Boone Pickens Stadium
| "The Boone" | |
 |
|
| Former names | Lewis Field (1920–2002) |
|---|---|
| Location | 700 West Hall of Fame Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74078 |
| Coordinates | 36°7′33″N 97°3′59″W / 36.12583°N 97.06639°WCoordinates: 36°7′33″N 97°3′59″W / 36.12583°N 97.06639°W |
| Owner | Oklahoma State University |
| Operator | Oklahoma State University |
| Capacity |
56,790 (2017-present) 60,218 (2009–2016)60,000 (2008) 44,700 (2007) 43,500 (2006) 48,000 (2005) 47,800 (2004) 48,500 (1999–2003) 50,614 (1993–1998) 50,440 (1972–1992) 39,000 (1950–1971) 30,000 (1947–1949) 13,000 (1930–1946) 8,000 (1920–1929) |
| Record attendance | 60,218 |
| Surface | Astroturf 3D Decade (2013–present) Desso Artificial Grass (2005–2013) Astroplay (2000–2004) Astroturf (1972–1999) Grass (1920–1971) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1920 |
| Opened | October 2, 1920 |
| Renovated | 2003-2009 |
| Expanded | 1924, 1929, 1947, 1950, 1971, 2009 |
| Construction cost | $50,000 ($598 thousand in 2016 dollars) $286 million (renovation) ($319 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect | Gary Sparks (Renovation) Crafton Tull Sparks |
| Tenants | |
|
Oklahoma State Cowboys (NCAA) (1920–present) Orange Peel Concert (1996–2006) |
|
56,790 (2017-present)
Boone Pickens Stadium (previously known as Lewis Field) has been home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboys football team in rudimentary form since 1913, and as a complete stadium since 1920. The facility is the oldest football stadium in the Big 12 Conference but was left largely neglected and enjoyed only modest renovations throughout its near-century of existence.
With the resurgence of Cowboy football sparked by the 2001 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the annual Bedlam Series game and the subsequent 2002 Houston Bowl season, interest grew for a major overhaul of Lewis Field. An ambitious fund-raising project for the renovation dubbed "The Next Level" became the flagship effort of the Oklahoma State athletic department.
Officially the capacity is 60,218.
Oklahoma State, then known as Oklahoma A&M, first began playing at the current site of Pickens Stadium in 1913. Originally known simply as "Athletic Field," it was renamed Lewis Field in 1914 after Laymon Lowery Lewis, a former dean of veterinary medicine and of science and literature and 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. Under his brief administration, OAMC established the first school of commerce and marketing in the nation and developed experimental stations around the state. In addition to naming the field after him, the students also dedicated the 1914 yearbook, its first, to Lewis.
The school built a permanent 8,000-seat grandstand—roughly corresponding to the lower level of the current facility's north grandstand—in 1920. The stadium originally was positioned in the traditional north-south direction, but was reoriented east-west to avoid the strong prevailing winds. It remains one of a handful of major stadiums in the United States with goals at the east and west ends, and the only one oriented that way in the Big 12. 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.
The university planned to build a horseshoe-shaped stadium, similar to Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium, in the 1920s to be called War Memorial Stadium. These plans were scrapped before any construction of the proposed stadium started, and the first addition to Lewis Field 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.
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