Houseman Field is an 8,000-seat multipurpose

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 ...

located in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. It is named for former mayor and

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Julius Houseman Julius Houseman (December 8, 1832 – February 8, 1891) was an American businessman and politician who served as mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan, as representative in the Michigan House of Representatives and as Congressman in the U.S. Ho ...

and is the home of the

Aquinas College :''See also List of institutions named after Thomas Aquinas'' Aquinas College may refer to any one of several educational institutions: In Australia *Aquinas College, Perth, Roman Catholic boys' R–12 school *Aquinas College, Adelaide, residenti ...

Saints track teams. It is also used for

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

football and was the home to

Grand Rapids FC Grand Rapids FC was an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose senior men's team played in USL League Two. The team was founded in 2014 and ceased operations in 2021. Its first season was in 2015. It was initially funded ...

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Grand Rapids Public Schools The Grand Rapids Public Schools is a public school district serving Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) is Michigan's eight largest public school district. It is also the third-largest employer in the City of Grand Rapids ...

owns this stadium.

History

Julius Houseman's daughter, Hattie, donated of land to the school district in 1907 for use as an athletic field. While it would be used for the Grand Rapids Central High School football team's football practices in the next 15 years, it was not until 1923 that the current stadium was built on that site; its first event was Catholic Central High School's 42–0 victory over Sparta High School. The football field was expanded in 1926, lights were installed in 1940, and artificial turf replaced grass in 1973. Grand Rapids Central became the longest serving tenant of Houseman Field, and over the years, other high schools, including Creston High School, Catholic Central High School and

West Catholic High School West Catholic High School is a private Catholic college preparatory secondary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan (U.S.). It opened in 1962 with loans from Kenowa Hills Public Schools. It is located within the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. ...

have also played their home games at this stadium, owing to the growing number of high schools in Grand Rapids. Currently, it is the home of the

Ottawa Hills Ottawa Hills is a village in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,517 at the 2010 census. The village was developed on both sides of the Ottawa River (Ohio) and serves as a bedroom community and suburb of Toledo. The Ottawa H ...

and Union High School football teams; both teams in recent years have opened their seasons playing each other at Houseman.

2009 renovation

In October 2008, the Grand Rapids Public Schools' Board of Education announced plans to perform a $6 million renovation to Houseman Field using funds left over from a 2004 facilities improvement bond. The renovation included turf replacement, a new press box, concession and restroom facilities, as well as miscellaneous structural and technological improvements. The newly renovated facility was reopened on August 25, 2009.

Notable athletes

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

, played for

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and later became the 38th president of the United States *

Terry Barr Terry Albert Barr (August 8, 1935 – May 28, 2009) was an American football player. He played professional football for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1957 to 1965. He began his NFL career as a ...

, played for

and on NFL's

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

' 1957 NFL title squad with two Pro Bowl appearances *

Kelly Butler Kelly Don Butler (born July 24, 1982) is a former professional gridiron football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. Butler was a member of the Cle ...

, played for

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and the NFL's

and

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* Clarence Ellis, played for the

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and the National Football League's

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; also was a high school state champion in track and field * David Harris, played for

and currently plays for NFL's

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, played for

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

and with the NFL's

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and

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Terna Nande Terna Nande (born June 17, 1983) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft after becoming the first and only non-lineman in NFL history to bench press over 40 reps at ...

, played for

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

(Ohio) and NFL's

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and is currently playing in the Canadian Football League's

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, played for

and played for the NFL's

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houseman Field High school football venues in the United States College football venues American football venues in Michigan Sports venues completed in 1923 1923 establishments in Michigan Soccer venues in Michigan College track and field venues in the United States Athletics (track and field) venues in Michigan National Premier Soccer League stadiums