- Cajun Field
Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Cajun Field
nickname = "The Swamp"
location = 201 Reinhardt DrLafayette, Louisiana 70506
broke_ground = 1970
opened = September 25, 1971
closed =
demolished =
owner = Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette
operator = Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette
surface =ProGrass Artificial turf
construction_cost =
architect =
former_names =
tenants =Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (NCAA) (1971 -Present)
New Orleans Bowl (NCAA ) (2005 )
seating_capacity = 31,000 seats, additional capacity on hills behind end zonesCajun Field is a
stadium located in the city ofLafayette, Louisiana . Nicknamed The Swamp, it is the home field of theLouisiana Ragin' Cajuns . TheUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette stadium is primarily used for itsAmerican football andwomen's soccer athletic teams.Cajun Field boasts 2,577 chairback seats and bleacher seating to the capacity of another 28,423, giving the stadium an official
seating capacity of 31,000. In planning since at least 1967 (when a rendition was featured on the football media guide), it was built in 1970 as a replacement forMcNaspy Stadium , opening on September 25, 1971 with a shutout ofSanta Clara University . The stadium consists of a bowl with seating on the sidelines, with a second deck on the east sideline. The largest crowd at the stadium was 38,783 fans on September 14, 1996, with the Cajuns upsetting 25th-ranked Texas A&M, 29-22. It was also the first victory ever for the team over a ranked opponent. [2006 Ragin' Cajuns Football Media Guide, p. 111.]Because of
Hurricane Katrina , the2005 New Orleans Bowl was played here instead of inNew Orleans , with Southern Miss defeating Arkansas State, 31-19. Also theTulane Green Wave football team used it for a home game in 2005 after being displaced by the hurricane."The Swamp"
In
1988 , when the school was known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the stadium was nicknamed "The Swamp," with the notation going on stadium signage, the school yearbook and, a year later, in the 1989 official Southwestern Louisiana sports media guide. The characteristics which helped create the tradition of theswamp -referenced nickname are tied to the field's early 1970s construction and even refer back to the original football field for what was then the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute in the early 1900s. The university's first football field was on the main campus adjacent to a small cypress pond, which later became Cypress Lake, also nicknamed "The Swamp".Today, Cajun Field's surface is set two feet below
sea level in a natural bowl. With the below-sea level playing surface, a total of four 60-horsepower pumps and a sophisticated drainage system help keep the field in solid playing condition even during the frequent south Louisiana rainstorms. The subsurface stadium requires many fans to walk down to their seats. Ragin' Cajuns football players and their opponents enter Cajun Field through an underground tunnel from the Louisiana-Lafayette athletics complex."The Swamp" nickname also fits with the area's geography, comprising many
bayous andwetlands , including theAtchafalaya Basin and the nearbyGulf of Mexico marsh lands. TheNational Wetlands Research Center , a renownedUnited States Geological Survey research facility at Louisiana-Lafayette, is located less than a half-mile away from Cajun Field.The other Division I-A stadium nicknamed "The Swamp,"
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at theUniversity of Florida , did not adopt the nickname until 1991 whenSteve Spurrier bestowed the nickname on the stadium.2008 "Renewal"
In the spring and summer of 2008, the playing field and stadium were "renewed." The playing field was resurfaced with ProGrass artificial turf. The stadium was pressure-washed and repainted. Advertisements and banners reading "University of Louisiana," "Ragin' Cajuns," and "www.ragincajuns.com" also were installed around the black retaining wall that surrounds the field.
References
External links
* [http://www.ragincajuns.com/Football/cajun_field.htm Cajun Field at RaginCajuns.com]
* [http://www.louisiana.edu University of Louisiana at Lafayette] official university website
* [http://www.ragincajuns.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&ATCLID=1420362&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=15400&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT= Webcam and photo gallery of Cajun Field construction]
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