The Oldest Stadiums Around the Globe: A Complete Guide

Thomas Lord opened his first cricket ground in Dorset Square in 1787, moved it twice, and by 1814 had settled it onto the St John’s Wood site that still bears his name today. That’s over two centuries of continuous cricket on one patch of London ground, which puts most modern stadiums’ entire lifespans to shame. Lord’s isn’t alone either: Bramall Lane in Sheffield and The Oval in Kennington have both been hosting sport since the 19th century and show no signs of stopping.

Why Stadium Age Is Difficult to Define

It depends on what you mean by “oldest.” Some venues trace back to antiquity, like the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, first built around 330 BC and rebuilt for the 1896 Olympics. Others, like Lord’s, have simply occupied the same site since the early 1800s without the ancient pedigree. This list sticks to documented, historically verified venues that have hosted sport continuously or nearly so.

The Oldest Stadiums Still in Active Use

Stadium	Location	Opened / Est.	Primary Sport
Lord’s Cricket Ground	London, England	1814 (current site)	Cricket
The Oval (Kia Oval)	Kennington, London	1845	Cricket
Bramall Lane	Sheffield, England	1855	Football / Cricket
Estadio Nacional	Lima, Peru	1952 (rebuilt)	Football
Stadio Artemio Franchi	Florence, Italy	1931	Football
Panathenaic Stadium	Athens, Greece	Circa 330 BC (rebuilt 1896)	Athletics / Olympics

Lord’s Cricket Ground — The Home of Cricket Since 1814

The current ground, owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has sat on its St John’s Wood site since 1814, named for Thomas Lord, who first opened a ground in Dorset Square back in 1787 before relocating twice.

Lord’s still hosts Test matches, One Day Internationals, and major domestic fixtures every season. The Long Room, the Pavilion, and the famous slope across the pitch are the details that tie the modern game back to its 19th-century roots.

The Oval — Over 180 Years of Cricket

The Oval in Kennington opened in 1845 on the site of a former market garden. It became home to Surrey County Cricket Club and hosted the first Test match ever played in England, in 1880. Sponsors now call it the Kia Oval, but it’s still one of England’s two primary Test venues alongside Lord’s.

Bramall Lane — Football’s Oldest Major Ground

Bramall Lane opened in 1855 as a cricket ground, then hosted its first football match in 1862, the oldest football match for which written records exist. Sheffield United FC has played there since the club formed in 1889, and the ground remains the world’s oldest major football venue still hosting top-flight matches.

Current capacity sits around 32,000, and the ground stays in active use across the Premier League and Championship.

The Panathenaic Stadium — Ancient Origins, Modern Legacy

The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens was originally built around 330 BC under the statesman Lycurgus, for the ancient Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt entirely in Pentelic marble for the first modern Olympics in 1896, hosted the finish line of the 2004 Athens marathon, and still hosts ceremonial events and athletics today, more than two millennia after it was first raised.

Stadio Artemio Franchi — European Football’s Architectural Heritage

Completed in 1931 in Florence as the Stadio Giovanni Berta, the Stadio Artemio Franchi is one of the oldest football stadiums still in continuous use on the continent. Architect Pier Luigi Nervi’s design is now protected as a cultural heritage site, and it remains home to ACF Fiorentina.