Charles C. Hughes Stadium
 | |
 | |
| Location | Sacramento, California |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 20,311[1] |
| Surface | Artificial grass |
| Opened | 1928 |
| Tenants | |
| Sacramento City College Various regional high schools Sacramento Republic FC (January-June 2014) | |
Charles C. Hughes Stadium, commonly referred to as Hughes Stadium, is a 20,311-seat stadium in Sacramento, California, located at Sacramento City College. The stadium first opened in 1928. In 1944, the stadium was named after Charles C. Hughes, the first superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District.[2] In 2012, the stadium underwent a major overhaul, installing an artificial grass field surface, a new track surface and a major refurbishment of the facilities documented in this video.
Location
It is located on the eastern portion of the Sacramento City College campus. The Union Pacific (ex Western Pacific) tracks are to the East and Sutterville Road is to the South. The City College station of Sacramento Regional Transit District's Blue Line is to the Northeast. Sutterville Road bridge over the tracks is visible from the western seats. The closed end of the stadium's horseshoe shape is to the North-Northwest. The open end with its scoreboard is to the South-Southeast. Its parking lots are to the Northwest and Northeast of the stadium.
Events and teams hosted
Sacramento Surge
Former NFL Europe football team the Sacramento Surge, the only American team to ever win the World Bowl, played its inaugural season at Hughes Stadium in 1991, before relocating to Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus in 1992.[3] The Sacramento Surge played five home games at Hughes Stadium, with ticket prices ranging from $40 to $100.[4]
The Sacramento Surge, which played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992, featured many notable football stars. The team was coached by Kay Stephenson,[5] former Buffalo Bills quarterback and head coach, with Charlie Sumner as the defensive coordinator and Jim Haslett as the defensive assistant coach. Mike Keller served as General Manager,[6] while Special Projects was led by Jack Youngblood, who also partnered with Joe Starkey and Ronnie Lott on the Surge radio broadcasts KRAK. Future professional wrestler Bill Goldberg also played for the team.[3]
In 1992, the Surge played in the World Bowl. The Surge won the game, 21–17, behind quarterback David Archer's MVP performance (22 completions of 33 attempts for 286 yards, two touchdowns and one interception). The game would be the only World Bowl involving two North American-based WLAF teams, as well as the only World Bowl played on North American soil.
The Surge was owned by Fred Anderson, who, upon the WLAF going on hiatus after the 1992 season, continued Sacramento's professional football presence by forming the Sacramento Gold Miners, which played in the Canadian Football League for three years, albeit at Hornet Stadium.
Camellia Bowl
Hughes Stadium hosted 16 college football bowl games known as the Camellia Bowl between 1961 and 1980. The 1961-63 games were for the NAIA national football championship. The 1964-72 Camellia Bowl games were part of a set of bowls that led up to a poll to determine the NCAA College Division championship, prior to the current Division II playoff structure, initiated in 1973. It was also the site of the third Division I-AA championship game in 1980, in which Boise State defeated defending champion Eastern Kentucky in the fog on December 20.
Sacramento Capitols
The Sacramento Capitols of the Continental Football League used Hughes Stadium as their home field in 1968 and 1969, before the league folded.[7]
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers played three seasons in Hughes Stadium from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the Solons' affiliation changed to the Texas Rangers. As a football and track stadium, the field was expectedly unsuitable for baseball, with a left field foul line reportedly only 233 feet long, or 17 feet shorter than the minimum requirement 250 feet, but baseballs hit over the high screen were still counted as home runs. This photo, though somewhat exaggerated due to the zoom lens, provides a sense of the closeness of the left field area.
Track and field championships
Hughes Stadium was the site of the 1968 AAU National Championships. At the meet, the evening of June 20, 1968, when three men, Jim Hines, Ronnie Ray Smith and Charlie Greene, bettered the (hand timed) world record in the 100 metres (and several others were very close), is famous amongst track and field historians as the "Night of Speed."[8][9] It was also host to the 1995 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships as well as several other championship events. The stadium was the host of most long distance races at the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships .[10]
Boxing
On September 9, 1978, Pete Ranzany fought for the world WBA welterweight title against champion José Cuevas, more commonly known as Pipino Cuevas. A crowd of 17,000 plus fans watched Cuevas knock out Ranzany in the 2nd round.
Causeway Classic
Though Sacramento State and UC Davis traditionally switched stadiums for the annual Causeway Classic football game, Hughes Stadium was used as a third-party venue for several games in the 1970s, 1980's, 1990's and last in 2002. Hughes Stadium was the host of the famous "mud bowl" in 2000, where wind and rain was so strong that a UC Davis punt actually flew backwards during the game.
Racing
Hughes Stadium's track has been used for Midget car racing.[1]
Sacramento Pop Festival
It was the site for the Sacramento Pop Festival in 1967.
Pink Floyd
Hughes Stadium was the venue for Pink Floyd on April 20, 1988 during their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in front of a sold-out crowd of 27,000 people.
Pig Bowl
For many years the "Pig Bowl" was played at Hughes Stadium. The teams were composed of the Sacramento City Police Officers and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies. These were mostly played in the 1970s.
Sacramento Mountain Lions
During the 2012 season, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League used Hughes Stadium as their practice facility.[11]
Sacramento Republic FC
The expansion USL Pro soccer club Sacramento Republic FC played the first few home games of 2014 at Hughes Stadium, where their per-game attendance dwarfed that of the rest of the league, and where they recorded three sellouts.[12] The team left Hughes in June 2014 for Bonney Field, a newly built facility in Cal Expo with a full-sized soccer field and lower capacity.
References
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- ^ http://www.ucop.edu/treasurer/_files/report/UC_Annual_Endowment_Report_FY2011-2012.pdf
- ^ "Sacramento City Unified School District". Archived from the original on 2006-09-18. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Sacramento Surge History". www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ "Sacramento Surge Hopes To Electrify". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 5, 1990.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Surge Begins WLAF Action". Lodi News-Sentinel. March 14, 1992.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Surge Begins WLAF Action". Lodi News-Sentinel. March 14, 1992.
- ^ Crossley, Drew. "1968-1969 Sacramento Capitols". www.funwhileitlasted.net. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ http://www.cricketcollectables.net/the-night-of-speed-signed-print.html
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ 2001 World Masters Athletics Championships
- ^ Mountain Lions begin season with morning practice. KTXL. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
- ^ "Republic FC Set To Face Arizona: Sellout crowd set for final game at Hughes Stadium". USLSoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
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