Rice–Eccles Stadium
The stadium during a
night football game in 2003
Salt Lake City is located in the United States
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
Location in the United States
Salt Lake City is located in Utah
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
Location in Utah
Address451 South 1400 East
LocationUniversity of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Coordinates40°45′36″N 111°50′56″W / 40.76°N 111.849°W / 40.76; -111.849
Public transit  703  (at Stadium)
OwnerUniversity of Utah[1]
OperatorUniversity of Utah
Executive suites25
Capacity51,444 (2021–present)

Former capacity:

List
    • 45,807 (2014–2020)[2]
    • 45,017 (2003–2013)[3]
    • 45,634 (1998–2002)
Record attendance53,644 (vs. Florida, 2023)
SurfaceFieldTurf CoolPlay (2015–)[4]
FieldTurf (2002–2015)
Natural grass (2000–2001)
Sportgrass (1998–1999)
Construction
Broke groundJune 1997
OpenedSeptember 12, 1998 (1998-09-12)
Construction cost$50 million
($89.8 million in 2022[5])
ArchitectFFKR Architects[6]
Structural engineerReaveley Engineers + Associates[7]
Services engineerVan Boerum & Frank Associates, Inc.[8]
General contractorLayton Construction
Tenants
Website
stadium.utah.edu/rice-eccles

Rice–Eccles Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 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".

The FieldTurf playing field runs in the traditional north-south configuration at an elevation of 4,637 feet (1,413 m) above sea level, 400 feet (120 m) above downtown Salt Lake City.[9]

History

When Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics in June 1995, it was obvious that Rice Stadium, the largest outdoor stadium in Salt Lake City, was not suitable to serve as the main stadium.[10] The concrete, timber, and earth-fill facility was built in 1927 and had not aged well. In 1996, U of U athletic director Chris Hill announced plans to renovate Rice Stadium into 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 (now part of Wells Fargo), announced that the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation would donate $10 million toward the project. In recognition of this gift, the university received permission from the Eccles family to add George Eccles's name to the stadium alongside that of Robert L. Rice, who had funded the original renovation project to Rice Stadium in 1972.[11] Before 1972, it was Ute Stadium, which opened in 1927 with a Utah win over Colorado Mines.

Renovations

Immediately after the 1997 season's final home game on November 15, fittingly a 31–14 victory over Rice, Rice Stadium was almost completely demolished, replaced with a modern steel, concrete and glass facility. All that remained of the old stadium were the stands in the south end zone, built in 1982. The stadium did not miss a football season, as the project was timed not to disrupt the 1997 home schedule.[12] 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 45,807 and has a six-story press box.

Exterior view and entrance in 2007

As of 2014, a row of bleachers has been added in the standing room areas on the east, west and north sections of Rice–Eccles Stadium. 40 ADA seats were also added for a total of 790 new seats, bringing the capacity of Rice–Eccles Stadium to 45,807 (from 45,017). There will still be space for standing room behind the new row of bleachers.[2]

In June 2010, the U of U accepted an invitation to join the Pacific-10 Conference (which changed its name to the Pac-12 Conference shortly after the Utah Utes and the Colorado Buffaloes joined)[13] and began playing in the conference during 2011–2012 season. It is expected that Rice–Eccles Stadium is to be expanded and the locker room facilities upgraded.[14] This claim was furthered when both KSL.com[15] and the Deseret News[16] reported that the university was seriously considering expanding the stadium by at least 10,000 seats, which brings the expected capacity to 51,444.[17]

It was announced in 2019 to demolish the South End Zone and rebuild to add 6,000 more seats, high-end suites, locker rooms, offices, terrace seating, and a restaurant for $80 million; a major donor was the Kendall Garff Family of ($17.5 million)[18] and the area was named after him (Ken Garff Red Zone). Construction on the South End Zone was completed on 12 Aug 2021 and opened to the public. The total seat increase was 5,637 when construction was completed.

The Ken Garff Red Zone features new home and visiting locker rooms, sports medicine facilities and hospitality areas, the University Club restaurant, Diglisic Lounge, Layton Field Club, and various premium seating options, including suites, loge boxes, ledge, club, and premium terrace seating as well as additional bleacher seating. Utah’s new locker room is 5,300 square feet with 90 lockers. It features a one-of-a-kind locker design with hidden storage, wireless charging, and a locking box for athletes.[19]

Features

Olympic Cauldron Park

Olympic Cauldron Park pictured in 2004

Immediately south of the stadium was the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park, which contained a 2002 Winter Olympic museum, the Olympic cauldron, and other memorabilia from the games. Only the cauldron remains at the stadium today; the museum and other memorabilia have all since been removed. Hoberman Arch was located until its removal in October 2014.[20] The cauldron has undergone refurbishment and was relocated to a new Olympic plaza at the Southwest corner outside the stadium, just west of the South Endzone expansion.[21]

Playing surface

Since 2002, the playing field at Rice–Eccles Stadium has been FieldTurf, a next-generation infilled synthetic turf, which was most recently replaced in 2015.[22]

When the stadium reopened in 1998, its surface was SportGrass, a hybrid of natural grass and artificial turf. Earlier, Rice Stadium had been among the first facilities to use SportGrass. A full natural grass was installed in 2000 for two seasons, then was covered by asphalt blacktop for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in February.

It is the second-highest field in the Pac-12, about 700 feet (210 m) lower than Colorado's Folsom Field in Boulder, and over 2,000 feet (610 m) above the third-highest, Washington State's Martin Stadium in Pullman.

Events

2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

During the 2002 Winter Olympics, the stadium served as the venue for the Opening Ceremony on February 8, 2002, and for the Closing Ceremony on February 24, 2002. To host the ceremonies, the grass field was paved over with asphalt and a stage was constructed, scoreboards were removed, flags and Olympic livery were installed, temporary seating was brought in (allowing more than 50,000 spectators), and the 2002 Olympic cauldron was installed atop the southern bleachers.

For the duration of the games, the stadium was temporarily renamed the Rice–Eccles Olympic Stadium. Through broadcasts from the stadium, an estimated 3.5 billion people worldwide watched the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on television.[23]

The Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Paralympics was also held in the stadium on March 7, 2002. The corresponding Closing Ceremony followed suit on March 16, 2002.[24]

Concerts

Date Artist Opening act(s) Tour / Concert name Attend. Revenue Notes
June 17, 2000NSYNCP!nkNo Strings Attached Tour——
May 24, 2011U2The Fray360° Tour47,710 / 47,710$3,029,760Postponed from June 3, 2010, due to Bono's emergency back surgery.
July 28, 2018Imagine DragonsGrace VanderWaal
Zedd
Mike Shinoda
Tyler Glenn
Vagabon
A.W.
Cameron Esposito		LoveLoud2018
Evolve World Tour		——.
July 17, 2021Garth Brooks—The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour——
June 7, 2024 Luke Combs Growin’ Up And Gettin’ Old Tour
June 8, 2024

Real Salt Lake

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.

Utah Utes

Rice–Eccles Stadium replaced Rice Stadium, the former home field of the Utah Utes football team. The first Utes game at the stadium was a 45–22 victory over the Louisville Cardinals held on September 12, 1998, with 44,112 in attendance. The Utes had a 53–16 record at the stadium through the 2009 season.[25]

Salt Lake Stallions

The Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) played at Rice–Eccles Stadium during the league's lone season in 2019.[26][27]

Other events

The stadium hosted a round of the AMA Supercross Championship from 2001 to 2004, 2009 to 2013 and 2017. In 2020, it hosted the final seven rounds of the series in a “covid-19 bubble” with no fans being allowed in the stands. Since 2021, Rice-Eccles Stadium has been the home of the Championship round[28]

Rice-Eccles Stadium has hosted Monster Jam from 2022-2023

Attendance records

Ken Garff South End Zone as seen in October 2022
Rice–Eccles Stadium football attendance records
Attendance records[3]
RankDateTimeOpponentResultAttendance
1August 31, 20235:00 pmFloridaW 24-1153,644
2October 15, 20226:00 pm#7 USCW 43–4253,609[29]
3October 28, 20231:30 pm#7 OregonL 35-653,586
4November 20, 20215:30 pm#3 OregonW 38–752,724[30]
5October 30, 20218:00 pmUCLAW 44-2451,922
6October 1, 202212:00 pmOregon StateW 42-1651,729
7October 16, 20218:00 pm#18 Arizona StateW 35-2151,724
8September 17, 20228:00 pmSan Diego StateW 35-751,602
9November 26, 20212:00 pmColoradoW 28-1351,538
10September 10, 202211:30 amSouthern UtahW 73-751,531
11September 2, 20217:30 pm#6 (FCS) Weber StateW 40-1751,511
12September 25, 202112:30 pmWashington StateW 24-1351,483
13September 3, 20156:30 pmMichiganW 24–1747,825[31]
14October 29, 20161:30 pm#4 WashingtonL 24–3147,801
15October 10, 20158:00 pm#23 CaliforniaW 30–2447,798
16October 25, 20148:00 pm#20 USCW 24–2147,619
17November 8, 20148:00 pm#5 OregonL 27–5147,528[32]
18September 10, 20165:30 pmBYUW 20–1946,915
19September 11, 20035:45 pmCaliforniaW 31–2446,768
20November 6, 20101:30 pm#4 TCUL 47–746,522

See also

References

  1. ↑ University of Utah cuts the ribbon on $80M expansion to stadium by Spencer Joseph on Fox13Now, 12 Aug 2021
  2. 1 2 "Utah Football Opens 2014 Campaign vs. Idaho State" (Press release). University of Utah Athletics Department. August 25, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Rice–Eccles Stadium". University of Utah Athletics Department. 2009. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Rice-Eccles Stadium | Utah Athletics". University of Utah Athletics Department. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ "FFKR Architects". FFKR Architects. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Rice–Eccles Stadium". Reaveley Engineers + Architects. Archived from the original on May 13, 2003. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Benjamin L. Davis, P.E.: Notable Projects". Van Boerum & Frank Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Microsoft Research – Emerging Technology, Computer, and Software Research". Microsoft Research. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  10. ↑ 2002 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 1. p. 101.
  11. ↑ Cortez, Marjorie (July 29, 1998). "U. Football StadiumRrenamed Rice–Eccles to Honor Donors". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. A10.
  12. ↑ "Utah Game by Game Results". Archived from the original on January 5, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Pac-10 Unveils New Logo; Conference Reveals Plans to Eventually Change Name to Pac-12". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. July 27, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  14. ↑ Aiken, Kathy; Jeppesen, Randall (June 17, 2010). "University of Utah Accepts Invitation to Join Pac-10". KSL. Salt Lake City. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  15. ↑ Adams, Andrew (August 21, 2012). "Possible Stadium Expansion Could Move Olympic Landmarks". KSL-TV. Salt Lake City. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Adams, Andrew (August 21, 2012). "University of Utah Eyes Future Stadium Expansion". Deseret News. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Facilities". University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Major Gift for Rice-Eccles Stadium Expansion and Renovation". University of Utah. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  19. ↑ Call, Jeff (August 12, 2021). "Rice-Eccles Stadium expansion allows more fans to 'join the party'". deseret.com. deseret.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  20. ↑ Riley Roche, Lisa (December 16, 2002). "Cauldron Site Under Construction". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  21. ↑ "2002 Olympic cauldron to get a facelift | @theU". attheu.utah.edu. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  22. ↑ Larsen, Andy (September 18, 2015). "Rice-Eccles' turf failed prematurely, new field a possible safety concern". Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  23. ↑ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2002). Official Report of the XIX Olympic Winter Games (PDF). p. 101. ISBN 978-0-9717961-0-2. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  24. ↑ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2001). Official Spectator Guide. p. 187.
  25. ↑ "Rice Stadium". University of Utah Athletics Department. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  26. ↑ "Utah's new pro football team will be known as the Salt Lake Stallions". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Salt Lake City 4th City for New Alliance Football League". Scottsbluff Star-Herald. Associated Press. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  28. ↑ "2015 AMA Supercross Media Guide" (PDF). AMA Supercross. 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Rising scores on 2-pointer, No. 20 Utah tops No. 7 USC 43-42". ESPN. Associated Press.
  30. ↑ "No. 24 Utah routs No. 4 Oregon, ending Ducks' CFP hopes". ESPN. Associated Press. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  31. ↑ Copeland, Kareem (September 3, 2015). "Utah Spoils Harbaugh's Debut as Michigan Coach". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Oregon @ Utah". Stat Broadcast. November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
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