Barron Stadium
Barron Stadium
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| Location | 301 West 3rd Street, Rome, Georgia, 30165 |
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| Coordinates | 34°15′25″N 85°10′37″W / 34.257013°N 85.17698232°WCoordinates: 34°15′25″N 85°10′37″W / 34.257013°N 85.17698232°W |
| Owner | City of Rome |
| Operator | Rome City Schools |
| Capacity | 6,500 |
| Surface | AstroTurf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1924 |
| Tenants | |
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Shorter University (NCAA) Rome High School (GHSA) |
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Barron Stadium is a 6,500-seat football field and track & field stadium in Rome, Georgia. It is home to the Shorter University Hawks and Rome High School Wolves football teams.
The stadium hosted the NAIA Football National Championship from 2008-2013. The facility hosted the NCCAA Victory Bowl and NCCAA track championships for the first time in 2013. Shorter University has contracts to host the preceding events through 2015.
Barron Stadium is owned and operated by the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority (RFPRA), a city-county partnership, which charges Shorter University $7,500 to host its home football games there as part of a three-year, $321,000 usage deal that includes football, track & field, other sports, events, and the school's commencement exercises. Rome High School pays $5,000 per game for its home football games. The RFPRA provides staffing for athletic events and pays for facility maintenance.
The athletic field is over 100 years old, originally known as Hamilton Field. Dating to 1924, the stadium was renamed Barron Stadium in 1925 for local businessman William F. Barron, who helped acquire the property. Barron's father founded the Rome Coca-Cola bottling plant in 1901. Lights were installed by 1937, and the school district turned over operation of the facility to the city recreation department in 1957. Renovations occurred in 1967 and 2008, and a new press box was built in 2001. In 2010, Barron received $3.4 million in upgrades that included a new artificial turf field, an NCAA-certified track, and a new scoreboard, plus expanded locker room, press and seating facilities.
In its early days, the field hosted local prep teams like the Rome Hilltoppers and Darlington Lakesiders. Barron hosted football state championship wins for local East Rome High School in 1977 and 1978, and for West Rome High School in 1983 and 1985. The last crosstown rivalry football game between the schools was played at Barron in 1991 before they were consolidated into one high school. State football championship games were also held at Barron Stadium in 1953, 1954, 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1974. The stadium began hosting Shorter College football in 2005, the program's inaugural season.
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