Rice-Eccles Stadium

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Rice-Eccles Stadium
nickname =


location = 451 South 1400 East, Ste. 600
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
broke_ground = 1927
opened = 1927 (renovated in 1998)
owner = University of Utah
operator = University of Utah
surface = FieldTurf (since 2002)
construction_cost = $133,000
(most recent renovation: $50 million)
former_names = Ute Stadium (1927-71)
Rice Stadium (1972-97)
tenants = Utah Utes (NCAA) (1927-Present)
Real Salt Lake (MLS) (2005-2008)
seating_capacity = 45,017

Rice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference. It was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $133,000. The stadium was improved in 1972 and rebuilt in 1998 for the 2002 Winter Olympics; the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held at the stadium, which was temporarily renamed "Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium."

History

The stadium, originally named Ute Stadium, opened in 1927 with a seating capacity of 20,000. The first college football game was a 40-6 Ute victory over Colorado Mines on October 1st. It was dedicated three weeks later on October 22nd with a 20-13 victory over Colorado. [http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/mountainwest/utah/yearly_results.php?year=1925] An additional 10,000 seats were added to the north end in 1947, formerly a dirt pile, creating a horseshoe stadium (and amphitheater). The stadium's construction was a combination of timber, concrete, and earth-fill. [http://utahutes.cstv.com/trads/utah-trads-ricestadium.html]

Cummings Field was the previous home of Utah football, dating from the turn of the 20th century, when the campus moved to its present site from downtown Salt Lake City. Prior to Cummings Field, most of the Utah football games were played at Walker Field at Ninth South and Main in Salt Lake City. [http://www.alumni.utah.edu/continuum/winter98/sidelines.html]

Renovations

1972

Robert L. "Bob" Rice gave $1 million to the university to renovate the aging stadium in 1972. Additional seating was added to the south end of the stadium, lighting installed, new locker rooms and a new press box were added. The playing surface was lowered, the running track removed, and astroturf was installed. This brought the capacity to 32,500 and the university changed the venue's name to Rice Stadium.The renovations are the south endzone.

1997

To bring it to standard for the Olympic opening ceremonies, the stadium underwent a $50 million renovation in May 1997, completed in September 1998. $10 million of the renovation was donated by Spencer Eccles, through the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundations. The rest of the funds were raised from private donations, bonds, and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. The stadium did not miss a football season, as the project was timed not to disrupt the 1997 home schedule. [http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/mountainwest/utah/yearly_results.php?year=1995]

Immediately after the final home game on November 15th, fittingly a 31-14 victory over Rice, most of Rice Stadium was demolished for the renovation. Only the south-end stands, built in 1982, remained. The new stadium was ready less than 10 months later for the 1998 home opener, a 45-22 win over Louisville on September 12th.The university retained the Rice name and added Eccles, to recognize the contributions of both the old and new facilities. The stadium now seats 46,414 and has a 6 story press box.

Playing Surface

The playing field at Rice-Eccles Stadium is FieldTurf, a next-generation infilled synthetic turf, which was installed in 2002. The football field runs in the traditional north-south configuration, and sits at an elevation of 4657 feet (1419 m) above sea level, 330 feet (100 m) above downtown Salt Lake City. [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=12&Z=12&X=536&Y=5640&W=3&qs=%7cSalt+Lake+City%7cUT%7c]

When the stadium re-opened in 1998, it was lined with SportsGrass, a hybrid of natural grass and artificial turf that the university installed in Rice Stadium in 1995. In 2000, natural grass replaced the SportsGrass for two seasons until the end of the 2001 football season, when it was covered by blacktop for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in February.

As Ute Stadium (1927-71), the football field was natural grass; from 1972-94 the playing surface was astroturf.

Major League Soccer

Rice-Eccles Stadium was also the home field of the Major League Soccer franchise Real Salt Lake from 2005 until October 2008, when Rio Tinto Stadium was opened in the suburb of Sandy, south of Salt Lake City.

Olympic Cauldron Park

Immediately south of the stadium is the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park.

External links

* [http://www.stadium.utah.edu/ University of Utah] - official university site - Rice-Eccles Stadium
* [http://www.alumni.utah.edu/continuum/winter98/sidelines.html Continuum Winter 1998: History of Utah's football stadiums]
* [http://utahutes.cstv.com/trads/utah-trads-ricestadium.html Utah Utes.com] - official athletics site - Rice-Eccles Stadium
* [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=12&Z=12&X=536&Y=5640&W=3&qs=%7cSalt+Lake+City%7cUT%7c Terraserver.microsoft.com] - satellite photo (2003), aerial photo (1997),& USGS topo map - University of Utah campus

succession box
title = Home of
Real Salt Lake
years = 2005 – 2008
before = first stadium
after = Rio Tinto Stadium