Robertson Stadium
Encyclopedia
John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

 in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

. It is the home of the Houston Cougars football
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...

 and women's soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 teams. The stadium also hosted home games for the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...

 of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

, which began play in the 2006 season.

The stadium hosted the Houston Oilers during the first five years of their existence from 1960 to 1964. On January 1, 1961, it hosted the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 Championship Game (for the 1960 title
American Football League playoffs
From 1960 to 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions ....

). The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers
1960 Los Angeles Chargers season
The 1960 Los Angeles Chargers season was the team's inaugural season. It was also the inaugural season of the American Football League. The team's only season in Los Angeles ended with a loss in the AFL Championship to the Houston Oilers.-Season schedule:...

 (24–16) to become the league's first champions. It was also the site for pro football's first ever double-overtime game on December 23, 1962. The Oilers lost to the Dallas Texans
1962 Dallas Texans season
The 1962 Dallas Texans season was the final season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise before its relocation to Kansas City, Missouri from Dallas, Texas....

 (20–17) in that year's AFL title game
American Football League playoffs
From 1960 to 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions ....

. This was the only overtime game in the 10-year history of the AFL.

As of 2006, the capacity of Robertson Stadium is 32,000. The stadium's record attendance in the current capacity was set at 32,119, when Houston hosted Texas State
Texas State Bobcats football
The Texas State Bobcats football program is a college football team that represents Texas State University-San Marcos. The team is currently categorized as an FCS Independent as it transitions to FBS. They will become a member of the FBS Western Athletic Conference as of July 1, 2012. The program...

 on September 4, 2010. That record was tied a week later when Houston hosted UTEP
UTEP Miners football
The UTEP Miners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Texas at El Paso . With a history dating back to 1914, UTEP currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of Conference USA . UTEP currently plays their home games at the Sun Bowl...

 on September 10, 2010. On November 19, 2011 Houston Hosted ESPN College Gameday and saw a record attendance of 32,207 to watch Houston take on SMU.

In June 2010, the University of Houston announced its intention to raze Robertson Stadium, and build a new stadium at the same site.

Planning and construction

In March 1940 the Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...

 (HISD) purchased the site for a stadium from the Settegast Estate for $75,550.16. Another 7 acres (28,328 m²) was acquired soon thereafter to bring the original site total to 59.7939 acres (241,977.5 m²). The area of land is now bound by Holman Street, Wheeler Street, Scott Street, and Cullen Boulevard.

The stadium was then constructed as a joint project between HISD and the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

 by the Fretz Construction Company. Named the "Public School Stadium", it was completed in 1942, and had a seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 of 20,500. Public School Fieldhouse
Jeppesen Gymnasium
Jeppesen Gymnasium, also known as Jeppesen Fieldhouse, was a multi-purpose sports facility on the campus of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. The facility was the first home to the Houston Cougars men's basketball team, and later home to the Cougars women's volleyball team...

 (later known as Jeppesen Gymnasium), a multi-purpose indoor arena which was constructed simultaneously, stood alongside. The stadium's first game was held before a crowd of 14,500 on September 18, 1942, when Houston's Lamar High School defeated Dallas' W. H. Adamson High School
W. H. Adamson High School
William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas . Adamson High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.- History :In 1891 the newly-incorporated...

 27–7.

Early years

HISD football games continued to be played at the stadium when the Houston Cougars football
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...

 team played their inaugural game in front of a crowd of 11,000 with Southwestern Louisiana (now known as Louisiana–Lafayette
Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football
The Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football program is a college football team that represents the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference.-Football classifications:*1937–1962: National Junior College Athletic Association...

). The University of Houston continued to host home football games there from 1946 to 1950 before moving to Houston Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....

 in 1951 and then to the Astrodome in 1965. Prior to the 1957 football season, HISD changed policy at the stadium to disallow any teams with black students to play there despite this being previously allowed without issue. In 1958, the school district renamed the stadium "Jeppesen Stadium" for school board member Holger Jeppesen, who had vigorously lobbied for its construction.
In 1960, the Houston Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

 began play as a charter member of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

, and arranged to lease the stadium from HISD as their home stadium. The team was owned by Bud Adams
Bud Adams
Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. is the owner of the Tennessee Titans' National Football League franchise. He was instrumental in the founding and establishment of the former American Football League. Adams became a charter AFL owner with the establishment of the Titans franchise, which was...

, a wealthy Houston oilman who upgraded Jeppesen Stadium for professional football use. Part of Adams' upgrades were expanding the seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 to 36,000. This allowed for the largest attendance for the stadium ever of 37,981 when the Dallas Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

 competed against the Oilers on December 23, 1962 for that year's AFL title game. At this time HISD continued its use of the stadium with an average of ten games per week. Making national headlines, the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...

 protested HISD's segregation policy in 1961, and formally asked players from the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 to refuse to play the Houston Oilers at Jeppesen Stadium in a regular-season game. The Oilers remained at Jeppesen until 1964, when they moved into Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....

.

In 1966, the University of Houston developed a master plan that emphasized the acquisition of the stadium.

Renovations and current use

Corbin J. Robertson, former UH Board of Regents member and Athletics Committee Chairman, funded its renovation in 1970, and the stadium was bought for $6.8 million USD by the University of Houston. In 1980, it was renamed "Robertson Stadium" in his honor.
Beginning with the 1994 season, the Houston Cougars football team began splitting their home schedule with the Astrodome and Robertson Stadium. The University of Houston ended its lease agreement to hold home football games at the Astrodome before the 1998 season, moving the entire home slate of games back to Robertson Stadium on campus for the first time since 1949. In 1996, adjacent Jeppesen Gymnasium
Jeppesen Gymnasium
Jeppesen Gymnasium, also known as Jeppesen Fieldhouse, was a multi-purpose sports facility on the campus of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. The facility was the first home to the Houston Cougars men's basketball team, and later home to the Cougars women's volleyball team...

, in need of heavy renovations, was demolished to make way for a new scoreboard. The stadium was heavily renovated in 1999 to bring it up to NCAA Division I-A (now Division I FBS) standards for football venues. The playing surface was lowered nine feet and the running track eliminated to facilitate the addition of new seating on the sidelines and end zones. A total of twenty luxury suites were also constructed above both sides of the stadium. The playing field itself was named in honor of Houston attorney John O'Quinn
John O'Quinn
John Maurice O'Quinn was a Texas trial lawyer and founding partner of The O'Quinn Law Firm . His firm made its business handling plaintiff's litigation, including representing clients suing breast implant manufacturers, medical facilities, and tobacco companies...

, a donor to the project, thus modifying its official name to "John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium".Rodney Griffin was the first official groundskeeper of the facility.
On August 2, 2002, the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 competed against each other in a scrimmage
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

 at Robertson Stadium. It was the first public game for the Texans, which were an expansion team to the league.

Several improvements were made in 2006 thanks in part to a $1.7 million donation from the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...

. The lighting system was upgraded and a new scoreboard and a Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....

 Vidiwall video screen was added. This was completed in August 2006 despite the fact that Houston Dynamo plans to vacate the stadium for their own soccer-specific stadium within the next three years.

With its current seating, the largest attendance for a single game at Robertson Stadium was set at 32,207, when Houston defeated Southern Methodist University
SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs is the name of the athletic teams representing Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of Conference USA. In 2005, SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA, and left the Western Athletic Conference...

 on November 19, 2011. It was also the first time ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 came to Houston to host College GameDay. Prior to this, the record was 32,119, set on September 4, 2010 when the Cougars beat Texas State
Texas State Bobcats football
The Texas State Bobcats football program is a college football team that represents Texas State University-San Marcos. The team is currently categorized as an FCS Independent as it transitions to FBS. They will become a member of the FBS Western Athletic Conference as of July 1, 2012. The program...

.

The university hired the architecture firm of Leo A. Daly to assess the stadium and develop a plan for the long-term improvement of the facility. Plans were proposed to replace the end zone sections with an integrated bowl and add an upper deck that would increase capacity to 50,000, but with the athletic department changing leadership, a new feasibility study was conducted instead. This study, conducted by AECOM
AECOM
AECOM Technology Corporation is a professional technical and management support services firm. The company is ranked as the number one design firm for 2010 and 2011 by Engineering News-Record and number one by Architectural Record. It provides services in the areas of transportation, planning,...

 for four months, was concluded in June 2010 with an announcement by the university to raze Robertson Stadium, and rebuild a new stadium at the location.

Events hosted

The 1960 AFL Championship game
1960 American Football League Championship Game
The 1960 American Football League Championship Game was the first AFL title game. The game was played on New Year's Day 1961 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas.-Background:...

 and 1962 AFL Championship game
1962 American Football League Championship Game
The 1962 American Football League Championship Game was played at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 23, 1962.-Background:The day saw the Eastern Division's 11-3 Houston Oilers in the title game for their third straight year, against the West's Dallas Texans, also at 11-3...

 were played at Robertson Stadium by the Oilers against the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Texans
1962 Dallas Texans season
The 1962 Dallas Texans season was the final season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise before its relocation to Kansas City, Missouri from Dallas, Texas....

 respectively. On January 16, 1965, the 1964 AFL All-Star game was also held there.

The 1983 NCAA Track & Field Championship
NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship
The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...

 was held at Robertson Stadium prior to the removal of the track.

On December 1, 2006, the stadium was host to the Conference USA Football Championship
2006 Conference USA Football Championship Game
The 2006 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2006 at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas to determine the 2006 football champion of the Conference USA . The game featured the , the East Division champions, and the Houston Cougars, the West Division champions...

, and on November 10, 2007, the Dynamo defeated the Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

 in the 2007 MLS Western Conference final
2007 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs was the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2007 season, and it concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C....

. On January 19, 2008, the 83rd and 84th annual East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...

 was played at Robertson Stadium. On March 8, 2008, the stadium hosted the inaugural Space City Classic, a Houston-area high school all-star game.

In 1972, ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

, The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...

 & Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

 performed at Robertson Stadium, in addition to The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...

, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young & The Allman Brothers in 1974.

Other concerts held at the stadium include Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

 during their In The Flesh Tour
Pink Floyd In The Flesh Tour 1977
The In the Flesh Tour, also known as "Animals Tour", was a concert tour by the English rock band Pink Floyd in support of their album Animals. It was divided in two legs, one in Europe and another in North America. It was the last time Pink Floyd performed a major worldwide tour with Roger Waters...

 & Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

 in 1980.

External links

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