Husky Stadium

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Husky Stadium

Location	3800 Montlake Blvd NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Coordinates	47°39′1″N 122°18′6″W / 47.65028°N 122.30167°W / 47.65028; -122.30167Coordinates: 47°39′1″N 122°18′6″W / 47.65028°N 122.30167°W / 47.65028; -122.30167
Broke ground	1920
Opened	November 27, 1920 (1920-11-27) (age 88)
Owner	University of Washington
Operator	University of Washington
Surface	FieldTurf - (2000-present) AstroTurf - (1968-99) Natural grass - (1938-67) Dirt - (1920-37)
Construction cost	$600,000
Capacity	72,500
Tenants
Washington Huskies (NCAA) (1920-present) Seattle Seahawks (NFL) (1994, 2000-01)

Husky Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It is the home of the Washington Huskies of the Pacific Ten Conference, hosting its football and track and field competitions. The university holds its annual commencements at the stadium. It is located at the southeastern corner of campus, between Montlake Boulevard N.E. and Union Bay, just north of the Montlake Cut. Husky Stadium opened in 1920 (was overhauled and rebuilt in 1987), and its U-shaped design was specifically oriented (18.167° south of due east) to minimize glare from the early afternoon sun in the athletes' eyes.^[1] The open end overlooks scenic Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains.

History

The lower bowl portion was originally built by Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in 1920 with a seating capacity of 30,000. The first game at the stadium was the final game of the 1920 season, a 28-7 loss to Dartmouth on November 27th. Husky Stadium replaced Denny Field, which was located on the north end of upper campus, south of the intersection of NE 45th St. and 20th Ave. NE.

Husky Stadium has gone through four remodels (two major, two minor) to expand the seating capacity. Just three years after its construction, the stadium was the site of President Warren Harding's final address before his unexpected death. In 1936, 10,000 seats were added around the rim. In 1950, an upper deck of 15,000 covered seats was added to the south side - the new structure covered a portion of the lower seats.

In 1968, a few thousand more seats were added along the rim. In 1987, 13,000 covered seats were added with the upper deck on the north side. Similar to the south side with a cantilevered steel roof, this structure also covered a portion of the lower seats. This brought the total capacity 72,500, making it the largest stadium, amateur or professional, in the Pacific Northwest. The 1987 construction project made headlines in February when the first version of the grandstand collapsed.^[2]

Husky Stadium under construction in 1920 in front of Union Bay

An aerial view of Husky Stadium in 2009.
"Go Huskies" and the "W" logo were painted on the
north and south decks in September 2008.^[3]

Husky Stadium was a primary venue for the 1990 Goodwill Games, where the crowd saw an address by former President Ronald Reagan, as well as an address by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a performance by the Moody Blues. The stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the track & field competition.

Following the ceiling tile incident at the Kingdome in July 1994, Husky Stadium was the temporary home of the Seattle Seahawks for five games (two pre-season and three regular season) in 1994. After the demolition of the Kingdome in March 2000, the Seahawks played at Husky Stadium for two seasons, 2000 and 2001, then moved into Qwest Field for the 2002 season.

The playing field at Husky Stadium was originally dirt, replaced with natural grass in 1938.^[4] In 1968, Washington became the first major college team to play on AstroTurf; at the time the Houston Astrodome was the only other major facility to use the surface. The AstroTurf at Husky Stadium was replaced in 1972, 1977, 1987, and 1995.^[1]The next generation of synthetic turf, FieldTurf, was installed in 2000, paid for by the Seattle Seahawks. The university replaced the field after nine seasons in 2009.^[5]

In addition to the new playing surface, other improvements were made to the stadium by the Seahawks before it became an NFL venue for two seasons. A larger scoreboard, with a 23' x 42' "HuskyTron" video screen, debuted in 1998. Improved lighting for television, including corner lights, was added in 1999, and official NFL goalposts (optic yellow, 40' (12.2 m) in height) were installed in 2000.

Prior to the 2009 season, the end zones were painted gold, as they were during the 1980s and early 1990s. The end zones were changed to purple in 1995, then to natural green in 2000 with the FieldTurf installation.

The Wave

Many claim that the first audience wave originated in Husky Stadium on Halloween 1981, at the prompting of Dave Hunter (Husky band trumpet player) and Robb Weller (later an Entertainment Tonight co-host and television producer). Contrary to Weller's account, former Washington yell leader Tolly Allen has also claimed credit for the first wave. Weller, a UW graduate, was the guest yell-king during the Huskies' homecoming football game against the Stanford Cardinal (led by junior quarterback John Elway). Weller's initial concept for the wave was for it to travel vertically, from the bottom of the stands to the top, within the UW student section. Weller claimed to have done this at games when he was yell king. When that was met with limited interest, Weller then came up with the idea to move the wave from top to bottom. This failed miserably, as it was necessary to turn backward to see the wave progressing downward. Weller then gave up and returned his attention to the game. However, some fans toward the open (East) end of the stadium on the student side started yelling "sideways". Weller did not hear them, but the students tried to initiate a "sideways" wave on their own. After a few attempts, and more yelling of "sideways" by students, Weller took notice. He instructed the crowd to stand as he ran past. He moved along the track toward the open end of the stadium, explaining to the student crowd what he would do, then ran along the track toward the closed end of the stadium, in front of the student section. After a couple of tries, this caught on, and continued around the entire Husky Stadium, and was repeated throughout the rest of the game and the season. Longtime UW band director Bill Bissell also claimed co-creator credit with Weller, suggesting that the wave was devised by both of them prior to the game. The following week, the wave appeared at the Seattle Seahawks professional football game in the Kingdome and has been a staple of Seattle sports ever since.

Loudest Stadium in College Football

Capacity crowd in the south stands
at the 100th Apple Cup in 2007

Husky Stadium was once considered one of the loudest stadiums in the country before the Huskies' performance slipped in the mid-2000s. This is in part due to the stadium's design; almost 70 percent of the seats are located between the end zones, covered by cantilevered metal roofs.^[6] During televised games, it has been known to become so loud that the cameras shake.^[7] During the 1992 night game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, ESPN measured the noise level at 135 decibels, making it the loudest recorded stadium in NCAA history.^[8]

Tailgating

Tailgaters in the Montlake parking lot, north of the stadium, before the 100th Apple Cup in 2007

Husky Stadium is unusual in that fans can go to the football games by boat (other stadiums with this feature include Neyland Stadium at Tennessee and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh). There can be upwards of 12,000 more people out on Lake Washington next to Husky Stadium, some of which stay on the lake the entire weekend camping out.^[9] Right before kickoff, the UW crew team offers shuttles to anyone that wants to go to and from the boats and docks for the game.^[10]

The north and south parking lots are packed with cars and tailgaters. There is currently controversy surrounding the south parking lot because the Pacific Interchange Option for expansion to the SR 520 Floating Bridge would effectively eliminate the south parking lot for tailgating.

Fans also gather at the Dempsey Indoor Facility just north of the stadium for Husky Huddles. After the game, the Tyee Sports Council and the University of Washington Athletic Department put on the 5th Quarter where fans can gather and hear analysis of the game from UW Coaches and Husky Legends, and listen to the Husky Marching Band. They can also enjoy refreshments and a raffle for prizes.

Proposals for renovation

In November 2006, University of Washington's former Athletic Director Todd Turner revealed concept images of a new Husky Stadium and "athletic village". The new Husky Stadium is the first, and primary income source of, a completely remodeled athletic district. This major remodel will take decades to complete, as it will take place at the same time as a massive project by the Washington State Department of Transportation on nearby highways and bridges. The project consists of a new grand concourse, underground light-rail station, enclosed west end of the stadium, replacement of bleachers with individual seating, removal of track and Huskytron, new press box, private box seating, lowering of the field, football offices, permanent seating in the east end zone that does not block the view of Lake Washington, and new and improved amenities, concession stands and bathrooms throughout. In addition, the concession areas will be constructed to face inward, allowing spectators to view the game through the main concourse which will circle around the field. Along with the Husky Stadium remodel, new parking garages will be constructed and renovated facilities throughout the athletic village.^[11]

The stadium has developed numerous structural problems, particularly in the lower bowl, caused by age and the continually moist weather. Estimates for a renovation of the existing structure are between $150 million to $450 million, for a new stadium $500 million to $600 million. Any changes would try to move the eastern scoreboard to open up the view of the lake and preserve the total capacity of the stadium.^[12]

Several drawings by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) have been released depicting what the future Husky Stadium might look like.^[13][14]

Construction will begin with or without legislative money after the 2010 husky football season.

Seattle Seahawks

The first residency of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks at Husky Stadium was due to repairs to the interior ceiling of the Kingdome in the summer of 1994. The second residency (2000-01) was because of the demolition of the Kingdome in March 2000. The Seahawks' new stadium (now Qwest Field) would take over two years to complete, and was built in the Kingdome's footprint.

In order to evaluate its suitability for use in the NFL, Seahawks' owner Paul Allen paid to install a FieldTurf surface at Husky Stadium in the summer of 2000. Visiting players were so impressed with the surface at Husky Stadium that it was rated as the best non-grass field in the NFL, and rated higher than many of the grass fields.^[15] Originally, natural grass was to be installed in the new NFL stadium, but the Seahawks' management and players were so impressed by the performance of FieldTurf that it became the original playing surface at Qwest Field in 2002.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Husky Stadium

• Go Huskies.cstv.com - official athletics site - Husky Stadium
• Large picture of Husky Stadium and boat tailgaters
• SFO.com - details and pictures of Husky Stadium
• Columns, the UW Alumni Magazine - Husky Stadium
• UW campus map - Husky Stadium - SE corner of campus]
• HistoryLink.org - article describing the 1987 collapse
• Columns, the UW Alumni Magazine - photos from the 1987 north deck collapse
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Husky Stadium: Aging not so gracefully - 27-Sep-2007
• Terraserver.microsoft.com - Aerial image (2002) and USGS topo map of UW campus