Camp Randall Stadium
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| Camp Randall Stadium | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | 1440 Monroe Street Madison, WI 53711 |
| Broke ground | 1917 |
| Opened | November 3, 1917 |
| Owner | University of Wisconsin |
| Operator | University of Wisconsin |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Tenants | |
| Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) (1917-Present) | |
| Seats | |
| 80,321 | |
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It is the current home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team, and is located on the west side of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. It currently seats 80,321 [1] and is widely known as one of the premier American football venues in collegiate athletics. Due in large part to the raucous crowd, the stadium is recognized among the most difficult for opposing teams in all of college football. It is the oldest stadium and fourth largest in the Big Ten Conference.
Originally, the stadium consisted of a horseshoe opening to the south, with a running track around the field. The stadium was renovated at various points to raise the size of the horseshoe by nearly doubling the number of rows around the stadium in various stages, placing south stands in front of the Wisconsin Field House (built in 1930), the removal of the track and addition of nearly 11,000 seats in 1958, the addition of the upper deck in 1966, and finally the 2005 addition added boxes along the eastern rim of the stadium.
The stadium received its name because it lies on the grounds of Camp Randall, a former Union Army base during the American Civil War that was eventually absorbed by the Wisconsin campus. The camp was named after Governor Alexander Randall.
The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university. In 2002, reconstruction on the stadium started, to include luxury boxes and new offices for the football program, as well as expanded seating that increased capacity. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the football field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. The construction was completed prior to the start of the 2005 season. The football team continued to play at the stadium throughout the construction.
Wisconsin's two Heisman Trophy winnners, Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne, along with their numbers (Ameche's is retired, Dayne's is not but has not been assigned since his final season), are displayed on the upper deck façade. The retired numbers of Elroy Hirsch (40), Dave Schreiner (80) and Allan Schafer (83) will be added during the 2006 football season. In addition, Pat Richter's number 88 will also be retired during the season and displayed on the façade. [2]
On 13 October 2006 a bronze statue of former head football coach Barry Alvarez was unveiled in the Stadium's Kellner Plaza. The statue honoring Alvarez had been announced the previous year, at his last home game as head coach. On 17 November, it was joined by a similar statue of former UW athlete and athletic director Pat Richter. [3]
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[edit] "The Camp Randall Crush"
On October 30, 1993, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Michigan Woverines 13-10. As the final gun sounded, students started to charge the field to celebrate but were blocked by the fences surrounding the field. The crowd in the back, not fully aware of what was going on at the front, continued to move forward. As a result, those up front got caught and were pressed against the fence. 73 students were injured, with 6 being critically injured. Several Badgers football players assisted with removing the injured from the tangle.
As a result, design changes were made in the stadium which would allow the fences to break apart to prevent another situation.
[edit] Other Uses
Drum Corps International has used the stadium as the site for its world championships in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1999, 2002, and 2006.
The stadium is also used by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association for its state football championships. For several seasons, the Green Bay Packers played one exhibition game per year at Camp Randall.
Camp Randall has also hosted a number of major concerts. These have included: Pink Floyd (May 20, 1988 & July 3, 1994), Genesis (June 9, 1992), U2 (September 13, 1992 & June 25, 1997), and The Rolling Stones (August 26, 1994 & October 6, 1997).
[edit] The Camp Randall Complex
The Camp Randall athletic complex also includes three other facilities.
The Field House is the former home to the UW basketball teams until January of 1998, when they moved into the Kohl Center. It is still the home of Wisconsin's wrestling and women's volleyball teams.
The Dave McClain Athletic Facility, an indoor football practice facility, was built to honor the late Badgers football coach, Dave McClain. In addition to the indoor practice field, it also houses locker rooms for football, men's and women's track, and softball. Strength and conditioning, sports medicine and academic services also have facilities in the building.
The Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell") features a 200 meter indoor track surrounding several facilities for intramural sports. The indoor track facilities are used by the UW track teams during their indoor seasons. The Shell also houses a practice ice sheet and the locker room for the women's ice hockey team.
| Football Stadiums of the Big Ten Conference |
|---|
| Beaver Stadium (Penn State) • Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin) • Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota) • Kinnick Stadium (Iowa) • Memorial Stadium (Illinois) • Memorial Stadium (Indiana) • Michigan Stadium (Michigan) • Ohio Stadium (Ohio State) • Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue) • Ryan Field (Northwestern) • Spartan Stadium (Michigan State) |
