sites.

X/ @NissanStadium

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars’ home EverBank Stadium was only built in 1995, but had seemingly fallen behind the standards of many other stadiums around the league, mainly as a result of new stadiums coming into play.

The Floridian franchise, therefore, opted to splash $1.4 billion on renovating their ‘stadium of the future’, which will see them temporarily vacate their home for the 2027 season and play in Orlando.

With all these new stadiums arriving over the next few years, as well as the current lineup of impressive architecture and technology, the USA has shown that it is leading the way for advanced stadiums of the future – and could be something football clubs in Europe could look to be inspired by, and integrate, as years go by.

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