War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas)

War Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is primarily used for football, and is the part-time home field of the University of Arkansas. It also hosts games involving Arkansas State University, the University of Central Arkansas or the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on occasion. The stadium additionally serves as the home field for Little Rock's Catholic High School for Boys' football team, the Rockets. War Memorial Stadium opened in 1948 and has a seating capacity of 53,727 people. The stadium is also used for concerts and other "large-venue" type operations.

During its 59-year existence, the facility has expanded from its original capacity of 31,000 to its current figure of 53,727.

A complete lighting system and an Astroturf surface were added for the 1970 season with a new artificial surface which followed in 1974. Ten years after that, another new layer of artificial turf was installed before a return to natural grass was made in 1994. A return to artificial surface was made in 2002, when AstroPlay was installed. Field Turf was installed in 2006.

A new scoreboard and video screen were added prior to the 2005 football season.

Stadium Facts

*Capacity: 53,727
*Attendance Record: 55,912 Arkansas vs. Alabama, 1992
*First Game/Dedication: September 18, 1948 (Arkansas 40, Abilene Christian 6)

Notable Football Games in War Memorial Stadiums History

*September 18, 1948 -- first game dedication -- Arkansas 40, Abilene Christian 6
*September 20, 1969 -- first game with lights -- Arkansas 39, Oklahoma State 0
*September 12, 1970 -- first game on Astroturf surface -- Stanford 34, Arkansas 28
*November 23, 1991 -- last Southwest Conference game -- Arkansas 20, Rice 0
*September 13, 1992 -- first Southeastern Conference game -- Alabama 38, Arkansas 11
*September 3, 1994 -- first game on new natural grass surface -- Arkansas 34, SMU 14
*February 11, 2000 -- UA Board of Trustees approves plan for games at War Memorial Stadium for at least 15 years
*November 29, 2002 -- "Miracle on Markham," final regular season game, earned Arkansas the SEC Western Division Championship and appearance in the SEC Championship Game, on a last-second touchdown pass from Matt Jones to Decori Birmingham. -- Arkansas 21, LSU 20

External links

* [http://www.state.ar.us/wms/ Official War Memorial Stadium Website]
* [http://www.hogcall.com/men/football/wms_seating.asp HogCall.com War Memorial Stadium Link]
* [http://www.razorbacklegacy.com/hog_archive/thumbnails.php?album=118 The Razorback Legacy - War Memorial Stadium Photos]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1+Stadium+Dr,+Little+Rock,+72205&ll=34.750173,-92.330389&spn=0.004346,0.007767&t=k&num=10&start=0&hl=en Google Maps Satellite Picture & Map of War Memorial Stadium]