Jordan-Hare Stadium
|
|
Jordan-Hare Stadium is the primary playing venue for Auburn University's football team located on campus in Auburn, Alabama. The stadium is named for Ralph 'Shug' Jordan, the university's winningest football coach, and Cliff Hare, a member of Auburn's first football team. After the most recent expansion in 2004, the facility has a seating capacity of 87,451, making it the eighth largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA. The largest football crowd ever in the history of the state of Alabama (87,451) watched Auburn defeat LSU 10-9. Auburn holds every major attendance record in the state. On game-days, the stadium becomes the fifth-largest city in the state of Alabama. By the end of the 2003 season, 17,457,526 spectators had witnessed a football game in Jordan-Hare.
History
The stadium, then known as Auburn Stadium, hosted its first game against the University of Florida on November 30, 1939 and boasted 7,290 seats. By the time the stadium was renamed Cliff Hare Stadium in 1949 it had grown to a capacity of 21,500. Shug Jordan became head coach of the Tigers in 1951 and he was still coaching when the stadium was renamed to honor him in 1973 making it the first stadium in the US to be named for an active coach.
With the addition of the West Upper Deck in 1980 and the East Upper Deck in 1987, the stadium became the largest in the state of Alabama and the top state-wide attendance records continue to be held by Jordan-Hare. The 2004 stadium expansion extended both upper decks by an additional section on each end. This added more luxury suites and additional general seating to reach the current capacity to 87,451.
In 1998, artist Michael Taylor was commissioned to paint ten large murals on the east-side exterior of the stadium. The paintings depict the greatest players, teams, and moments from Auburn's football history to that date.
Miscellaneous
As of the 2004 season, in 309 home games played in Jordan-Hare, Auburn has a winning percentage of .798 despite playing in the extremely competitive Southeastern Conference.
External links
- Auburn University (http://www.auburn.edu)
- Auburn University athletics website (http://www.auburntigers.com)
- Van Plexico's complete history of Jordan-Hare (http://www.plexico.net/sg/jordanhare/jh_history.html)
- 'Go To Auburn, Be Changed Forever' newspaper column (http://aunetwork.com/page.cfm?doc_id=2003)