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Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

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Historic Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, one of the most aesthetically pleasing and functional campus football homes in the nation, is the home of Sooner Football. Situated on the east side of the Norman campus, this tradition-rich facility is the largest sports arena in the state and one of the largest college football stadiums in the nation. In the latest edition of the NCAA Records Book, Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is listed as the 19th largest football stadium used by a Division I school.

In 1921, University of Oklahoma students started a movement for construction of a student union. By 1925, the idea had grown to include a combined football stadium/union. In the original architect’s drawings, the north end of the proposed structure was strikingly similar to the present Oklahoma Memorial Union, which eventually was constructed separately after head coach Bennie Owen suggested it would be best to raise funds for a union and a stadium.

The very first game actually played at the stadium site was on October 20, 1923, before the stadium/union plan ever got under way. The field was later named Owen Field after Owen, who coached the Sooners from 1905-26 and became a charter member of the National Football Hall of Fame. In 1925, the first contest was played in from of the new stands on the west side of the field. The 16,000-seat stadium cost approximately $293,000 and was named Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to honor University-associated persons who died in World War I.

Stands on the east side of the stadium were added in time for the 1929 season. This addition increased the seating capacity to 32,000. For the next 20 years, the stadium stayed in its original form. Then in 1949, OU President George L. Cross pushed for expansion and the result was a six-foot lowering of the old playing surface and the elimination of a running track that had surrounded the playing area. This move produced 7,000 new ringside seats and brought capacity to 55,000. The north end of the stadium was also enclosed in 1957, green grandstand bleachers were added to the south end of the enabling the stadium to hold 61, 826 fans.

The next expansion came 18 years later with addition of the upper deck and a new press box. At a cost of $5,726,345 – or about $680 per seat – an additional 8,436 seats were added. The capacity figure for the 1975 National Championship season was 71,187. The last renovation involving seating drastically improved the stadium’s appearance. In time for the 1980 season, the green old bleachers were benched in favor of a new south end zone facility. In addition to improved seating, the complex includes coaches’ offices, the weight room, meeting rooms, a training room with a walk-in whirlpool, the equipment room and two locker rooms. This addition brought the capacity of the stadium to 75,004.

In July of 1970 the original natural grass surface was removed and artificial turf was installed. That tartan turf was replace with super turf before the 1981 season. Owen Field returned to all natural for 1994 with the addition of the new prescription turf.

The Stadium Master Plan was approved by the OU Board of Regents in June 1994. It includes upgrading office space, locker room, training room and academic support facilities while adding new seats, skyboxes, scoreboards and a sound system. Construction of nine skysuites on the west side of the stadium began in April 1995 and they were used for the first time in September 1995.

Visit the Tickets page for seating diagrams.

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