Stanford Stadium
Encyclopedia
Stanford Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium
on the Stanford University
campus, the home of Stanford Cardinal
college football
team. It originally opened in 1921 as a football
and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame. Its original seating capacity
was 60,000, which grew to 85,500 by 1927 as a nearly-enclosed bowl. Immediately following the 2005
season, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt as a dual-deck concrete structure, without a track.
to see who could build a football stadium first, Stanford Stadium was built in four months and opened its gates on November 19, 1921, replacing Stanford Field
. The first game was against California
, who defeated Stanford 42-7. Seating capacity
was originally 60,000, with a 66-row, U-Shaped structure second only to the Yale Bowl
in size at the time. In 1925, 10,200 seats were added to the stadium, nearly enclosing the horseshoe while still keeping the overall height of the facility intact. In 1927 14 additional rows of seating were added, increasing the stadium to its maximum capacity of 85,500, with 80 rows of seating.
In 1935, Stanford Stadium set a record for single-game attendance, with 94,000 spectators filling the Stadium for a 13-0 victory over Cal.
was held in Stanford Stadium, with the Bay Area's own San Francisco 49ers
defeating the Miami Dolphins
38–16. Stanford Stadium is one of two venues (the Rose Bowl
being the other) to host a Super Bowl without previously serving as the home stadium of an NFL
or AFL
team. As of 2011, Super Bowl XIX is the only Super Bowl where the host region saw their team win.
On October 22, 1989
, a San Francisco 49ers
home game was played here (against the New England Patriots
) due to damage suffered to Candlestick Park following the Loma Prieta earthquake.
's acceptance speech for the 1928 Republican Presidential nomination, and international football
matches for the 1984 Summer Olympics
(as one of three venues outside Southern California for that Olympiad), the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup
. The stadium also hosted the 1962 version of the long-running (1958–1985) series of track meets between the United States and the Soviet Union.
track was installed in 1978 (replacing the dirt track that had been used for many years).
In 1985, prior to Super Bowl XIX
, the press box was renovated, new locker rooms were installed, a ticket complex and dressing room for game officials were added, and the number of restrooms were increased.
In 1994, prior to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the lower level of the press box was expanded and aluminum benches were installed throughout the stadium. The crown of the playing surface was also reduced.
In 1995, a $10 million gift from Los Angeles insurance executive and 1935 Stanford graduate Louis W. Foster enabled further updates to the stadium, including widening the concourse, improving the restrooms, and replacing the remaining wooden seats. In honor of his gift, Stanford named the playing surface the Lewis W. Foster Family Field at Stanford Stadium.
In June 2005, the university Board of Trustees authorized plans for the stadium's demolition and reconstruction that would remove the track, reduce the stadium capacity, and bring it up to date with present standards for sporting venues. Various justifications for the renovation included poor sightlines in the existing stadium (rendering the bottom 14 rows unusable), long stairways, and lack of adequate restroom facilities. The track around the stadium had previously created a large distance between the field and the spectators.
The capacity of the new stadium was set to be approximately 50,000 seats made by Ducharme Seating. The reduction in capacity was a strategic decision by Stanford's Athletics Program to boost season ticket sales and create a more intimate playing atmosphere without sacrificing the ability to host large world-class events, such as the FIFA World Cup
or NCAA Football Bowl Games in the future. This was partially the result of San Francisco's failure to secure a bid for the 2012 Olympics, which would have featured a renovated Stanford Stadium as the main Olympic Venue.
Construction began minutes after the Cardinal's last home game of the 2005
football season, a close loss to Notre Dame
on November 26. Bulldozers began tearing out the natural field turf in a ceremony held while attendees were still in the stadium for the game. Construction proceeded quickly through the winter and spring with the goal of opening in time for Stanford's game against San Jose State
on September 9, 2006, but the game had to be relocated to San Jose State's
Spartan Stadium
due to an unusually wet winter and resulting construction delays. In the summer of 2006, a construction worker fell 23 feet (7 m) to his death.
The stadium opened on September 16, 2006 with Stanford losing to Navy
37-9. The Stanford Band
was not present at the stadium opening since they were not permitted to play at any athletic events in the month of September due to accusations of vandalism to a temporary trailer which formerly served as their rehearsal facility. Instead, the Navy band performed at halftime and played throughout the game.
The facility occupies 18.4 acres (74,462.2 m²), with a footprint of 601128 sq ft (55,846.6 m²)., a playing surface 29 feet (8.8 m) below ground level, and is now a rectangle shape stadium. The stadium has 43 rows on the sides, 22 rows on the endzones, and 30 rows below the skybox. The skybox also has 437 spectator seats, more than double the number of the previous press box.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
on the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
campus, the home of Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team. It originally opened in 1921 as a football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame. Its original 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...
was 60,000, which grew to 85,500 by 1927 as a nearly-enclosed bowl. Immediately following the 2005
2005 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the least amount of controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series title game in many years.To an extent it was a return to classic football...
season, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt as a dual-deck concrete structure, without a track.
Early history
Built partly in competition with the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
to see who could build a football stadium first, Stanford Stadium was built in four months and opened its gates on November 19, 1921, replacing Stanford Field
Stanford Field
Stanford Field was an outdoor football stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It served as the home field for the Stanford football and rugby teams from 1905 to 1921....
. The first game was against California
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
, who defeated Stanford 42-7. 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...
was originally 60,000, with a 66-row, U-Shaped structure second only to the Yale Bowl
Yale Bowl
The Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...
in size at the time. In 1925, 10,200 seats were added to the stadium, nearly enclosing the horseshoe while still keeping the overall height of the facility intact. In 1927 14 additional rows of seating were added, increasing the stadium to its maximum capacity of 85,500, with 80 rows of seating.
In 1935, Stanford Stadium set a record for single-game attendance, with 94,000 spectators filling the Stadium for a 13-0 victory over Cal.
NFL
In January 1985, Super Bowl XIXSuper Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
was held in Stanford Stadium, with the Bay Area's own San Francisco 49ers
1984 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1984 San Francisco 49ers season was their 39th season in the National Football League. The season was highlighted by their second Super Bowl victory. The franchise had their best season ever with a record of 15 wins and only 1 loss...
defeating the Miami Dolphins
1984 Miami Dolphins season
1984 was the 18th season in football for the Miami Dolphins and the fifteenth for coach Don Shula with the club. The Dolphins sought to build on a spectacular 1983 season where they went 12–4 with rookie quarterback Dan Marino only to be upended by the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs...
38–16. Stanford Stadium is one of two venues (the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
being the other) to host a Super Bowl without previously serving as the home stadium of an NFL
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...
or AFL
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...
team. As of 2011, Super Bowl XIX is the only Super Bowl where the host region saw their team win.
On October 22, 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
, a San Francisco 49ers
1989 San Francisco 49ers season
The San Francisco 49ers 1989 season was their 44th season in the National Football League. Joe Montana and the 49ers franchise cemented their reputation as the best team of the decade...
home game was played here (against the New England Patriots
1989 New England Patriots season
The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1989 season with a record of five wins and eleven losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:-Roster:...
) due to damage suffered to Candlestick Park following the Loma Prieta earthquake.
Non-football events
Other high profile events hosted at Stanford Stadium include Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
's acceptance speech for the 1928 Republican Presidential nomination, and international football
Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics
The football tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics started on July 29 and ended on August 11. It featured only a men's tournament, as women's football had yet to become an Olympic event. It was the first Olympic football competition in which professionals were allowed...
matches for the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
(as one of three venues outside Southern California for that Olympiad), the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup 1999
-Teams:16 teams participated in the final tournament. The teams were:-Squads:For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.-Match officials:...
. The stadium also hosted the 1962 version of the long-running (1958–1985) series of track meets between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Modern renovations
The stadium has gone a number of significant renovations since the 1920s. In 1960, a press box was added, while the first, and last synthetic athleticsAthletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
track was installed in 1978 (replacing the dirt track that had been used for many years).
In 1985, prior to Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
, the press box was renovated, new locker rooms were installed, a ticket complex and dressing room for game officials were added, and the number of restrooms were increased.
In 1994, prior to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the lower level of the press box was expanded and aluminum benches were installed throughout the stadium. The crown of the playing surface was also reduced.
In 1995, a $10 million gift from Los Angeles insurance executive and 1935 Stanford graduate Louis W. Foster enabled further updates to the stadium, including widening the concourse, improving the restrooms, and replacing the remaining wooden seats. In honor of his gift, Stanford named the playing surface the Lewis W. Foster Family Field at Stanford Stadium.
2005-2006 demolition and reconstruction
The capacity of the new stadium was set to be approximately 50,000 seats made by Ducharme Seating. The reduction in capacity was a strategic decision by Stanford's Athletics Program to boost season ticket sales and create a more intimate playing atmosphere without sacrificing the ability to host large world-class events, such as the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
or NCAA Football Bowl Games in the future. This was partially the result of San Francisco's failure to secure a bid for the 2012 Olympics, which would have featured a renovated Stanford Stadium as the main Olympic Venue.
Construction began minutes after the Cardinal's last home game of the 2005
2005 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the least amount of controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series title game in many years.To an extent it was a return to classic football...
football season, a close loss to Notre Dame
2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was a college football team who represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis in his first year as head coach, and played their home games at Notre Dame Stadium...
on November 26. Bulldozers began tearing out the natural field turf in a ceremony held while attendees were still in the stadium for the game. Construction proceeded quickly through the winter and spring with the goal of opening in time for Stanford's game against San Jose State
San José State Spartans Football
The San Jose State Spartans represent San Jose State University and the Silicon Valley in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Spartans play all home games in Spartan Stadium, which offers a seating capacity of over 30,000...
on September 9, 2006, but the game had to be relocated to San Jose State's
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
Spartan Stadium
Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
Spartan Stadium, located in San Jose, California, is the official stadium of the San José State University Spartans athletics teams. It is currently the home of the Spartan football and soccer teams....
due to an unusually wet winter and resulting construction delays. In the summer of 2006, a construction worker fell 23 feet (7 m) to his death.
The stadium opened on September 16, 2006 with Stanford losing to Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
37-9. The Stanford Band
Stanford Band
The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band is the student marching band of Stanford University. Billing itself as "The World's Largest Rock and Roll Band", the Stanford Band performs at sporting events, student activities, and other functions...
was not present at the stadium opening since they were not permitted to play at any athletic events in the month of September due to accusations of vandalism to a temporary trailer which formerly served as their rehearsal facility. Instead, the Navy band performed at halftime and played throughout the game.
The facility occupies 18.4 acres (74,462.2 m²), with a footprint of 601128 sq ft (55,846.6 m²)., a playing surface 29 feet (8.8 m) below ground level, and is now a rectangle shape stadium. The stadium has 43 rows on the sides, 22 rows on the endzones, and 30 rows below the skybox. The skybox also has 437 spectator seats, more than double the number of the previous press box.
External links
- Stanford Cardinal: Stanford Stadium - official athletics site
- Oblique aerial photographs of Stanford Stadium