Washington-Grizzly Stadium

. [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=11&Z=12&X=682&Y=12984&W=3&qs=%7cMissoula%7cMT%7c]

The stadium received its name after Montana construction magnate Dennis Washington donated $1 million to finance the stadium's construction in 1985. The stadium has been expanded three times since its opening in 1986, most recently an upper deck expansion of 2,000 seats was constructed on the east side of the stadium in time for the 2008 season.

The original seating capacity in 1986 was 12,500 permanent seats on the sidelines with grass seating behind the end zones, an approximate capacity of 15,000. Permanent seating for the end zones was installed in 1995, bringing the seating capacity to over 19,000. The most recent expansion brings the seating capacity to over 25,000.

SprinTurf was installed in 2001, replacing the natural grass. The video screen "GrizVision," was installed in 2002. At 26' × 36' (8 m × 11 m), it is the largest in a FCS football stadium. Before Washington-Grizzly Stadium opened, the Grizzlies played off-campus at "new" Dornblaser Field from 1968-86. Before that, Montana played on-campus at "old" Dornblaser Field from 1920-67 (both named for Paul Dornblaser, football captain in 1912). Prior to 1920, Montana played its home games at a field in downtown Missoula near the former "Missoulian" newspaper building.

The 5 largest crowds at Washington-Grizzly Stadium are:
# 25,326 vs. Central Washington, 2008
# 25,209 vs. U.C. Davis, 2008
# 25,056 vs. Southern Utah, 2008
# 24,018 vs. Montana State, 2006
# 23,867 vs. Montana State, 2004

Concerts

*June 20, 1998 — Pearl Jam kicked off their North American tour at a sold out Washington-Grizzly stadium.
*October 4, 2006 — The Rolling Stones played to a sold-out audience of more than 22,000 during a stop on their A Bigger Bang Tour.

External links

* [http://www.montanagrizzlies.com/content/facilities/wgs.htm#about Montana Grizzlies.com] - about Washington-Grizzly Stadium
* [http://www.egriz.com/washingtongrizzlystadium.php E Griz.com] - Message board for University of Montana Fans.
* [http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/montana/missoula_grizzly.shtml World Stadiums.com] - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
* [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=12&X=682&Y=12984&W=3&qs=%7cMissoula%7cMT%7c Terraserver.microsoft.com] - aerial photo (& USGS topo map) - UM campus