Memorial Stadium (Clemson)
| Frank Howard Field at Clemson Memorial Stadium | |
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| Death Valley | |
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| View from the upper tier of the north stand of the end zone in the west and Lake Hartwell behind (September 2006) | |
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| place | 1 Avenue of Champions Clemson , South Carolina 29634
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| Coordinates | 34 ° 40 '43.4 " N , 82 ° 50' 35.5" W |
| owner | Clemson University |
| operator | Clemson University |
| start of building | October 6, 1941 |
| opening | September 19, 1942 |
| First game | September 19, 1942 Clemson Tigers - Presbyterian Blue Pants 32:13 |
| Extensions | 1958, 1960, 1978, 1982, 1983, 2006 |
| surface | Natural grass (Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass) |
| costs | $ 125,000 (1942) |
| architect | Carl Lee and Professor HE Glenn |
| capacity | 81,500 places (since 2008) 80,301 places (2006–2007) 77,381 places (2005) 81,473 places (1992–2004) 79,854 places (1984–1991) 73,915 places (1983) 63,500 places (1982) 53,306 places (1978–1981) 43,451 Places (1960–1977) 38,000 places (1958–1959) 20,500 places (1942–1957) |
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The Memorial Stadium (also known as Death Valley ) is a college football - stadium on the campus of Clemson University in the US city of Clemson in the state of South Carolina . It is the home ground of the NCAA college football team of the Clemson Tigers ( Atlantic Coast Conference ). The facility has a capacity of 81,500 spectators. Before the completion of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte , the NFL team of the Carolina Panthers played here during the 1995 season .
history
Memorial Stadium opened on September 19, 1942. The construction cost 125,000 US dollars and at that time the stadium had a seating capacity of 20,000. A first expansion in 1958 increased the capacity to 38,000 and two years later another 5,658 seats were added. The southern upper deck was built in 1978 and the northern one followed in 1983. This brought the total capacity to over 80,000. The previous attendance record dates back to 1999. The game against Florida State University was followed by 86,092 spectators.
In addition to the geographical location in a valley, two reasons led to the nickname Death Valley . On the one hand, the university cemetery is located on a hill that overlooked the playing field before the upper decks were built. The other reference is from Lonnie McMillian, a former football coach at Presbyterian College . He told journalists in 1948 that he "must take his team to Clemson and play there in Death Valley," where they rarely scored points or won. The moniker became particularly popular in the 1950s when head coach Frank Howard began using it. He later received a stone from Death Valley , California, from an alumnus of Clemson University . This is now at the player entrance in the stadium.
The field at Memorial Stadium was named Frank Howard Field in 1974 in honor of the former coach .
See also
Web links
- clemsontigers.com: stadium on the site of the Clemson Tigers (English)
- collegegridirons.com: Clemson Memorial Stadium (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Bob Bradley: Death Valley Days . Longstreet Press, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia 1991, ISBN 1-56352-006-0 . Page 11.