Rice Stadium (Rice University)
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| Former names | Houston Stadium |
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| Location | 6100 South Main Street Houston, Texas 77005 |
| Coordinates | 29°42′59″N 95°24′33″W / 29.71639°N 95.40917°WCoordinates: 29°42′59″N 95°24′33″W / 29.71639°N 95.40917°W |
| Owner | Rice University |
| Operator | Rice University |
| Capacity | 47,000 (expandable to 70,000) |
| Surface | Grass (1950–1969) AstroTurf (1970–2005) FieldTurf (2006–2014) AstroTurf 3D60H Synthetic Turf (2014–present) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | February 1950 |
| Opened | September 30, 1950 |
| Construction cost | $3,295,000 ($32.8 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | Hermon Lloyd & W.B. Morgan and Milton McGinty |
| General contractor | Brown & Root Constructors |
| Tenants | |
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Rice Owls (NCAA) (1950–present) Houston Cougars (NCAA) (1951–1964) Bluebonnet Bowl (NCAA) (1959–1967, 1985–1986) Houston Oilers (AFL) (1965–1967) |
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Rice Stadium is an American football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice Owls football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974.
Architecturally, Rice Stadium is an example of modern architecture, with simple lines and an unadorned, functional design. The lower seating bowl is located below the surrounding ground level. Built solely for football, the stadium has excellent sightlines from almost every seat. To achieve this, the running track was eliminated so that spectators were closer to the action and each side of the upper decks was brought in at a concave angle to provide better sightlines. It is still recognized in many circles as the best stadium in Texas for watching a football game. Entrances and aisles were strategically placed so that the entire stadium could be emptied of spectators in nine minutes.
In 2006, Rice University upgraded the facility by switching from AstroTurf to FieldTurf and adding a modern scoreboard above the north concourse. Seating in the upper deck is in poor condition, which led the university to move home games for which large crowds were expected to nearby NRG Stadium.
High school football games, especially neutral-site playoff games, are frequently played at Rice Stadium. It can also be used as a concert venue.
Rice Stadium replaced Rice Field (now Rice Track/Soccer Stadium), which had a total capacity of less than 37,000, in 1950. The new stadium was subsidized by the City of Houston, and it was designed by Hermon Lloyd & W.B. Morgan and Milton McGinty and built by Brown and Root. In addition to Rice, the University of Houston football team played at Rice Stadium from 1951 to 1965, and the Bluebonnet Bowl was played there from 1959 to 1967 and again in 1985 and 1986. The Houston Oilers also played in the stadium from 1965 to 1967. In 1974, Rice Stadium hosted Super Bowl VIII, in which the Miami Dolphins beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–7. It was the first Super Bowl played in Houston, and it would be 30 years later that the Super Bowl would return to Houston, which was played at Reliant Stadium.
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