Francis Olympic Field is a

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 ...

at Washington University in St. Louis that was used as the main venue for the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

. It is currently used by the university's track and field, cross country,

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 ...

, and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

teams. It is located in

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...

on the far western edge of the university's Danforth Campus. Built in time for the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

(1904 St. Louis World's Fair), the stadium once had a 19,000-person seating capacity, but stadium renovations in 1984 reduced the capacity to 3,300 people. It is one of the oldest sports venues west of the Mississippi River that is still in use. Francis Olympic Field now uses

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

that can be configured for both soccer and football. Known at its opening as World's Fair Stadium and then as Washington University Stadium or simply "the Stadium", the venue was renamed as Francis Field in October 1907 for David R. Francis, a former Missouri governor and president of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The word "Olympic" was added in 2019 to reflect its role in the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Overview

The

(the first to be held in the Western Hemisphere) were given to St. Louis, Missouri as a result of the efforts of David Rowland Francis, for whom the stadium and accompanying gymnasium are named. Built in 1902, Francis Olympic Field's permanent stands represent one of the first applications of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

technology. Both the stadium and its gymnasium are U.S. National Historic Landmarks. During the 1904 Games, the stadium hosted the

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, athletics, cycling,

, gymnastics, lacrosse, roque, tug of war, weightlifting, and wrestling events. The tennis events took place at some dirt courts located outside the stadium. Following the 1904 Olympics, the stadium became the permanent home of the Washington University Bears, who were formerly known as the Pikers. From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Bears played before crowds of as many as 19,000 people, competing against universities such as

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

, Nebraska, and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, with half of the spectators in temporary wooden stands. The Bears now play as an NCAA Division III team. In the summer of 2004, Francis Olympic Field had its natural grass replaced with artificial FieldTurf.

Notable events

Francis Olympic Field is an annual host for the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

's Relay for Life event. The adjacent

Francis Gymnasium Francis Gymnasium is a building at Washington University in St. Louis, currently used by the university's athletics department. Built in 1903, it is located in St. Louis County, Missouri, on the far western edge of the university's Danforth Campu ...

has hosted four U.S. presidential debates—in 1992, 2000,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

—plus the vice-presidential debate in 2008. During the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Torch relays, the Olympic Flame passed by Francis Olympic Field on its way to the site of the Olympic Games. Francis Olympic Field hosted the 1986 AAU/USA National Junior Olympic Games, the first and second National Senior Olympic Games, and the 1985 NCAA Division III National Men's Soccer Championship. In July 1994, Francis Olympic Field served as a centerpiece for the U.S. Olympic Festival as 3,000 athletes were housed on the campus for the country's top amateur sporting events. The stadium was used by the St. Louis Stars soccer team from 1969 to 1970 and from 1975 to 1977, before their 1978 move to Anaheim, California, where they became the California Surf.

References

{{coord, 38, 38, 52, N, 90, 18, 49, W, region:US-MO_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title College football venues Washington University Bears football Saint Louis Olympic archery venues Olympic athletics venues Olympic cycling venues Olympic football venues Olympic gymnastics venues Olympic tennis venues Olympic weightlifting venues Olympic wrestling venues Venues of the 1904 Summer Olympics f Soccer venues in Missouri Sports venues completed in 1904 Sports venues in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis campus Wrestling venues in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums 1904 establishments in Missouri American football venues in Missouri Sports venues in Missouri