Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
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| Location | 2531 North State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39216 |
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| Owner | State of Mississippi |
| Operator | State of Mississippi |
| Capacity | 60,492 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1950 |
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Jackson State Tigers (NCAA) 1967–present Ole Miss Rebels (NCAA) 1953–1996 (selected games) Mississippi State Bulldogs (NCAA) 1953–1990 (selected games) Southern Miss Golden Eagles (NCAA) 1952–1988 (selected games) |
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Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Veterans Memorial Stadium is the home field of the Jackson State Tigers football team. The stadium was originally known as War Veterans Memorial Stadium then later as Hinds County War Memorial Stadium before finally being christened with its current moniker. In the past it has served as an alternate home stadium for The University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. From 1973 to 1990 the Egg Bowl was played there and from 1992 to 2013 it hosted the Mississippi High School Activities Association state championship football games. In addition to college and high school games it has hosted several National Football League (NFL) preseason games.
Construction on the facility began in early 1949 and it opened in 1950 with a seating capacity of 21,000. By 1953 temporary seating had brought the capacity up to 25,000 and in 1961 the stadium was expanded to hold 46,000. Then in 1981 it underwent an expansion that brought total capacity to 62,512, although subsequent renovations dropped the current seating to the official 60,492 seats. In 1960 the state legislature took over control of the stadium and it remain under their supervision until 2013 when "operational, administrative and managing powers and duties" were transferred to Jackson State University.
The stadium hosted its first football game on December 9, 1950, a contest between Holmes Junior College Bulldogs and the Kilgore College Rangers of Kilgore, Texas. A crowd of 18,000 saw Holmes fall to the visiting Rangers 32-12. The first Division I-A game took place on November 11, 1952, when Southern Mississippi defeated Louisville 55-26. Ole Miss first played their first game there on September 19, 1953, defeating Chattanooga 39-6, and on Halloween day of that same year, Mississippi State played there for the first time, suffering a 20-27 loss to Texas Tech. Current tenant Jackson State's first game at the stadium was an October 1967 contest versus Grambling State. JSU won that game 20-14
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