Herndon Stadium | |
Full name | Alonzo Herndon Stadium |
---|---|
Capacity | 15,011 |
Field size | 68 yds wide × 110 yds long |
Construction | |
Built | 1948 |
Opened | 1948 |
Tenants | |
Atlanta Beat (WUSA) (2002–2003) MBC Wolverines |
Alonzo Herndon Stadium, named for Alonzo Herndon, is an abandoned 15,011-seat stadium on the campus of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the only two-sided stadium in the Atlanta University Center. It is one block over from the locally known Herndon Home, and sits above the MARTA East-West rail line.
The stadium opened in 1948. It is the largest stadium at an institution in the Atlanta University Center, and the only with stands on both sides.[1]
In addition to sports, the stadium hosted concerts. Ray Charles recorded a live album at the stadium.[1]
During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Herndon Stadium hosted field hockey. It was expanded and renovated ahead of the games. It was also used as the stand-in for the demolished Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, during filming of the 2006 movie We Are Marshall.[1][2]
The stadium was the home to the former Georgia Mustangs and the former Atlanta Beat women's soccer club of the WUSA league, the latter of whom played there from 2001 until 2003.[1]
Due to the college's financial hardships, the stadium was abandoned and is in a state of disrepair, gutted by vandals and covered in graffiti and trash.[2] The stadium was sold by Morris Brown College, and was abandoned in 2014. Its sale created controversy due to a land-use agreement with other members of the Atlanta University Center and historic property deeds.[1] The stadium is now owned by Clark Atlanta University. The school is planning to restore the stadium.
External links
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Sites and Venues of '96 Stop 6 | Herndon Stadium, Morris Brown College". Atlanta History Center. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- 1 2 "Atlanta's Olympic venues meet varying fates since 1996". USA Today. July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- 1996 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. p. 542.
- 1996 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 3. p. 458.
Further reading
- Gaither, Steven J. (October 6, 2014). "A Shell of A Stadium: Morris Brown's Herndon Stadium Is An HBCU Football Graveyard". hbcugameday.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- "Abandoned: Morris Brown's Herndon Stadium". hbcugameday.com. May 18, 2016. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2017.