College Football’s Best Stadiums – Part 3

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Over the past two weeks I’ve highlighted some of college football’s best stadiums, beginning on the east coast and and working my way west. Last week I highlighted some of the best stadiums in the Midwest and this week I turn my attention to the great stadiums of the South.

I’ll have to admit my biases when I tell you the best stadiums in America are located in the south, most notably in the SEC. No conference can boast more stadiums with large seating capacities than the SEC, with six of the top 11 in the nation.

Some of the best among the best are in this week’s breakdown and I’m hopeful you enjoy reading about these grand stadiums as much as I did learning about them.

Here we go.

Bryant-Denny Stadium – Alabama Crimson Tide

Bryant-Denny Stadium, home of the Alabama Crimson Tide since 1929, is one of the great stadiums in college football. Prior to the opening of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Tide played at Denny Field and University Field. By the mid 1920s the decision was made to build a new stadium.

Construction began in 1929 and was completed that same year in time for the Tide to begin play. Originally known as George Hutchenson Denny Stadium, Alabama played their first game at the new stadium on September 28, 1929.

The first of many expansions took place in 1937 when 6,000 seats were added to the east side. By 1946 bleachers were added to both end zones and capacity increased to 31,000. Prior to the 1961 season, a new press box was constructed and 12,000 seats where added, raising capacity to 43,000.

In 1966, capacity increased to 60,000 and in 1975, the Alabama State Legislature renamed George Hutchenson Denny Stadium, Bryant-Denny Stadium after legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. In 1988 construction of the upper deck on the west side was completed which raised capacity to 70,000.

In 1998, major renovations took place which included 81 new skyboxes, a video/scoreboard on the south end, new lights, an east side entrance tower and a brick facade for the facility. The latest expansion was completed before the 2006 season. This $50 million project increased the seating capacity to 92,138 and included the addition of new skyboxes.

Two state-of-the-art video screens have been added to the northeast and northwest corners of the stadium to supplement the existing south end zone Sony Jumbrotron. Today, Bryant-Denny Stadium is the fourth largest in the SEC. In April 2007, the university hired Davis Architects to study the possibility of further expanding the stadium.

Jordan Hare Stadium – Auburn Tigers

Home of the Auburn Tigers for almost seven decades, Jordan Hare Stadium is another of the south’s grand football stadiums. By the mid 1930s the university decided to build a new football stadium for the Tigers. A Built in 1939 and originally known as Auburn Stadium, the Tigers played their first game in the new facility on November 30, 1939 in front of a capacity crowd of 7,500 when Auburn took on the Florida Gators.

In 1949, Auburn Stadium was renamed Cliff Hare Stadium in honor of Clifford Leroy Hare, a member of Auburn’s first football team. That same year an additional 14,000 seats were added on the east side bringing the capacity to 21,500.

Over the next four decades, the stadium was expanded five times, beginning in 1955. Other expansions were completed in 1960, ’70, ’80, and 1989, bringing the seating capacity to 85,214. In 1973, the stadium was renamed Jordan-Hare Stadium after legendary coach Ralph Jordan, the all-time winningest coach at Auburn.

In 2007, a new high definition video/scoreboard was installed prior to the season. Today, Jordan Hare Stadium seats 87,451, making it the fifth largest in the SEC.

Sanford Stadium – Georgia Bulldogs

Football has been played at the University of Georgia since 1892, when the team played at Herty Field. In 1911, University of Georgia President Dr. Steadman V. Sanford moved the Bulldogs games from Herty Field to a centralized location on campus that was named Sanford Field.

Georgia’s rivalry with Georgia Tech in the 1920s led to a new stadium being constructed for the Bulldogs. Initially, every game Georgia played against Georgia Tech took place at Grant Field, home of the Yellow Jackets, because Sanford Field was not large enough.

Georgia wanted a stadium that would rival Grant Field and began raising money for construction. Built at a cost of $360,000, Sanford Stadium opened on October 12, 1929 when Georgia played Yale before 30,000 fans.

The trademark of the stadium is its famous hedges surrounding the field and every game taking place at Sanford is said to be “between the hedges.” There have been six major expansions since the stadium first opened, beginning in 1949. Other renovation projects took place in 1964, ’67, ’81, ’91 and 2003.

These expansions enclosed Stanford Stadium, added an upper deck and luxury areas. Today, Sanford Stadium seats 92,746 and is the second largest stadium in the SEC.

Neyland Stadium – Tennessee Volunteers

One of the grandest stadiums in America, college or otherwise, Neyland Stadium is the home of the Tennessee Volunteers. With the foothills of the Smokey Mountains as a backdrop and the Tennessee River running alongside the stadium, Neyland is one of the most majestic stadiums in college football.

Neyland Stadium was born of humble beginnings. In 1919, W.S. Shields, a University of Tennessee trustee and President of the local bank, provided the money for a new stadium for the football program.

Completed in 1921, the stadium was originally known as Shields-Watkins Field after Shields and his wife Alice Watkins. The Volunteers played their inaugural game at the stadium on September 24, 1921 against Emory and Henry. That first game was packed to capacity – 3,200 were in attendance to witness the Vols first game in the new stadium.

Since then, Neyland Stadium has undergone 16 expansions, the first of which took place in 1926 when a grandstand seating 3,600 was constructed, bringing capacity to 6,800. That same year, famous Vols head coach Robert R. Neyland began his tenure as head of the football program.

In 1929, an additional 11,060 seats were added on the west side, and in 1938, an additional 12,000 seats were added on the east side. More stands were constructed in the south endzone prior to the 1948 season raising capacity to 46,390.

Shields Watkins Stadium was renamed Neyland Stadium in 1962 and also saw the first of the upper decks being constructed on the west side, increasing capacity to just over 50,000. Additional seating was added in the north endzone and upper decks before the 1966, ‘68, ‘72, and ’80 seasons, increasing capacity to 91,249.

In 1987, 42 luxury suites were added to the stadium and an additional 78 were added prior to the 2000 season. The last large addition to Neyland Stadium was completed before the 1996 season when 10,642 seats were added in the north upper deck bringing the capacity to 102,544. In 2006, club seats were added on the east side of the stadium decreasing the seating capacity to 102,037. By 2009 the seating capacity will be just over 100,000 as club seats are placed on the west side.

Today, Neyland is the largest stadium in the SEC and is the third largest in the nation.

Tiger Stadium – LSU Tigers

“It’s Saturday Night in Death Valley and here come your Fighting Tigers of LSU!” Anyone having the pleasure of visiting Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night during the college football season knows the public address announcer yells that as the LSU Tigers take the field.

LSU fans are among the most passionate in the nation, and I can tell you from personal experience that Tiger Stadium is one of the greatest atmosphere’s in all of sports. “Poosh ‘em back, poosh ‘em back, waaay back, come on Tigers let’s poosh, poosh, poosh!” Ah, the memories.

Tiger Stadium was constructed in the early 1920s and opened on November 25, 1924 when LSU battled Tulane. The original seating capacity was 24,000 with grandstands on both sides of the field. Since then, six major expansions have been completed at the stadium over its eight decades of existence.

Two additions were completed in the 1930s, the first in 1931 when the capacity increased by 10,000 and the second in 1936 when the north endzone was enclosed, increasing the seating capacity to 46,000. The south endzone was enclosed in 1953 and the first of two upper decks were added in 1978, pushing the capacity to over 78,000.

In 2000, an additional 11,600 seats were added and In 2005, work began on a $60 million expansion which included 3,255 club seats, a new press box and upper deck on the west side of the stadium. Completed prior to the 2006 season, this expansion increased the seating capacity of Tiger Stadium to 92,400, making it the third largest stadium in the SEC.

Kyle Field – Texas A&M Aggies

One of the more uniquely designed stadiums in the nation, Kyle Field was constructed in two phases beginning in 1927 and completed in 1929 at a cost of $345,000. The stadium was named after Edwin J. Kyle, the athletic council President and the Dean of Agriculture who led the way in getting a new facility built for the Aggies.

Originally built with a single tier grandstand in a horseshoe configuration around the playing field, Kyle Field has grown over the past eight decades. The first expansion came prior to the 1967 season when the second decks on the east and west sides of the field were constructed.

The next expansion came before the 1980 season, when the third decks were added. With this addition the grandstands towered over the playing field. The original grass field was replaced by Astroturf in 1970 but was reverted back to grass before the 1996 season. The latest renovation was completed by the 1999 season.

The original stands on the north side that formed the horseshoe were removed and a new massive three tier grandstand was built. This section, known as “The Zone” houses luxury suites, club seats, and the Texas A&M sports museum. With this expansion, Kyle Field now has a seating capacity of 82,600, making it the second largest stadium in the Big 12.

Royal Memorial Stadium – Texas Longhorns

After playing more than two decades at Clark Field, Athletic Director L. Theo Bellmont decided it was time to construct a new stadium for the Longhorn football team. Work began in 1924 and was completed in the late fall of that year at a cost of $275,000, with a seating capacity of 27,000. Originally called Memorial Stadium, the Longhorns played their first game in the new stadium on November 8, 1924.

Two years after opening, Memorial Stadium was expanded on the north side to give it a horseshoe configuration, increasing the capacity to 40,500. By the 1940 season the east and west grandstands were expanded and the grandstand on the south side of the field was built, increasing capacity to 60,000.

For the next three decades, little was done to renovate the stadium. Lights were added in 1955, Astroturf replaced the grass field in 1969, and the upper deck was constructed in 1971.

It wasn’t until the 1990′s when Memorial Stadium saw numerous renovations, beginning in 1996 when the Astroturf was replaced with grass and a new scoreboard was added.

That same year, Memorial Stadium was officially renamed Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium after legendary Longhorns coach Darrell Royal. The following year, 14 suites were added on the west side and in 1998, the 5,000 seat upper deck was constructed on the east side along with 52 luxury suites.

After the 2005 season, a 55′ by 134′ wide video display was erected in the south endzone and is the largest video board in college football.

Today, Royal Memorial Stadium has a seating capacity of 90,000, making it the largest stadium in the Big 12. Future plans call for the stadium to be expanded in the south endzone increasing the seating capacity to 112,000 which would make Royal Memorial the largest college football stadium in the nation. Plans for this project have yet to be approved.

Stay tuned next week as I finish up with the best stadiums on the west coast.