Roy Stewart Stadium
Encyclopedia
Roy Stewart Stadium is a 16,800-seat multi-purpose stadium
in Murray, Kentucky
. It opened in 1973 and is home to the Murray State University
Racers football
, rifle and women's track and field
teams. The stadium has the second largest seating capacity of any on-campus stadium in the Ohio Valley Conference
.
The seven-floor structure is named after Roy Stewart, a longtime Murray State football coach and athletics director. It features a FieldTurf
surface surrounded by a nine-lane track. Inside the stadium are athletic offices, locker rooms and meeting rooms for football and track and field, as well as a training room and weight room. The Pat Spurgin Rifle Range, site of seven NCAA championships, is located at the northern end of the second floor.
The Racers' first mascot, a racehorse named Violet Cactus, is buried at the stadium near the area where the current mascot, Racer 1, begins its trek around the football field before the beginning of each football game, and after each Racer touchdown.
by a score of 27-25. The stadium was official dedicated on September 9, 1974.
On April 9, 2007, a turf replacement project began to remove the existing turf and install a FieldTurf playing surface at the stadium. The new FieldTurf also allowed for the existing three percent grade on the field to be reduced to 0.5 percent. The rise in the middle of the field was lowered from 18 inches to three inches. The FieldTurf installation was completed in time for the Racers' 2007 home opener on September 15 against Lambuth University
. The improvement project also brought about new play clocks, new goal posts, and a new surface on the track.
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 Murray, Kentucky
Murray, Kentucky
Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,741 at the 2010 census and has a micropolitan area population of 37,191. It is the 22nd largest city in Kentucky...
. It opened in 1973 and is home to the Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
Racers football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, rifle and women's track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
teams. The stadium has the second largest seating capacity of any on-campus stadium in the Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
.
The seven-floor structure is named after Roy Stewart, a longtime Murray State football coach and athletics director. It features a FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
surface surrounded by a nine-lane track. Inside the stadium are athletic offices, locker rooms and meeting rooms for football and track and field, as well as a training room and weight room. The Pat Spurgin Rifle Range, site of seven NCAA championships, is located at the northern end of the second floor.
The Racers' first mascot, a racehorse named Violet Cactus, is buried at the stadium near the area where the current mascot, Racer 1, begins its trek around the football field before the beginning of each football game, and after each Racer touchdown.
History
From 1934 until 1972, Racer football played at Cutchin Football Stadium, which was at the location of the current soccer field. Cutchin Stadium was demolished in 1972 when construction began on a new football stadium to be located on the North end of campus, along US Highway 641. The Racers played their first football game in Roy Stewart Stadium in 1973, and earned a win over Western Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
by a score of 27-25. The stadium was official dedicated on September 9, 1974.
On April 9, 2007, a turf replacement project began to remove the existing turf and install a FieldTurf playing surface at the stadium. The new FieldTurf also allowed for the existing three percent grade on the field to be reduced to 0.5 percent. The rise in the middle of the field was lowered from 18 inches to three inches. The FieldTurf installation was completed in time for the Racers' 2007 home opener on September 15 against Lambuth University
Lambuth University
Lambuth University was a liberal arts university located in Jackson, Tennessee. It was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Lambuth's athletic teams participated in the NAIA's TranSouth and Mid-South Conferences...
. The improvement project also brought about new play clocks, new goal posts, and a new surface on the track.
Record football crowds
- 16,600, vs. Eastern Kentucky, Oct. 31, 1981 (L 20-24)
- 16,300, vs. Middle Tennessee State, Oct. 18, 1980 (W 38-6)
- 16,300, vs. Tennessee Tech, Sept. 26, 1981 (W 15-10)
- 16,000, vs. Eastern Kentucky, Oct. 27, 1979 (W 24-7)
- 15,800, vs. Western Kentucky, Nov. 22, 1980 (W 49-0)
- 15,711, vs. Eastern Kentucky, Nov. 4, 1995 (W 17-7)
- 15,500, vs. Youngstown State, Sept. 13, 1980 (W 24-6)
- 15,200, vs. Eastern Kentucky, Oct. 29, 1977 (W 24-20)
- 15,200, vs. Western Kentucky, Nov. 23, 1974 (W 9-7)
- 15,000, vs. Southeast Missouri State, Sept. 6, 1980 (W 19-6)