Vanderbilt Stadium

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Dudley Field redirects here, for information on the El Paso stadium...see Dudley Field (El Paso)

Vanderbilt Stadium
at Dudley Field

Location	Natchez Trace & Jess Neely Dr Nashville, TN 37235
Opened	October 14, 1922
Owner	Vanderbilt University Board of Trust
Operator	Vanderbilt University
Construction cost	$1.5 million
Former names
Dudley Field (1922-81)
Tenants
Vanderbilt Commodores Football Tennessee Oilers (NFL) (1998)
Capacity
41,448 (2003); 41,000 (1981); 34,000 (1960); 22,000 (1922)

Vanderbilt Stadium (originally known as Dudley Field, and the playing surface of which remains known as Dudley Field) is a football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922, it is the home of the football team of Vanderbilt University and also hosted the Tennessee Oilers in 1998. It hosted the first Music City Bowl in 1998.

[edit] History

The stadium was originally constructed as Dudley Field in 1922, seating 20,000. Over the years, capacity was raised to 34,000 with the addition of the south stands, completing the horseshoe, and north end zone bleacher stands. It was named for Dr. William Dudley, Dean of the VU Medical College from 1885 until his death in 1914. Dudley was responsible for the formation of the SIAA, the predecessor of the Southern Conference and Southeastern Conference, in 1895, and was also instrumental in the formation of the NCAA in 1906.

Most of the stadium was demolished in 1980-1981, with the remaining stands on each sideline raised ten feet through the use of 22 hydraulic jacks on each side of the stadium.

The stadium's maximum capacity after the 1980-81 renovation was 41,448, consisting of a single-decked horseshoe grandstand filled in with metal bleachers from the original 1960 expansion.

In 2004, Vanderbilt officials removed the unpopular metal bleachers from the north endzone and replaced them with a visitors' conconcourse that affords any fan in the stadium a field-level, up-close experience with the playing surface.

Future plans for the stadium call for its renovation, changing the flavor of the facility to the brick-and-iron style of nearby Hawkins Field, Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, along with construction of a football facility in place of the present concourse and JumboTron.

The stadium remains the home of Vanderbilt Commodore football.

[edit] NFL use

Upon moving to Tennessee, the Oilers/Titans franchise initially played at the larger Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee while its current home, LP Field, was under construction, with the intention of building up a statewide fan-base.

Dismal attendance during the 1997 season, due in part to the unwillingness of many Nashville fans to make the trip to Memphis, however, led the team to decide to play the 1998 season at the smaller Vanderbilt Stadium.

[edit] External link

Vanderbilt Stadium (from VUCommodores.com)

Preceded by Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 1997	Home of the Tennessee Oilers 1998	Succeeded by Adelphia Coliseum (The Coliseum/LP Field) 1999–present