Amphitheatre planner
Build an arena with tiered seating around it: an oval like the Colosseum, a Greek or Roman theatre, or a circus for chariot races. Choose the size of the arena, the number of rows and how steeply they rise. The tool works out every row, with aisles, walkways, a podium and an outer wall with arches.
A wall around the arena. The first row starts on top of it. 0 = no podium.
A flat walkway between the rows (praecinctio). 0 = none.
Cross-section through the middle
This shows how the rows rise. Stairs have their high side facing out. Click a layer to view it below.
Plan view
Build breakdown
Row by row, from the inside out
| Row | Distance s | Size | Layer | Seats |
|---|
Per layer, from top to bottom
Click a layer to view it.
| Layer | Blocks | Stairs | Slabs | Total |
|---|
Build tips
- First mark the middle and the two axes with a line of blocks. All sizes in the tool count from that middle block.
- Build the arena floor and the podium wall all the way round first. Then lay the stairs on top row by row, from the inside out.
- Place stairs while standing with your back to the arena. That puts the high side outwards, so from the seat you look at the middle.
- Leave the aisles open until a row is done. That way you see straight away whether the steps line up from row to row.
- With Under the seats set to Thin or Nothing you keep room for corridors and cellars under the stands, like in the real Colosseum.
- A big oval costs a lot of blocks. In the block palette, choose for example Sandstone for the seats and Stone Bricks for the walls.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or rebuild it from a hologram in Litematica. The seats face the arena.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
The Greek theatre
The Greeks built their theatres against a hill. The rows of seats formed a half circle around a round floor, the orchestra, where the chorus sang and danced.
The theatre of Epidaurus from the fourth century BC is famous for its sound. From the top row you can still hear a quiet word spoken on the stage.
From theatre to amphitheatre
The Romans copied the theatre, but built it as one stone structure with a high stage wall: the scaenae frons. This gave the horseshoe shape, as at Aspendos in Turkey.
For fights and animal shows they joined two half theatres together. The result was an oval with seats all around: the amphitheatre. The word means roughly 'viewing place on all sides'.
What was it for?
In the amphitheatre gladiators fought and wild animals were shown. Entry was often free, because rich Romans and emperors paid for the games to become popular.
People sat in order of rank. Senators sat at the front, ordinary people and women higher up. According to Roman writers, the arena was sometimes flooded for a staged sea battle, called a naumachia.
How was the Colosseum built?
The Colosseum has an outer wall of travertine with three levels of arches and a closed top floor. Inside, vaults of concrete and brick carry the sloping stands.
Flat walkways ran between the rows, and many stairs and corridors brought people to their seats quickly. Under the floor was a basement with corridors and lifts for animals and scenery.
On top stood masts for a large sun cover, the velarium. Sailors from the navy helped to put it up.
The circus for chariot races
A circus was a long race track with straight sides and round ends. In the middle was a low wall, the spina, with statues and obelisks.
The Circus Maximus in Rome was the largest. It held far more than one hundred thousand people. Two obelisks that once stood there now stand on squares elsewhere in Rome.
Where can you still see them?
The Colosseum in Rome is the best known example. The arena of Verona is used for opera every summer. In Nîmes and Arles in France the arenas are still used for shows.
The amphitheatre of Pompeii, from about 70 BC, is the oldest surviving stone amphitheatre. Modern stadiums still use the same shape with rising rings of seats.
Did you know?
- The Colosseum was opened in the year 80 by Emperor Titus.
- The real name of the Colosseum is the Flavian Amphitheatre, after the family of the emperors who had it built.
- The Colosseum is about 189 metres long and 156 metres wide.
- The Colosseum is estimated to have held about 50,000 spectators.
- Operas have been performed in the arena of Verona since 1913.
- The theatre of Epidaurus had room for about 14,000 people.
About this tool
With this Minecraft amphitheatre generator you design an arena with stands around it. You choose the shape: round, oval like the Colosseum, half round like a Greek theatre, a Roman horseshoe, or a circus with straight sides for chariot races. Examples include the Colosseum, the arena of Verona, Epidaurus, Aspendos, the Circus Maximus, a modern stadium and a small village arena.
You set the long and short radius of the arena, the number of seat rows and how steeply they rise. The tool calculates every row with stairs as seats. You can add aisles with steps, flat walkways between the rows, a podium wall, a stage building, a spina with an obelisk and an outer wall with arches. The arena floor can be sand, grass, stone or even water.
The cross section shows how the rows rise. The plan per layer shows where every stair and slab goes, and the table counts the seats in each row. In the 3D preview you see the whole arena. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of your progress.
With the block palette you can choose, for example, sandstone for the seats and stone bricks for the walls. The materials counter gives the number of blocks, stairs and slabs. You paste the .schem file into your world with WorldEdit or Litematica.
Useful if you want to build a Minecraft Colosseum, an arena for PvP or minigames, or a theatre for your town. For single arches and columns you can also use the arch planner and the columns tool.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build the Colosseum in Minecraft?
Choose the Colosseum example. First mark the centre and the two axes, because all sizes count from that block. Build the floor and the podium wall, then place the stairs row by row from the inside out, and finish with the outer wall with arches.
Which way should the stairs face?
The high side of the stair must face outward, so you look at the arena from the seat. Place each stair while you stand with your back to the arena.
How many spectators fit in my arena?
The tool counts the seats and shows the number at the top. Every stair in a row is one seat. The table per row shows how many seats each row has.
Can I keep space under the stands?
Yes. Set Under the seats to Thin or Nothing. That leaves room for corridors, cellars or shops under the stands, like in the real Colosseum.
Can I make an arena filled with water?
Yes, choose Water as the arena floor, or pick the Naumachia example. Make sure the podium wall is closed all around, or the water will flow out.
Does this work in Bedrock?
You can follow the layer plan in any version. The .schem file is for Java Edition with WorldEdit or Litematica.