Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium

For other uses, see Alumni Stadium (disambiguation)

Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Location	1 University Drive Amherst, Massachusetts 01003
Coordinates	42°22′38.30″N 72°32′9.67″W / 42.377306°N 72.5360194°W / 42.377306; -72.5360194Coordinates: 42°22′38.30″N 72°32′9.67″W / 42.377306°N 72.5360194°W / 42.377306; -72.5360194
Opened	September 25, 1965
Owner	University of Massachusetts Amherst
Operator	University of Massachusetts Amherst
Surface	Field Turf
Construction cost	$1.4 million[1]
Architect	Gordon Bunshaft[2]
Capacity	17,000
Tenants
UMass Minutemen (NCAA) (1965-Present)

Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Home to the UMass Minutemen football team through the 2011 season, and also home to the UMass Minutewomen lacrosse team and the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band, the stadium is named for Warren P. McGuirk, who was the UMass Athletic Director from 1948 to 1971. Although it is located within the University's campus, which is almost entirely in Amherst, the stadium itself lies just across the border in Hadley.

History

The stadium hosted its first game on September 25, 1965, with UMass beating American International College, 41-0. The stadium was officially dedicated on October 16, 1965, when UMass defeated Rhode Island 30-7 in a Homecoming contest. The most recent sellout at the stadium was on December 2, 2006 with UMass defeating New Hampshire, 24-17. The stadium is also the site of UMass Amherst graduation ceremonies, and hosted the 1987 NCAA women’s soccer championship. On Friday April 10, 2009, an Amherst resident fell from the stadium in what police believe was a suicide.

However, the football team is now set to vacate McGuirk Stadium after the 2011 season. For several years, UMass considered making a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). McGuirk Stadium's current capacity is only modestly above the NCAA's requirement of 15,000 average attendance for FBS membership. This would require that UMass expand McGuirk Stadium's seating capacity, build a new facility, or move to a larger stadium in the region. On April 20, 2011, UMass officially announced that the Minutemen football team will move from the FCS Colonial Athletic Association to the FBS Mid-American Conference. As part of the FBS upgrade, the Minutemen are expected to move to the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, 93 miles (150 km) away.^[3] This move is expected to be temporary, lasting until renovations to McGuirk Stadium are completed.

The plaza on the east side of the stadium behind the ticket gates, MinuteFan Park, hosts food and souvenir vendors and other exhibitors on game days.

Improvements

McGuirk Stadium's permanent lights, installed August 2008.

A Field Turf playing surface was installed in McGuirk Stadium for the 2006 football season. Lights were installed in the stadium for the 2008 football season, permitting UMass to play night games at home on a regular basis. The first game played under the permanent lights was the season opener on August 30, 2008, with UMass beating Albany 28-16.

A video scoreboard was installed during the 2009 season.

Future

On April 20, 2011 the school officially accepted an invitation to become a football-only member of the Division I FBS Mid-American Conference. Further, the 2011 season would be the last at McGuirk Stadium before a major renovation project. For the 2012 and 2013 seasons the Minutemen will play all of their home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.^[4] During this time period plans are in place to upgrade McGuirk Stadium to adequate FBS conditions. Stadium seating is to be increased to about 25,000 seats with more seats being added to the sidelines as well as seating additions to the south end of the stadium. The north end will have a new training facility and locker rooms added, and the press box will be elevated to 2 levels with more TV/radio booths as well as Luxury Suites being added.^[5]

The cost of this construction is estimated at $20,000,000 and is expected to be completed in time for the 2014 season. The deal with Gillette Stadium calls for UMass to play at least 4 games per year at the stadium from 2014-2016 which would leave open the possibility for 1-2 games per season during those years to be played on campus at McGuirk Stadium. One of the main reasons for the possibility of games during that period at McGuirk is that the current Mid American Conference TV contract with ESPN typically schedules a handful of MAC games to be played on Tuesday nights in October and November. The thought process is that if UMass were scheduled a home matchup for one of the weeknight games the game could be played on campus thus negating the need to bus students to and from Gillette Stadium late at night on a school night.

The McGuirk renovation project took a big step toward completion, when the UMass Trustees approved a five year 3.1 Billion dollar capital plan. Included in the plan is 30 million dollars to be spent renovating the stadium as part of the transition to FBS football play.^[6]

References

1. ^ http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/942702502.html?dids=942702502:942702502&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+26%2C+1965&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=UMass+Rocks+AIC&pqatl=google
2. ^ http://football.ballparks.com/NCAA/Atlantic10/Massachusetts/index.htm
3. ^ Associated Press (April 19, 2011). "Report: UMass to announce MAC move". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6390279. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
4. ^ http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/04/21/import-no-headline-0
5. ^ Chimells, Ron (April 23, 2011). "UMass football could play on campus again, but not before 2014". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/umass_football_could_play_on_c.html. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/sports/umass/umass-spending-$30-million-on-football

External links

• UMass Football Thinks Big
• UMass Athletic Facilities