Tales of the Stands

Amahoro means peace. In Kigali, the name belongs to Rwanda’s national stadium. It was built for football, athletics and national events. In 1994, thousands of people came there for another reason. They did not come for a match. They came because streets, homes and neighbourhoods had become dangerous. They came because United Nations soldiers were already inside the stadium. For many people in…

The 1964 Lima stadium disaster is often remembered because of one disallowed goal. Peru thought it had equalised against Argentina. The referee said no. The crowd reacted, police moved in and the match disappeared into panic. But a whistle did not kill hundreds of people. The disaster became so deadly because everything failed at once. Tear gas entered a packed stadium. Thousands moved toward…

Lincoln Financial Field is not an old stadium. It opened in 2003 on the southern edge of Philadelphia, inside a sports district built for large crowds and long event days. Yet the place already carries stories older than its concrete. Some arrive with Eagles fans. Some arrive with uniforms. Others will arrive in 2026, when the World Cup reaches Philadelphia on America’s 250th anniversary…

Arrowhead Stadium and the Drafts of Kansas City is a story about how sport can begin before a match is played. Arrowhead is known for noise, tailgating and the Kansas City Chiefs, but its link with drafting goes further than one weekend or one event. The Arrowhead Stadium Before Arrowhead Stadium draft culture can make sense, the place itself needs a short introduction. Arrowhead opened on 12…

Estadio BBVA, Estadio Monterrey during the 2026 World Cup, is easy to recognise before a ball is kicked. Its metal skin sits beside Guadalupe, the Cerro de la Silla rises behind the stands, and the whole building seems made to introduce Monterrey to anyone arriving for the first time. But this stadium did not appear from nowhere. Before Rayados had a modern home of steel, shade and mountain…

In 2026, supporters will walk into Houston Stadium for the World Cup. Many will come for football, flags and the feeling of a global tournament. But beside the modern stadium stands the Astrodome, the building that took in thousands of people after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005. This is the story of one stadium site in Houston, where sport, shelter and memory still share the same…

Lumen Field is one of the loudest stadiums in the world. That does not come from one moment alone. It comes from the building and the people inside it. It has held official noise records, shaken nearby seismic equipment and built a reputation that reaches beyond the NFL. The question is not only how loud Lumen Field can be. The better question is why it gets that loud.  Lumen Field in…

Every year on 5 May, the Netherlands celebrates Liberation Day. Marking the end of Nazi occupation after five years of war. It is a day of festivals and freedom, following the silence of national remembrance on 4 May. But freedom can also be understood through the places where it once disappeared. Streets, stations, schools and stadiums all carried the weight of occupation. Dutch stadiums in…

BMO Field Toronto is one of the smallest stadiums at the 2026 World Cup, yet few venues tell a bigger story. Set beside Lake Ontario at historic Exhibition Place the stadium has grown from a modest home for Toronto FC into an international stage. Its rise mirrors the city around it. Modern, diverse and increasingly confident on the world scene. This is not only a story about seats and steel. It…

On matchdays, Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta looks like the kind of building a city wants the world to remember. The roof opens like a performance. The skyline appears through glass. Inside, tens of thousands of people gather beneath one of the most recognisable interiors in modern sport. It is one of the boldest stadiums of the 2026 World Cup. It also tells a much bigger story than…

On some weekends, the stands fill for an NFL game. A few months later, the same space holds a tennis court. Not long after that Formula 1 race cars run around the stadium. The Hard Rock stadium Miami is adaptive. And for a reason. The setting shifts, the crowd shifts, and the purpose shifts with it. What looks like flexibility today was never the original plan. A private idea in a public…

The World Cup 2026 climate conditions will vary more than in almost any previous tournament. The competition will be played across three countries and sixteen stadiums spread across North America. Within a single week teams may move between cool coastal climates, humid southern cities and high altitude stadiums. The stadiums stretch from the Pacific coast of Canada to the tropical climate of…

Estadio Azteca stands on the southern edge of Mexico City as one of the most famous stadiums ever built. Few places in world football have seen so many defining moments. The stadium hosted the World Cup finals of 1970 and 1986. It will again welcome the world during the 2026 tournament. It is the only stadium where both Pelé and Diego Maradona lifted football’s most famous trophy. But Estadio…

Estadio Akron Guadalajara stands on the western edge of one of Mexico’s fastest growing cities. At first glance it looks less like a stadium and more like part of the landscape. A green hill rises from the ground in Zapopan. Since opening in 2010 the stadium has become the home of Club Deportivo Guadalajara. Its story reflects the ambitions of Chivas, and the changing role of football stadiums in…