Bristol Municipal Stadium, also referred to as the Stone Castle, is an athletic facility located on the campus of Bristol Tennessee High School in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...

. The structure features a design that is reminiscent of Medieval Gothic architecture and has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of approximately 8,000. The

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

currently serves as the home field of the

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 of Tennessee High School. The structure was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1987.

History

Bristol Municipal Stadium was built during the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA). It is one of two WPA stadiums in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

that are still in use, the other being

Crump Stadium Crump Stadium is a sports stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, built in 1934 and significantly downsized in 2006. It was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project with a capacity of 7,500. In 1939 it was enlarged to hold 25,000 spectators. ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. Construction of Bristol Municipal Stadium began in 1934 and was completed in 1936. The construction cost of $34,000 was shared between the federal government and the city of Bristol. The stadium opened on October 8, 1936. The stadium has been the home field for

teams not only for

Tennessee High School Tennessee High School is a public high school located in Bristol, Tennessee, operated as part of the Bristol Tennessee City Schools school district. The high school serves almost all of the Bristol city limits. History The first official Tennes ...

, but also for Virginia High School in

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

, the two cities' former segregated high schools for

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

(Slater High School in Bristol, Tennessee, and Douglass High School in Bristol, Virginia), King College and Emory & Henry College. A renovation of the facility was completed in 1986 at a cost of $500,000.

Architecture

The stadium is built of rough rubble

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

obtained from a WPA project nearby. Its design was influenced by Medieval Gothic architecture, featuring arched entries, high crenellated walls, and unusual corner

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

References

External links

Photographs and history of stadium on website of Tennessee High School
{{authority control Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Sports venues in Tennessee Bristol, Tennessee Works Progress Administration in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Sullivan County, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Sullivan County, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Bristol, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, Tennessee 1934 establishments in Tennessee Sports venues completed in 1934 High school football venues in the United States American football venues in Tennessee College football venues