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| Location | 451 South 1400 East, Ste. 600, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′36″N 111°50′56″W / 40.76°N 111.84889°WCoordinates: 40°45′36″N 111°50′56″W / 40.76°N 111.84889°W |
| Broke ground | 1997 |
| Opened | 1998 |
| Owner | University of Utah |
| Operator | University of Utah |
| Surface | FieldTurf (since 2002) |
| Construction cost | $50 million) |
| Capacity | 45,017[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Utah Utes (NCAA) (1998-present) Real Salt Lake (MLS) (2005-2008) XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002) |
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Rice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference. It served as the main stadium for the 2002 Winter Olympics; the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held at the stadium, which was temporarily renamed "Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium."
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History
When Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, it was obvious that Rice Stadium was not suitable to serve as the main stadium. The concrete, timber and earth-fill facility had been built in 1927 and was showing its age.
In 1996 U of U athletic director Chris Hill announced plans to rebuild Rice Stadium with a new facility that would be up to Olympic standards. It was initially expected to take three years to completely overhaul the facility.
However, in 1997, Spencer Eccles, a Utah alumnus and chairman of Utah's biggest bank, First Security Corporation, announced that the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation would donate $10 million toward the project. In recognition of this gift, the U of U won permission from the Eccles family to add George Eccles' name to the stadium alongside that of Robert L. Rice, who had funded the original renovation project to Rice Stadium in 1972. Before it was called Rice Stadium, it was called Ute Stadium. In 1927, Ute Stadium opened with a Utah win over Colorado Mines.
Immediately after the final home game on November 15, fittingly a 31-14 victory over Rice, most of Rice Stadium was demolished for the renovation. Only the south-end stands, built in 1982, remained. The stadium did not miss a football season, as the project was timed not to disrupt the 1997 home schedule.[2]The new stadium was ready less than 10 months later for the 1998 home opener, a 45-22 win over Louisville on September 12. The stadium now seats 45,017 and has a 6 story press box.[1]
Playing Surface
The playing field at Rice-Eccles Stadium is FieldTurf, a next-generation infilled synthetic turf, which was most recently replaced in 2009.[3] The football field runs in the traditional north-south configuration, and sits at an elevation of 4657 feet (1419 m) above sea level, 330 feet (100 m) above downtown Salt Lake City.[4] Originally, it was lined with SportGrass, a hybrid of natural grass and artificial turf that the university installed in Rice Stadium in 1995. In 2000, a full natural grass surface replaced the SportGrass until the end of the 2001 football season, when it was covered by blacktop for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in February. The original FieldTurf was installed in 2002.
Football Attendance Records
| Attendance Records[1] | |||||
| Rank | Date | Time | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| 1 | September 11, 2003 | 5:45 pm | California | W 31-24 | 46,768 |
| 2 | November 6, 2008 | 6:00 pm | #11 TCU | W 13-10 | 45,666 |
| 3 | November 21, 1998 | 11:30 am | Brigham Young | L 26-24 | 45,634 |
| 4 | October 2, 2008 | 7:00 pm | Oregon State | W 31-28 | 45,599 |
| 5 | September 26, 2009 | 5:30 pm | Louisville | W 30-14 | 45,588 |
| 6 | September 6, 2008 | 7:00 pm | UNLV | W 42-21 | 45,587 |
| 7 | September 2, 2005 | 6:00 pm | Arizona | W 27-24 | 45,528 |
| 8 | September 2, 2004 | 7:00 pm | Texas A&M | W 41-21 | 45,419 |
| 9 | September 3, 2009 | 7:00 pm | Utah State | W 35-17 | 45,333 |
| 10 | November 25, 2006 | 1:30 pm | #21 Brigham Young | L 33-31 | 45,330 |
| 11 | November 20, 2004 | 5:00 pm | Brigham Young | W 52-21 | 45,326 |
| 12 | October 16, 2004 | 8:00 pm | North Carolina | W 46-16 | 45,319 |
| 13 | September 18, 1999 | 6:00 pm | Utah State | W 38-18 | 45,224 |
| 14 | September 30, 2006 | 1:00 pm | #22 Boise State | L 36-3 | 45,222 |
| 15 | November 23, 2002 | 1:00 pm | Brigham Young | W 13-6 | 45,167 |
| 16 | September 27, 2008 | 6:00 pm | Weber State | W 37-21 | 45,117 |
| 17 | November 24, 2000 | 4:00 pm | Brigham Young | L 34-27 | 45,064 |
Major League Soccer
Rice-Eccles Stadium was also the home field of the Major League Soccer franchise Real Salt Lake from 2005 until October 2008, when Rio Tinto Stadium was opened in the suburb of Sandy, south of Salt Lake City.
Olympic Cauldron Park
Immediately south of the stadium is the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park.
References
- ^ a b c "RICE-ECCLES STADIUM" (HTML). University of Utah. 2009. http://utahutes.cstv.com/trads/utah-trads-ricestadium.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/mountainwest/utah/yearly_results.php?year=1995
- ^ "AbTurf wars: U. of U., BYU to get new fields" (HTML). Salt Lake Tribune. 2009. http://www.sltrib.com/utahutes/ci_12511121. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=12&Z=12&X=536&Y=5640&W=3&qs=%7cSalt+Lake+City%7cUT%7c
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rice-Eccles Stadium |
- University of Utah - official university site - Rice-Eccles Stadium
- Continuum Winter 1998: History of Utah's football stadiums
- Utah Utes.com - official athletics site - Rice-Eccles Stadium
| Preceded by first stadium |
Home of Real Salt Lake 2005 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Rio Tinto Stadium |
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