Stanford Stadium
(capacity 50,000 as of 2006) is a stadium on the Stanford University campus. It was built in 1921 and is the present home for Stanford football.
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STANFORD STADIUM TICKETS
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History
Built partly in competition with the
University of California, Berkeley to see who could build a football stadium first, Stanford Stadium was built in four months and opened its gates on
November 19, 1921. 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. Finally, in 1927, 14 additional rows of seating were added.
Renovations in the mid 1920s increased the Stadium to its maximum capacity of 85,500, with 80 rows of seating. In 1960, a press box was added, while the first, and last
athletics track was installed in 1978.
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 XIX was held in Stanford Stadium, bringing a renovated press box, increased restroom facilities, and new locker rooms to the venue (in the game the Bay Area's own San Francisco 49ers defeated 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.
On October 22, 1989 a
San Francisco 49ers home game was played here 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 Hoover's acceptance speech for the 1928 Republican Presidential nomination, and international
soccer matches for the
1984 Los Angeles 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. Each event resulted in additional changes to the stadium, including a new press box and aluminum bench seating.
2005 renovation
In June 2005, the university Board of Trustees authorized plans for the stadium's extensive renovation that would both reduce its size 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 renovated stadium was set to be approximately 50,000 seats made by Ducharme Seating. Work began literally 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.
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 while sacrificing the ability to host large world-class events, such as the
FIFA World Cup or
NCAA Football Bowl Games in the future. This is 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.
On June 22, 2006, a construction worker fell to his death on site. Emergency personnel responded within 5 minutes, but were unable to revive the worker.
The renovated stadium was originally to make its debut in Stanford's game against
San José State on
September 9,
2006, but the game had to be relocated to
San Jose due to an unusually wet winter and resulting construction delays.
Renovated venue
The stadium opened on
September 16,
2006 with Stanford losing their first game in the new stadium to
Navy 37-9. Pre-game festivities included the following:
- Ceremonial "World's Largest Ribbon-Cutting", featuring a stadium-wide card stunt.
- Flyover by Navy Jet Aircraft
- Parachute Jumps by the Official U.S. Navy Parachute Team, the Leap Frogs
- Fireworks and other Pyrotechnics
One noticeable omission from the pregame festivities was the
Stanford Band, which was 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.
As of August 22, 2006, 75% of the Stadium's 50,000 seats were accounted for via season ticket sales, amounting to a 136% increase over the previous year's sales.
The current Stanford Stadium occupies 18.4 acres, with a footprint of ., a playing surface 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.
Image gallery