Neale Stadium

Neale Stadium
Neale Stadium
Location S. Rayburn St.
Moscow, Idaho
 United States
Broke ground 1936
Opened 1937 [1]
Closed 1969 - summer
Demolished 1971
Owner University of Idaho
Operator University of Idaho
Surface Natural grass
track - cinder
Construction cost $47,770 [2]
Capacity 16,000 (approx.)
Tenants
Idaho Vandals (1937-68) - NCAA

- conference affiliations -
Big Sky (1963-68)
Independent (1959-62)
Pacific Coast (1936-58)

Neale Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in Moscow, Idaho, on the west end of the campus of the University of Idaho. Opened in 1937[1] for college football (and track), it was used for over three decades, through the 1968 season. Its replacement, the Kibbie Dome, currently occupies the same site.

Contents

History

Neale Stadium was the home field for the Idaho Vandals of the Pacific Coast Conference (and later the Big Sky) from 1937-68, used for football and track and field. The stadium was named for Mervin G. Neale, the university's president from 1930-37. [3] The Kibbie Dome currently occupies the site in the same east-west configuration, unorthodox for football.

Neale Stadium was an earthen horseshoe bowl, opening to the east toward campus. The wooden grandstands were along the sidelines only, with approximately 30 rows of bench seating. The unlit stadium included the quarter-mile (402 m) cinder running track, and the white wooden scoreboard was located at the west end, on the rim of the unseated bowl. (photo)

There were no locker room facilities at the venue, the teams dressed in the Memorial Gymnasium well to the east. The press box was above the south sideline's grandstand and the elevation of the playing field was 2610 feet (795 m) above sea level. Before Neale Stadium, football was played at MacLean Field,[4] the large athletic field between the Mem Gym and the Shattuck Arboretum, behind (west of) the Administration Building. The baseball infield was on the site of the current College of Education building, and the football field ran north-south, from left field north to the infield. The primary spectator area was on the slope along the east sideline (third base line). (1921 photo - Idaho 6-0 over 9th Army Corps on 03-Dec [5]) - (campus photo - circa 1940)

Condemned in 1969

The wooden grandstands of Neale Stadium were condemned for safety reasons during the summer of 1969, due to soil erosion underneath the grandstands. [6] Idaho used WSU's Rogers Field in nearby Pullman, Washington, for their limited home schedule in 1969 (three Palouse home games), and was planning to do the same in 1970, with four home games scheduled.

Idle for football for a year, a suspected arson early on Sunday, November 23, 1969, destroyed the central portion of the south grandstand and press box at Neale Stadium.[6][7] Less than five months later, a similar fire occurred at Rogers Field in April 1970. Also a suspected arson, it severely damaged the south grandstand and press box of Pullman's wooden venue. This reduction in capacity forced WSU to play all of its home schedule in 1970 (& 1971) at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, but Idaho continued to play its games at Rogers Field in 1970, using the north grandstand and temporary seating. [8] The two teams met in the so-called "Displaced Bowl" in Spokane on September 19, handily won by WSU.[9]

Idaho Stadium - 1971

In 1971, Rogers Field at WSU was demolished to construct Martin Stadium, which opened the following year. Weather delayed construction in the spring and Idaho's new stadium was a month behind schedule, which forced the Vandals to play their first two home games of the 1971 season away from the Palouse.[10] The first was the season-opener at the year-old Bronco Stadium in Boise in the first-ever meeting with Boise State College; the "visiting" Broncos pulled off the 42-14 upset before 16,123 on September 11 for an instant rivalry.[11] The second was at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane on September 25, a 10-0 victory over Colorado State.[12] Vandal football finally returned to campus two weeks later, when the new concrete "Idaho Stadium" opened on October 9, built on the site of Neale Stadium. With the first game on campus in nearly three years, the Vandals responded with a 40-3 victory over Idaho State.[13] The playing field was natural grass in 1971; synthetic Tartan Turf was installed in 1972 and the stadium was fully enclosed in September 1975 to become the Kibbie Dome.

A new all-weather outdoor track and field venue was built in 1970, west of the stadium.[14] It was named for gold medalist decathlete Dan O'Brien following the 1996 Summer Olympics, and underwent a $2.5 million renovation in 2011-12. [15]

Noted Vandals

Among the Vandal greats who played at Neale Stadium were Jerry Kramer and Wayne Walker, both future NFL all-stars and selected early in the 1958 NFL Draft.

References

  1. ^ a b Lewiston Morning Tribune - New stadium to bring new athletic era for Vandals - 1937-04-23 - p.8
  2. ^ lib.uidaho.edu - campus buildings - N - accessed 2011-10-02
  3. ^ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Neale contributed much to University of Idaho - 1963-06-29 - p.5
  4. ^ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Expect Sellout - 1936-10-07 - p.8
  5. ^ college football data warehouse - Idaho opponents - 1920-24
  6. ^ a b Lewiston Morning Tribune - Late night fire destroys portion of Neale Stadium on Idaho campus - 1969-11-24 - p.16
  7. ^ lib.uidaho.edu/special-collections/uibldngs.html#N
  8. ^ Spokane Daily Chronicle - Idaho selects Rogers for home grid frays - 1070-04-20 - p.16
  9. ^ http://washingtonstate.scout.com/2/243292.html
  10. ^ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Idaho officials told stadium will be ready - 1971-08-27 - p.17
  11. ^ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Broncos kick Vandals - 1971-09-12 - p.15
  12. ^ cfb data warehouse - Idaho results - 1970-74
  13. ^ Spokesamn-Review - Idaho likes home cookin' - 1971-10-10 - Sports p.2
  14. ^ Spokesman Review - Idaho plans own field minus roof - 1970-04-23 - p.24
  15. ^ University of Idaho - facilities - projects - Dan O'Brien Track Complex renovation - accessed 2011-10-03

External links

Coordinates: 46°43′35″N 117°01′05″W / 46.72639°N 117.01806°W / 46.72639; -117.01806


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Neale Fenn — Personal information Full name Neale Fenn Date of birth January 18, 1977 (1977 0 …   Wikipedia

  • Neale Tayler — Neale Hamilton Tayler (June 16, 1917 – 1986) was the third president of Wilfrid Laurier University. He held the position from 1978 to 1982.[1] References ^ Presidents . Wilfrid Laurier University. http://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp id=158 p=2232 …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Stadium — in 2008, from SW corner Former names Rogers Field (1892–1970) Location Washington Stat …   Wikipedia

  • Joe Albi Stadium — Infobox Stadium | stadium name = Joe Albi Stadium nickname = location = Spokane, Washington broke ground = opened = 1950 closed = demolished = owner = City of Spokane operator = surface = FieldTurf 2006 construction cost = architect = former… …   Wikipedia

  • Kibbie Dome — Kibbie ASUI Activity Center Kibbie Dome, Cowan Spectrum (basketball) Kibbie Dome s west side in 2010 Former names (outdoors) new Idaho Stadium (1971–74) Neale Stadium (1937 …   Wikipedia

  • University of Idaho — Motto A Legacy of Leading Established January 30, 1889 Type Public …   Wikipedia

  • Rogers Field (Washington State) — Rogers Field was a football and track stadium in Pullman, Washington, the on campus home field of the Washington State Cougars until April 1970.Originally built in 1892 for track and field and named Soldier Field, it hosted its first football… …   Wikipedia

  • 1964 Oregon Ducks football team — NCAATeamFootballSeason Year=1964 Team=Oregon Ducks Conference=Athletic Association of Western Universities Division= ShortConference=AAWU CoachRank= APRank=7 BCSRank= Record=7 2 1 ConfRecord=1 2 1 HeadCoach=Leonard J. Casanova OffCoach= DefCoach …   Wikipedia

  • Robb Akey — College coach infobox Name = Robb Akey | Caption = DateOfBirth = Birth date and age|1966|7|24|mf=y Birthplace = Colorado Springs, CO DateOfDeath = Sport = Football College = Univ. of Idaho Title = Head Coach CurrentRecord = 1 5 OverallRecord = 2… …   Wikipedia

  • 1948 Philadelphia Eagles season — Infobox NFL season team = Philadelphia Eagles year = 1948 record = 9 2 1 division place = First coach = Earle Greasy Neale stadium = Shibe Park playoffs = Won NFL ChampionshipThe 1948 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in winning the NFL… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”