What is Alabama's stadium capacity? Exploring the Bryant Denny Stadium and its storied history

Alabama's stadium capacity whenever they play at the Bryant-Denny Stadium is beyond words. If you Google some pictures of it, you will know what we are talking about. No wonder the home field of the Crimson Tide is one of the toughest stadiums to play on in college football.

This article looks back at the history of the Bryant-Denny Stadium. We'll explore when it first opened its doors, how big it's gotten over the years, and how successful Alabama has been within its walls. With that being said, let's begin.

What is Alabama's stadium capacity?

As of 2023, Bryant-Denny Stadium's official seating capacity is 101,821. It is the seventh-largest college football stadium (or stadium, in general) in the United States, according to the NCAA themselves. It is also one of only eight total stadiums in the nation with seating capacities of over 100,000 people, which gives it another major distinction.

But it wasn't always this big, as with anything. When the Bryant-Denny Stadium (then known as just Denny Stadium) first opened in 1929, its seating capacity was a relatively meager 12,000, according to BryantMuseum.com. The first game on the field saw the Crimson Tide beat Mississippi College in a shutout, 55-0. Eventually, the stadium would be officially dedicated later that year when Alabama beat Ole Miss, 22-7.

Getting bigger

By the 1930s, the Denny Stadium already doubled its seating capacity to 24,000. By 1946, the seating had grown to 31,000, the largest it's ever been at the time. The increasing fan following for the Crimson Tide just saw the stadium's capacity grow even bigger over the decades.

A total of three renovations and the seating capacity was bumped up to over 70,000. That was in 1988, thirteen years after the former Denny Stadium was finally named Bryant-Denny Stadium in honor of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant (via CollegeGridirons). By the '90s, the seating capacity increased once more to 83,000, and then the mid-2010s saw it balloon to the 101,821 seating capacity it has today.

How successful has Alabama been at Bryant-Denny?

All those fans screaming and chanting have to count for something in terms of football success, right? Well, that certainly has been the case with the Crimson Tide over the years.

Since 1929, Alabama has held an insane 244-50-3 record at Bryant-Denny. That's a sky-high .827 win percentage which is a feat in itself. But during the Nick Saban era, things just got even crazier. That's because Saban barely loses in Tuscaloosa. His record? 103-8. The Crimson Tide has also won 52 of its last 54 games at home since 2015, culminating in an unreal 96% winning percentage.

Safe to say, anyone who tries to come out of Bryant-Denny with a win will likely fail, unless they have major tricks up their sleeves.