Memorial Stadium (Terre Haute)
| Location | 3300 Wabash Avenue Terre Haute, IN 47803 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°28′29″N 87°22′1″W / 39.47472°N 87.36694°WCoordinates: 39°28′29″N 87°22′1″W / 39.47472°N 87.36694°W |
| Owner | Indiana State University |
| Operator | Indiana State University |
| Capacity | 12,764 (1996–present) 20,500 (1970–1995) 14,000 (1967–1969) 16,000 (1924–1966) |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | October 1, 1922 |
| Opened | November 27, 1924 |
| Renovated | 1967 |
| Construction cost | $450,000 ($5.59 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | Shourds–Stoner Co. |
| General contractor | North Raffin Construction Co. |
| Tenants | |
| Indiana State Sycamores (NCAA) | |
Memorial Stadium is the current home of Indiana State University football in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. Constructed in 1923–1924 by the City of Terre Haute to seat approximately 16,000 people, the facility's initial primary use was as the home of the Terre Haute Baseball Club, a.k.a. the Terre Haute Tots, a minor league team in the Three-I League; a Class B team. Class B is the equivalent of today's Class A baseball. The stadium was officially dedicated on May 4, 1925 and was universally hailed as the nation's finest minor league baseball stadium. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was present to throw out the first pitch of the season opening game between Terre Haute and the Peoria Tractors. The stadium and its grounds also were used for semi-pro, high school and college football and baseball, professional boxing, circuses, fireworks exhibitions, ice skating and miscellaneous conventions and other events.
Later tenants of Memorial Stadium were the Terre Haute Phillies, a farm club of the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Terre Haute Huts, which had a working agreement with the Detroit Tigers. Terre Haute's long association (since 1883) with professional baseball ended on July 3, 1956.
In 1967, Indiana State University became the first university in the world to own and operate an outdoor artificial playing surface. The stadium, except for its outside wall and memorial arch, was razed in 1968–1969, and converted to a football stadium. The three-part renovation project included: the reorientation of the playing field from a north-south direction to its present east-west configuration; the installation of Astroturf; and the construction of some 4,500 bleacher seats on the north side of the field as well as the rebuilding of seats on the south side. The original arch still remains from the original structure. However, the bleacher seats, installed in 1967, were removed in the summer of 1996 and replaced by a landscaped hill which serves as a general admission section and a site for pregame tailgating for Sycamore fans. As a result, it has little resemblance to the majestic amphitheater constructed in the early Twenties. The field was upgraded in 2009 with a new FieldTurf playing surface, at a cost of $750,000.
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