Johnson Hagood Stadium
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| Location | 68 Hagood Avenue Charleston, South Carolina 29403 |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Citadel |
| Operator | The Citadel |
| Capacity | 22,342 (1949–1959) 22,500 (1960–1996) 21,000 (1997–2003) 12,500 (2004–2005) 21,000 (2006–present) |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1946 |
| Opened | October 16, 1948 |
| Construction cost | $600,000 ($5.98 million in 2016 dollars) $42 million (2005 renovation) |
| Architect | Halsey & Cummings Heery International Inc. (2005 renovation) |
| Tenants | |
| The Citadel Bulldogs football | |
Johnson Hagood Stadium, is a 21,000-seat football stadium, the home field of The Citadel Bulldogs, in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The stadium is named in honor of Brigadier General Johnson Hagood, CSA, class of 1847, who commanded Confederate forces in Charleston during the Civil War and later served as Comptroller and Governor of South Carolina.
When the condition of the existing College Park Stadium (located in the northeast corner of Hampton Park) became so poor as to be unservicable, the city of Charleston chose to construct a new sports stadium. The new stadium was opened October 15, 1927, with a football game between The Citadel and Oglethorpe. The original stadium seated 10,000 fans and was oriented east-west, perpendicular to the current layout.
The current Johnson Hagood Stadium was designed by the architectural firm of Halsey & Cummings. It opened with seating for 22,343 on October 16, 1948, with a game between The Citadel and Davidson. The formal dedication of the new $600,000 stadium took place at The Citadel-Clemson football game held on December 4, 1948, before a then-record crowd of approximately 16,000. The Citadel suggested buying the stadium from the city in 1962; it wanted it for its sports program, and the city considered it a "white elephant." It was eventually purchased by The Citadel from the city of Charleston in 1963.
The venue hosted the 1983 and 1984 NCAA Division I-AA National Championship games (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision).
The historic facility gained national attention during summer 1999 when prior crewmen from the H. L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy battleship, were unearthed from underneath the stadium. The location of the stadium had once been a mariners' graveyard. In 1948, when the stadium was being built, a miscommunication led to the gravestones' being moved, but not the bodies. In 1993, the bodies of 13 sailors were discovered under the parking lot. After the discovery of the sunken H. L. Hunley (the confederate submarine) in 1995, there was renewed interest in the remains of its first crew (who had died in an unsuccessful 1863 run). Archaeologists were given permission to conduct more thorough searches as part of the renovations of the stadium, and four of the five sailors' bodies were located under the home stands. The remains were reinterred at Magnolia Cemetery.
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