Boone Pickens Stadium
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"Lewis Field" redirects here. For the NASA research center, see Glenn Research Center.
| Boone Pickens Stadium | |
|---|---|
| "Lewis Field" | |
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| Location | Hall of Fame Ave at Hester St Stillwater, OK 74078 |
| Broke ground | 1914 |
| Opened | 1914 |
| Owner | Oklahoma State University |
| Operator | Oklahoma State University |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Architect | Gary Sparks (Renovation) |
| Former names | |
| Lewis Field (1914-2002) | |
| Tenants | |
| Oklahoma State Cowboy Football (NCAA) (1914-Present) Orange Peel Concert (1996-Present) |
|
| Seats | |
| 44,700 (Estimated 60,000 following current renovations) | |
Boone Pickens Stadium, formerly known as Lewis Field, is home to the Oklahoma State University college football program. Boone Pickens Stadium, the home of Oklahoma State Football, is a far cry from what the student body expected when they were renaming the field before the 1914 football season. Lewis Field, much like the Cowboy football program, was left largely neglected and enjoyed only modest renovations throughout its near-century of existence. However, this all changed in recent history. With the resurgence of Cowboy football sparked by the 2001 16-13 victory over Oklahoma in the annual Bedlam game and the subsequent 2002 Houston Bowl season, interest soon returned to a major overhaul of Lewis Field. An ambitious fund-raising project for the Lewis Field renovation dubbed "The Next Level" became the flagship efforts of the Oklahoma State athletic department.
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[edit] Christening of "Lewis Field"
In 1914, the student body named the “Athletic Field” after Lowery Laymon Lewis. A former dean of veterinary medicine and of science and literature from Oklahoma A&M, Dr. Lewis was one of the most popular figures in the school’s history.
In addition to his duties as dean and instructor at OAMC, Lewis served as the school's acting president in 1914. Instrumental in the development of experimental stations around the state under his brief administration, OAMC established the first school of commerce and marketing in the nation.
"Doctor Lew" was highly respected by the school's student body, which named the football field "Lewis Field" in his honor prior to 1914. The university's first yearbook from 1914 is dedicated to Dr. Lewis. While the playing field bore his name (thus two references as Lewis Field and Lewis Stadium), OAMC installed grandstand seats in 1920, pushing capacity to 8,000. The stadium originally was positioned in the traditional north-south direction, but switched to east-west to avoid the strong prevailing winds.
[edit] Past Expansion Projects
The first addition to the stadium came in 1924 with the first steel and concrete portion of the current stadium built on the south side. During the 1929-1930 seasons, 8,000 permanent seats were built on the north side for an overall capacity of 13,000. In 1947 the south stands were increased from 20 to 53 rows and capacity climbed to nearly 30,000. For the first time, a permanent press box was then added.
Prior to the 1950 season, 10,600 more seats were added to the north stands, increasing capacity to 39,000 (including temporary endzone bleachers). The next expansion started after the 1971 season and included the removal of the cinder track, lowering the field 12 feet and adding 20 rows of permanent seats to both sides. This expansion, including a completely artificial turf field, cost $2.5 million and was financed through private donations.
Construction of a press box was completed in 1980 at a cost of $1.8 million. The press box has seating for more than 200 members of the print media, with separate levels for radio/television broadcasters, photographers and VIP seating on the first level capable of handling 300. A lighting system for night games was installed in time for the 1985 season and cost approximately $750,000.
[edit] Boone Pickens and the "Next Level"
During the 2003 football season, the stadium’s name was changed to honor OSU alumnus Boone Pickens. Pickens, a Texas oilman and entrepreneur, founded Mesa Petroleum Co. in 1956 and served as its CEO from 1956 to 1996. It was one of the largest independent oil and gas companies, in addition to being known for its corporate control contests for Cities Service, Gulf, Phillips and Unocal. (See also T. Boone Pickens, Jr.)
Pickens dontated $165 million overall to the college, in order to create an “athletic village” on campus. Pickens' gift will help build the west end zone at Boone Pickens Stadium, a multi-purpose indoor practice complex, new soccer, track and tennis facilities, a new equestrian center, a new baseball stadium and new outdoor practice fields. During the 2003 football season, OSU broke ground on a proposed $86 million upgrade to Boone Pickens Stadium which will include a brick exterior to match the modified Georgian architecture of the OSU campus. It will be connected to the Athletics Center. The turf of the stadium was changed in 2005. Phase 2 started in February 2005 and is expected to be completed in Fall 2006. However, the funds used for the expansion of the stadium have been a topic of controversy and discussion among students and the Student Government.
The athletic village came under intense scrutiny within the community and garnered statewide attention. In 2005 and 2006, OSU held "town hall meetings" to allow members of the community to vent their frustrations. At the Feb. 21 meeting in the Stillwater Public Library, Commissioner Hank Moore told Schmidly - the meeting's moderator - that OSU's actions in implementing the athletic village under the Campus Master Plan contradicted the principles of democracy. One hotly contested issue between the city commissioners and OSU administrators is the closing of Hall of Fame Avenue, the street running parellel with the North side of the stadium. At the Feb. 21 meeting, Moore said OSU broke a trust agreement with the city on the closing of the street. In April, newly-elected Mayor Roger McMillian (a former city attorney for rural towns including Stillwater) said the city owns 100 percent of the street and no compromises will made regarding partial ownership. As of July 2006, the city is working on litigation with OSU on the issue of the street.
[edit] Miscellaneous Information
- Boone Pickens is one of a handful of major stadiums in the United States with goals at the east and west ends. Because of this, the Sun becomes an advantage to the team defending the west end zone during sunny afternoon games, because the team defending the east goal has to look directly into the bright sunlight.
- Oklahoma A&M planned on building a horseshoe-shaped stadium, similar to Ohio State's Ohio Stadium, in the 1920s called "War Memorial Stadium." However, these plans were scrapped before any construction of the proposed stadium started.
- The all-time attendance record for Lewis Field is 51,458 for the Bedlam game in 1979.
- Pickens' gift is the largest single donation for athletics to an institution of higher education in U.S. history.
- Lewis Field was officially renamed Boone Pickens Stadium during a halftime ceremony at the 2003 football game versus the University of Wyoming. Since the renaming, the Cowboys have had a record of 13-6 at Boone Pickens Stadium.
- The space between the field and the seating retaining walls is among the smallest in all of college athletics.
- One of the two bomb squad units for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is stationed at all football games at the stadium after a student at the University of Oklahoma - whether incidental or intentional - exploded a home-made bomb less than 100 feet from the Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium at OU.[1]
On May 6, 2006, President George W. Bush gave OSU’s commencement speech at the stadium. He was the third president to speak at an OSU commencement, following George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon. Many protesters took advantage of the president’s visit to protest the war in Iraq.
[edit] References
- ^ Bomb squad stands by at game, by Brent Battle, October 10, 2005, The Daily O'Collegian, retrieved June 15, 2006
[edit] External links
| Football Stadiums of the Big 12 Conference |
|---|
| Bill Snyder Family Stadium (Kansas State) • Boone Pickens Stadium (Oklahoma State) • Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Texas) • Faurot Field (Missouri) • Floyd Casey Stadium (Baylor) • Folsom Field (Colorado) • Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Oklahoma) • Jack Trice Stadium (Iowa State) • Jones AT&T Stadium (Texas Tech) • Kyle Field (Texas A&M) • Memorial Stadium (Kansas) • Memorial Stadium (Nebraska) |
| Academics | Academics • College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources • College of Arts & Sciences • CEAT • College of Education • College of Human Environmental Services • Edmon Low Library • William S. Spears School of Business |
|---|---|
| Athletics | OSU Athletics • OSU Wrestling • Bedlam • Boone Pickens Stadium • Gallagher-Iba Arena • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Karsten Creek • Bullet • Pistol Pete • National Wrestling Hall of Fame |
| Campuses | Center for Health Sciences • Oklahoma City • Okmulgee • OSU Medical Center • Stillwater • Tulsa |
| History | History • Old Central |
| People | List of OSU people • List of OSU Olympians |
| Student Life | Colvin Center • Daily O'Collegian • Eskimo Joe's • Homecoming • Orange Peel • Student Union |
