|
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM
Rice-Eccles Stadium opened its gates for Ute football games in 1998 to rave reviews and a Utah victory over Louisville. Four years later, it made its world-wide debut - serving as the stage for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. The international television coverage from Rice-Eccles Stadium during the 2002 Olympics allowed the world to see what Utah players, fans and opponents already knew: It is perhaps the most beautiful stadium in the country - one whose amenities are enhanced by its 4,600-foot perch in the foothills of the towering Wasatch Mountain Range.
The 45,017 seat architectural masterpiece encompasses the grounds once occupied by Rice Stadium, namesake of Robert L. Rice, who contributed $1 million in 1972 to renovate what was then known as Ute Stadium. His monies went to replacing the turf and lighting, and to creating the Scholarship Box. It marked a major restoration of Ute Stadium, erected in 1927 as a timber and concrete construction with dirt fill and christened with a 40-6 Utah win over Colorado Mines. Only the south end zone bleachers still remain of the old stadium. Two days after Utah concluded its 1997 season with a 31-14 win over Rice on Nov 15, wrecking crews moved in and demolished Rice Stadium. In its place - less than 10 months later - rose Rice-Eccles Stadium, an imposing concrete, steel and glass edifice that dominates the Salt Lake skyline. The first football game in Rice-Eccles Stadium was played on September 12, 1998. Utah won that game, 45-22, over Louisville before 44,112 spectators, a school attendance record at the time. In 1996, Utah Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hill set the wheels in motion for the construction of a new stadium by initiating a fund-raising campaign and hiring Salt Lake architectural firm FFKR. Hill originally envisioned the project as a three-year undertaking. The Eccles Foundation changed all that. In May 1997, former Ute All-America skier Spence Eccles announced that the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation would contribute $10 million to the construction of a new stadium. Once the lead gift was in place, the time table for the stadium's completion was moved up from three years to just 15 months. The total construction costs ran $50 million, of which $10 million came from private gifts, $10 million from athletics department bonding, $12 million from the University of Utah and $8 million from the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee. Layton Construction began the actual rebuilding and expansion in June 1997 - working around previously scheduled events like the entire 1997 Utah home football season. More than 900 construction workers and 45 sub-contractors were employed over the course of the project. Construction workers poured 30,000 cubic yards of concrete to create the footings, foundations, press box towers and bowl seating, and placed 2,470 tons of structural steel and 3.7 million pounds of rebar. The stadium's progress soon became apparent throughout the valley. One reason was the elevator towers on the west side, which were poured continuously 24 hours a day for seven days, and eventually rose to a height of 177 feet (the equivalent of 14 stories). Not long thereafter, a three-story, glass-enclosed "stadium box" connected the towers. The stadium box - encased behind a 400-square foot expanse of tempered glass - is serviced by four high-speed elevators. Stadium box ticket holders are treated to a sweeping panoramic view of the Wasatch Mountains to the east and downtown Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. The stadium box begins at level four with the Cleone and Spence Eccles Scholarship Box. It seats 450 people and features indoor-outdoor seating, as well as eight suites. Level five, the Mezzanine, is designated entirely for suite holders and contains 17 suites. The suites have a roomy, comfortable seating area and are equipped with televisions and refrigerators. They overlook the field behind a 10 foot high glass wall. Level six boasts the Varsity Reception Room, which seats 400. Also on level six is an expansive press area that can accommodate more than 150 media representatives. The John Mooney Working Press Area, named in honor of the late Ute football writer and Salt Lake Tribune sports editor, contains three levels of seating. There are two television booths, three radio booths (including the Bill Marcroft Radio Booth, named after the former "Voice of the Utes"), rooms for the public address and scoreboard operators, a statistics room, a kitchen and a spacious dining area. Overhead, the roof does more than protect occupants from the elements: It can hold 200 television cameras. "Clear down" at 4,657 feet above sea level is the stadium floor, whose field matches the stadium for its beauty and practicality. FieldTurf, a synthetic product that feels and plays just like natural grass but is much more durable and weather resistant, was installed in 2002. The Utes played on natural grass in 2000 and 2001 after experimenting with SportGrass (a hybrid natural grass and artificial turf) from 1995-99. From 1972-95, Rice Stadium utilized AstroTurf. Utah's home field record on the various surfaces: 237-109-15 on grass, 76-44-1 on artificial turf, 18-10-0 on SportsGrass and 22-6 on FieldTurf. The south end zone bleachers, built in 1982, contain the locker rooms, the Gary L. Crocker Stadium Club suite and a band room. The plaza behind the south end zone was renovated as Olympic Cauldron Park and dedicated on August 21, 2003. The 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games' memorial contains the original cauldron that held the Olympic flame during the games; a 6,000 square foot visitor center, which includes a gallery, theater and ticket office; and Hoberman Arch, the famed backdrop for the awards ceremonies held downtown during the Olympics. Hoberman Arch is 75 feet long, 40 feet high and 5 feet wide. In June 2003, the final piece fell into place when Larry H. and Gail Miller donated $1.6 million for a video display system and new scoreboards. The video display board measures 22-feet-7-inches by 38-feet. The ProStar VideoPlus LED display provides live video of game action, instant replays and graphics. Including a scoreboard display and sponsor panels, the complete south end zone video display system measures 44 by 58 feet. The existing auxiliary scoreboards in the northeast and northwest corners of Rice-Eccles Stadium were also upgraded to LED scoreboards. The new, larger stadium has allowed Ute officials to craft an impressive non-conference home schedule. Teams like Arizona, Washington State, California, Oregon, Texas A&M, Louisville and North Carolina have already visited. Coming in the next two years are UCLA and Oregon State. With the high profile opponents have come new attendance marks. Eleven standing-room only crowds have exceeded Rice-Eccles Stadium's official capacity of 45,017. In 2003, the Utes beat California 31-24 before a school-record 46,768 fans and a national ESPN television audience. The 2004 Utes came close to filling the stadium every game, averaging a school-record 44,112 spectators.
MWC Stadium Capacities
Brigham Young
Air Force
San Diego State
Utah
TCU
New Mexico
UNLV
Colorado State
Wyoming
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM FACTS