Archbold Stadium
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Archbold Stadium was a
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. It opened in 1907 and was home to the Syracuse Orangemen
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team prior to the opening of the Carrier Dome in 1980.


History

After organizing athletics events at various Star Parks around the city, the university wanted the center of athletics on campus, and created the
Old Oval Old Oval, also called The Oval or University Oval, was a multi-purpose stadium in Syracuse, New York. The field, located open field south of the Hall of Languages, opened in 1895 and was the first on-campus home to the Syracuse Orangemen footb ...
. The athletics program quickly outgrew the multi-purpose field and the Oval was no longer considered a suitable location for such events. The stadium was named for
John D. Archbold John Dustin Archbold (July 26, 1848 – December 6, 1916) was an American businessman and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. His small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Archbold rose rapidl ...
, who donated $600,000 for the project. He was also responsible for funding towards the building of
Archbold Gymnasium Archbold Gymnasium is a gymnasium located on the campus of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. History It was built in 1908 with money donated by John Dustin Archbold, a major benefactor of the university, who also funded the building o ...
, located just to the east overlooking the stadium. The stadium was built entirely of concrete in the excavated hill side and seated over 25,000 spectators. Construction of the stadium took place from May 1, 1905 to 1907. Upon its completion in 1907, Archbold Stadium was touted as the "Greatest Athletic Arena in America". The stadium displaced
Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footb ...
as the largest concrete stadium in the nation. At the time of its construction, it was one of only three concrete stadiums in the world. In the first game played at the stadium on September 25, 1907, Syracuse Orangemen beat rival
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
by a score of 28-0. The Orange football went 265-112-20 all-time (from 1907 until 1978), and at times were nearly unbeatable. From 1915 to 1927, Syracuse achieved a remarkable home record of 61-10-6. Then, during the 11-year stretch from 1958 to 1968, the team in Orange won 47 and lost only 6 games played at Archbold Stadium. The stadium was occasionally used to stage Syracuse Stars minor league baseball games, such as in 1920 while the Stars were awaiting the completion of Star Park.


Description

The stadium contained over 20,000 cubic yards of concrete over six acres, cost approximately $400,000 ($12 million in 2020 dollars) and was built in just over a year. The 800' x 475' stadium was oval-shaped, with a track (originally dirt) and a natural grass football field. The west end zone, the stadium's main entrance, was marked by a grand castle-like façade with two turrets framing the gateway cement arch. There was originally a wooden roof over the central section of the south grandstands for the reserved seating. In the 1950s, the stadium was expanded to the north and south, bringing the capacity up to 40,000. However, by the 1970s, stricter fire codes forced a reduction in capacity to 26,000.


Final years

Toward the end of the 1970s,
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
was under pressure to improve its football facilities in order to remain a
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
football school. The stadium could not be expanded due to fire codes. It was closed following the 1978 season, and Syracuse University decided to build a new stadium on the former footprint of Archbold, which, appropriately for Syracuse's often cold weather, was to have a domed
Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...
-coated,
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
inflatable roof. The new stadium was named Carrier Dome (now
JMA Wireless Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University ...
). In the final game at Archbold Stadium, on November 11, 1978, the Orangemen defeated nationally ranked Navy, 20-17.


References


External links


Archbold Stadium - Syracuse University Archives

Sanborn map showing the stadium, 1951
{{Sports in Syracuse Sports venues in Syracuse, New York Defunct college football venues Demolished sports venues in New York (state) Syracuse Orange football Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Syracuse Orange sports venues 1907 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1907 1978 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports venues demolished in 1979 American football venues in New York (state) College soccer venues in the United States College track and field venues in the United States Athletics (track and field) venues in New York (state) Defunct athletics (track and field) venues in the United States