Harvard Stadium

Harvard Stadium

Location	95 N Harvard St Allston, MA 02134
Broke ground	July, 1903
Opened	November 14, 1903
Owner	Harvard University
Operator	Harvard University
Surface	FieldTurf [1]
Construction cost	$310,000
Architect	Prof. Louis J. Johnson, Class of 1887
Capacity	30,323 (current) 57,166 (maximum)
Tenants
Harvard Crimson (NCAA) (1903-Present) Boston Patriots (NFL) (1970) Boston Cannons (MLL) (2007-Present) Boston Breakers (WPS) (2009- )

Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1903, the stadium seats 30,323.^[2] The stadium seated up to 57,166 in the past, as temporary steel stands (completing a straight-sided oval) stood in the north end zone until 1951. Afterwards, there were smaller temporary stands until the building of the Murr Center (which is topped by the new scoreboard) in 1998.

History

Completed in just four and a half months, the structure cost $310,000. It is the home of the football team of Harvard University, whose all-time record (at the end of the 2007 season) at the stadium is 414-220-34 (.653). The stadium also hosted the Crimson track and field teams until 1984 and was the home of the Boston Patriots during the 1970 season. It is also the host of music festivals like the Amandla Festival, where Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley performed a historic concert in 1979. Janis Joplin performed her last show at the stadium in 1970, shortly berfore her death. In 2007, the Boston Cannons, a professional lacrosse team for Major League Lacrosse, moved their home site to the stadium. They previously played at Boston University's Nickerson Field.^[3]

In 2006, Harvard installed both FieldTurf and lights^[4] allowing it to become the home stadium of the Boston Cannons. On September 22, 2007, Harvard played its first night game at the stadium, against Brown University, winning 24-17.

Beginning on April 11, 2009, Harvard Stadium became the home field of the Boston Breakers of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league when they beat Saint Louis Athletica 2-0.

Location

The stadium in 2009

Although most of Harvard's campus is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the stadium and most other intercollegiate athletic facilities, along with Harvard Business School, lie in the nearby Allston section of Boston. The stadium is the cornerstone of the Soldiers Field athletic complex, which also includes the baseball stadium, outdoor track, an artificial turf field hockey/lacrosse field, soccer field, pools, Beren Tennis Center (outdoor), the Gordon Indoor Track, Dillon Fieldhouse, Lavietes Pavilion and Bright Hockey Center. Newell Boathouse, home of Harvard's men's crew, lies across Soldiers Field Road on the banks of the Charles.

Gallery

The stadium's southeast-facing exterior.	View from the southern end of the colonnade. The Murr Center, an indoor recreation facility built in 1998, is the building at the end of the stadium.	2008	2008
2008

References

External links

• Summary at Ivy League official site
• Photos: [1], [2], [3]

Coordinates: 42°22′01″N 71°07′37″W / 42.366915°N 71.126947°W / 42.366915; -71.126947

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