The stadium stretches to the southwest of the theatre. Its construction coincided with the second construction phase of the Theatre, in the early 2^nd c. B.C., when the Epirote league’s Naia games became stephanite (wreath-bearing) panhellenic games. In a choice not often seen among ancient stadia, the one at Dodona has stone seats. Only a small section near the sphendone (the rounded end) that borders the theatre has been excavated to date. Each side consisted of twenty-two rows of stone edolia. Narrow staircases positioned at regular intervals provided access to the seats (archaeologists have covered them again after excavation to protect them from the elements). The stadium also had a stone gutter to help drain away rainwater, with small stone basins placed at intervals to aid in the process. But these basins concurrently served another purpose: athletes could use them to wash. The stadium was constructed within the context of a wider effort to transform and expand the Dodona Sanctuary and its surroundings. This building program was initiated in the late 3^rd c. B.C.

At Dodona, the stadium was the home venue for the Naia games, a local celebration in honour of Zeus Naios, which we know about primarily thanks to inscriptional findings. The Naia were held once every four years and were a mostly local affair, with athletes from the tribes of Epirus competing for prizes that could, on occasion, include cash (chrimatite competitions). During the Epirote golden age, the Naia games became panhellenic as attested by their inclusion in the list of the most prominent competitions of antiquity, side by side with the Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian and Nemean games.

As for what the games entailed, participants would compete in theatrical competitions, recitations of rhapsodies and musical performances, as well as gymnastics and equestrian competitions. The gymnastics in particular encompassed ephebe and adult wrestling, boxing, pankration as well as pentathlon. The prize? A wreath of oak leaves from the sacred oath, related to the cult of Zeus at Dodone.