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Quidditch World Cup Stadium

From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

    In GoF, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley attend the 422nd International Quidditch World Cup. Below are some excerpts and quotes from book four that describe the extravagant stadium the Quidditch match took place in.

    They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Harry could see only a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, he could tell that ten cathedrals could fit comfortably inside it.
    “Seats a hundred thousand,” said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck look no Harry’s face. “Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Anytime Muggles have gotten anywhere near here all year, they’ve suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again… bless them,” he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards.
    “Prime seats!” said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. “Top box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go.”
    The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered toward the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through the doors to the stands to their left and right. Mr. Weasley’s party kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, and Harry, filing into the front seats with the Weasleys, looked down upon a scene the likes of which he could never have imagined.
    A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Harry’s eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant’s hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again; watching it, Harry saw that it was flashing advertisements across the field.