Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How many people did the rebuilt Panathenaic Stadium seat in 1896?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Stadium
Aerial view of Michigan Stadium, home to the gridiron football team of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The rebuilt Panathenaic Stadium seated as many as 80,000 people for the 1896 Olympic Games.12
While the ancient stadium, as rebuilt by Herodes Atticus in the 2nd century CE, accommodated approximately 50,000 spectators, the 1895 reconstruction project—financed by George Averoff and designed by architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller—significantly expanded the capacity to 80,000 to host the modern inaugural Games.12