1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Stadium

STADIUM, the Latin form of this Greek name for a standard of length, a stade=100 ὀργυιαί (about 6 ft., or 1 fathom) = 6 πλέθρα (100 Gr. about 101 Eng. ft.), equivalent to about 606 Eng. ft.; as being about one-eighth of the Roman mile, it is often translated by “furlong.” The course for the foot-race at Olympia (q.v.) was exactly a stade in length, and hence the name was given to the Greek foot-race and to the amphitheatre in which the races took place (see Games, Classical).