NBA Arenas ranked by seating capacity, from largest to smallest
Which NBA arenas are the biggest in terms of seating capacity?
There are 30 teams in the NBA and 29 arenas (the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers share an arena). In this post, we'll take a look at every one of them ranked by their seating capacity from largest to smallest. We'll also take a look at the total cost of each arena (including the cost of major renovations) and the cost of every arena per seat. Both figures are based on 2018 prices.
Before you scroll down to find out the rankings, here are some interesting facts about NBA arenas:
- The difference in seating capacity between the largest arena (United Center: 20,197) and the smallest arena (Smoothie King Center: 16,867) is exactly 3,330 seats, a difference of about 19.74%.
- The average stadium capacity is 18,966.
- Barclays Center has the distinction of being the only one arena whose original construction cost is over $1 billion.
- But if you count renovation cost in addition to original construction cost, Madison Square Garden has also racked up a total cost of over $1 billion.
- The mantle for the most expensive arena cost per seat belongs to Madison Square Garden ($63,828 per seat) in NYC. The cheapest arena cost per seat goes to Chesapeake Energy Arena ($6,755 per seat) in Oklahoma City. The difference between them is nearly 10-fold!
- Staples Center is the only NBA arena to have more than one team (the Lakers and Clippers).
- Madison Square Garden (NY Knicks) is currently the only arena not named after a corporate sponsor.
- The oldest arena still in use is Oakland's Oracle Arena, which opened in 1966. The newest arena will be the Milwaukee's Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center, which opens in 2018. So the difference in age between the oldest and newest arena is 52 years.
Now that you've learned a few interesting tidbits about NBA arenas, without further ado, here are the rankings for the seating capacity of NBA arenas, from largest to smallest:
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1United Center
- location: Chicago, Illinois
- team: Chicago Bulls
- opened: 1994
- capacity: 20,917
- cost: $292,300,000
- cost Per Seat: $13,974
2Quicken Loans Arena
- location: Cleveland, Ohio
- team: Cleveland Cavaliers
- opened: 1994
- capacity: 20,562
- cost: $165,910,000
- cost Per Seat: $8,069
3Little Caesars Arena
- location: Detroit, Michigan
- team: Detroit Pistons
- opened: 2017
- capacity: 20,491
- cost: $871,150,000
- cost Per Seat: $42,514
4Capital One Arena
- location: Washington, D.C.
- team: Washington Wizards
- opened: 1997
- capacity: 20,356
- cost: $399,040,000
- cost Per Seat: $19,603
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5Wells Fargo Center
- location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- team: Philadelphia 76ers
- opened: 1996
- capacity: 20,328
- cost: $331,540,000
- cost Per Seat: $16,310
6Moda Center
- location: Portland, Oregon
- team: Portland Trail Blazers
- opened: 1995
- capacity: 19,980
- cost: $423,900,000
- cost Per Seat: $21,216
7Madison Square Garden
- location: New York, New York
- team: New York Knicks
- opened: 1968
- capacity: 19,812
- cost: $1,264,570,000
- cost Per Seat: $63,828
8Air Canada Centre
- location: Toronto, Ontario
- team: Toronto Raptors
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 19,800
- cost: $399,790,000
- cost Per Seat: $20,191
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9American Airlines Arena
- location: Miami, Florida
- team: Miami Heat
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 19,600
- cost: $313,700,000
- cost Per Seat: $16,005
10Oracle Arena
- location: Oakland, California
- team: Golden State Warriors
- opened: 1966
- capacity: 19,596
- cost: $369,910,000
- cost Per Seat: $18,877
11Target Center
- location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- team: Minnesota Timberwolves
- opened: 1990
- capacity: 19,356
- cost: $194,260,000
- cost Per Seat: $10,036
12American Airlines Center
- location: Dallas, Texas
- team: Dallas Mavericks
- opened: 2001
- capacity: 19,200
- cost: $584,850,000
- cost Per Seat: $30,461
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13Pepsi Center
- location: Denver, Colorado
- team: Denver Nuggets
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 19,155
- cost: $276,060,000
- cost Per Seat: $14,412
14Spectrum Center
- location: Charlotte, North Carolina
- team: Charlotte Hornets
- opened: 2005
- capacity: 19,077
- cost: $324,170,000
- cost Per Seat: $16,993
15Staples Center
- location: Los Angeles, California
- team: Los Angeles Lakers / Clippers
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 19,060
- cost: $553,600,000
- cost Per Seat: $29,045
16Amway Center
- location: Orlando, Florida
- team: Orlando Magic
- opened: 2010
- capacity: 18,846
- cost: $544,670,000
- cost Per Seat: $28,901
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17TD Garden
- location: Boston, Massachusetts
- team: Boston Celtics
- opened: 1995
- capacity: 18,624
- cost: $259,380,000
- cost Per Seat: $13,927
18Talking Stick Resort Arena
- location: Phoenix, Arizona
- team: Phoenix Suns
- opened: 1992
- capacity: 18,422
- cost: $249,710,000
- cost Per Seat: $13,555
19AT&T Center
- location: San Antonio, Texas
- team: San Antonio Spurs
- opened: 2002
- capacity: 18,418
- cost: $254,710,000
- cost Per Seat: $13,829
20Vivint Smart Home Arena
- location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- team: Utah Jazz
- opened: 1991
- capacity: 18,303
- cost: $168,010,000
- cost Per Seat: $9,179
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21Chesapeake Energy Arena
- location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- team: Oklahoma City Thunder
- opened: 2002
- capacity: 18,203
- cost: $122,970,000
- cost Per Seat: $6,755
22FedExForum
- location: Memphis, Tennessee
- team: Memphis Grizzlies
- opened: 2004
- capacity: 18,119
- cost: $327,000,000
- cost Per Seat: $18,047
23Philips Arena
- location: Atlanta, Georgia
- team: Atlanta Hawks
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 18,118
- cost: $316,690,000
- cost Per Seat: $17,479
24Toyota Center
- location: Houston, Texas
- team: Houston Rockets
- opened: 2003
- capacity: 18,055
- cost: $314,520,000
- cost Per Seat: $17,420
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25Bankers Life Fieldhouse
- location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- team: Indiana Pacers
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 17,923
- cost: $269,680,000
- cost Per Seat: $15,047
26Barclays Center
- location: Brooklyn, New York
- team: Brooklyn Nets
- opened: 2012
- capacity: 17,732
- cost: $1,075,910,000
- cost Per Seat: $60,676
27Golden 1 Center
- location: Sacramento, California
- team: Sacramento Kings
- opened: 2016
- capacity: 17,608
- cost: $574,470,000
- cost Per Seat: $32,626
28Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center
- location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- team: Milwaukee Bucks
- opened: 2018
- capacity: 17,500
- cost: $515,590,000
- cost Per Seat: $29,462
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29Smoothie King Center
- location: New Orleans, Louisiana
- team: New Orleans Pelicans
- opened: 1999
- capacity: 16,867
- cost: $168,300,000
- cost Per Seat: $9,978
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