Memorial Stadium (Texas A&M-Commerce)

Texas A&M Commerce Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Commerce, Texas. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Texas A&M University–Commerce Lion Football and Men's and Women's Track and Field teams as well as for Commerce High School Tiger football teams in the Commerce Independent School District.

Stadium History

The stadium opened in 1950 as Commerce Memorial Stadium, then just became Memorial Stadium in honor of World War I and World War II veterans. The dedication ceremony featured U.S. Speaker of the House and Texas A&M-Commerce Alumnus Sam Rayburn and former Texas lieutenant governor Walter Woodul. General Douglas MacArthur, while not in attendance, wrote to then University President James Gee that "I am delighted and honored," to have his quotation affixed to the plaque honoring the Lions fallen comrades. That quote, also chiseled on the stadium at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, is a famous one:

"Upon the fields of friendly strife, Are sown the seeds that, Upon other fields, on other days, Will bear the fruits of victory."

Games played and Stadium History

The first game played was A&M Commerce VS. North Texas Eagles, with the Eagles coming out on top, 42-20 in front of the 12,000 fans from all over North Texas area. The Lions have almost a 70 percent winning record at Memorial Stadium. The Lions won the 1972 National Championship in front of almost 16,000 fans, the record crowd to this day. Other notable victories include a come from behind win in 1969 over Stephen F Austin State 36-35 in which the Lions claimed one of over 20 Lone Star Conference titles, another win in which they snapped Texas A&M Kingsville's 46-game winning streak with a 7-6 win, and a stunning upset of Pittsburgh State in 1991, 20-13, the same year Pittsburgh State would win the Division II National Championship.

Renovations and improvements

Since 2004, the stadium has undergone major renovations and upgrades to attract more recruits and revive the storied football program and boost attendance for not just Lion fans but also for visiting team fans. In 2006, the natural grass was replaced with a ==Safeplay== artificial surface, and the scoreboard replaced and upgraded, and a new all-weather track replaced the old track surface. In 2008, new locker rooms were built for both home and visitor teams, new field goal posts were also added and the T-Lounge fan section was renovated. In 2010, the most significant renovations came when the stadium rebuilt the visitor side, adding 3500 seats and another press box, a video scoreboard, which is the second largest in all of NCAA Division II athletics. The stadium now has a capacity of 13,500.

Other Functions

In addition to football games for Texas A&M Commerce and Commerce High School, it also hosts college and high school track meets, including the ==University Interscholastic League== Conference 3A Region II track meet, which is a precursor to the Texas High School State Track meet in Austin. It also hosts Texas High School football playoff games with Commerce's proximity to the Dallas, Texas metro area and also to the far northwestern parts of East Texas.

Coordinates: 33°14′45″N 95°54′36″W / 33.24583°N 95.91°W / 33.24583; -95.91