Rice-Eccles Stadium (Salt Lake City, Utah)
USA /
Utah /
Willard /
Salt Lake City, Utah /
South 1400 East, 451
World
/ USA
/ Utah
/ Willard
World / United States / Utah
olympic venue, american football stadium
The Rice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is the home field of the Utah Utes football team of the Mountain West Conference. The stadium was the venue of the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies. It was also the home stadium of Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake from 2005 to 2008. Immediately south of the stadium is the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park.
The Stadium was originally built in 1927 with a seating capacity of 20,000 at a cost of $133,000 and was originally named Ute Stadium. An additional 10,000 seats were added to the north end in 1947 creating a horseshoe stadium. The stadium's construction was a combination of timber, concrete, and earth-fill.
Robert L. Rice gave $1,000,000 to the university to renovate the ageing stadium in 1972. Additional seating was added to the south end of the stadium, lighting was installed, new locker rooms were built, and a new press box were added. The playing surface was lowered, the running track was removed, and AstroTurf was installed. This brought the capacity to 32,500 and the university changed the venue's name to Rice Stadium.
From May 1997 to November 1998, the stadium underwent a $50,000,000 reconstruction. The stadium did not miss a football season, as the project was timed not to disrupt the 1997 home schedule. Most of Rice Stadium was demolished for the renovation and only the south-end stands remained. The new seating bowl was ready less than 10 months later for the 1998 home opener. The university retained the Rice name and added that of Spencer Eccles, to recognise the contributions of both the old and new facilities. The stadium now seats 45,017 and has a 6-storey press box.
The playing field's surface was made of natural grass from 1927 to 1971, Astroturf from 1972-1994, SportsGrass from 1995 to 2000, and natural grass from 2000 to 2001. The surface was covered by blacktop for the 2002 Olympic Ceremonies. The current surface is FieldTurf, which was installed in 2002.
The Stadium was originally built in 1927 with a seating capacity of 20,000 at a cost of $133,000 and was originally named Ute Stadium. An additional 10,000 seats were added to the north end in 1947 creating a horseshoe stadium. The stadium's construction was a combination of timber, concrete, and earth-fill.
Robert L. Rice gave $1,000,000 to the university to renovate the ageing stadium in 1972. Additional seating was added to the south end of the stadium, lighting was installed, new locker rooms were built, and a new press box were added. The playing surface was lowered, the running track was removed, and AstroTurf was installed. This brought the capacity to 32,500 and the university changed the venue's name to Rice Stadium.
From May 1997 to November 1998, the stadium underwent a $50,000,000 reconstruction. The stadium did not miss a football season, as the project was timed not to disrupt the 1997 home schedule. Most of Rice Stadium was demolished for the renovation and only the south-end stands remained. The new seating bowl was ready less than 10 months later for the 1998 home opener. The university retained the Rice name and added that of Spencer Eccles, to recognise the contributions of both the old and new facilities. The stadium now seats 45,017 and has a 6-storey press box.
The playing field's surface was made of natural grass from 1927 to 1971, Astroturf from 1972-1994, SportsGrass from 1995 to 2000, and natural grass from 2000 to 2001. The surface was covered by blacktop for the 2002 Olympic Ceremonies. The current surface is FieldTurf, which was installed in 2002.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice-Eccles_Stadium
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 40°45'35"N 111°50'56"W
- Deer Valley Resort 30 km
- Snowbasin Ski Resort 51 km
- Squaw Valley Ski Resort 740 km
- Blackcomb Mountain 1353 km
- Whistler Mountain 1354 km
- Lillehammer 7556 km
- Lee Valley Regional Park 7817 km
- Albertville 8623 km
- Taizicheng Olympics Skiing Venue 9768 km
- Roza Khutor Alpine Ski Resort 10232 km
- Mount Olivet Cemetery 0.4 km
- Veteran's Administration Hospital Complex 1 km
- Sunnyside Park 1.1 km
- University of Utah 1.3 km
- Federal Heights 1.5 km
- Popperton Park 1.9 km
- Salt Lake City Cemetery 2.2 km
- Liberty Park 2.6 km
- The Avenues 2.7 km
- Memory Grove Park 3.6 km
Comments