The James M. Shuart Stadium is an 11,929-seat multi-purpose stadium and sports facility, the facility serves as the home to Hofstra's lacrosse teams on the campus of
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...
in
Hempstead, New York
The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, o ...
. First opened in 1963, and remodeled in 1996 and 2013, it was known as Hofstra Stadium until August 29, 2002, when it was renamed after the
former president of Hofstra University, who played lacrosse and football during his undergraduate years at the school. The stadium grounds include James C. Metzger Hall which houses the stadium's press box, luxury suites and the Fried Center for Student-Athlete Development.
Background
Shuart Stadium has held numerous sports and events over the years, including football, lacrosse, and soccer. It has welcomed many teams from different leagues throughout several decades.
Lacrosse
In 1971, the stadium hosted the inaugural
NCAA Division I Men's lacrosse championship
The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the annual top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I. This tournament has determined the national champion since the inaugural 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse ...
game. It has also served as the site for two quarterfinal games of the
2009
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,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
,
2017
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,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
tournaments as well as numerous conference championship contests for Women's Lacrosse.
The New York Lizards used the facility as their home field for part of the 2001 season and the full 2002 season. During their first year, they became the inaugural
Major League Lacrosse champions. The team returned in 2009 and called the stadium their official home until 2020. After the 2020 season the
MLL merged with the
Premier Lacrosse League
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...
bringing an end to the New York Lizards franchise.
In 2021 the stadium hosted 5
Premier Lacrosse League
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...
games over the 4th of July weekend. Making the stadium a tour site for future PLL events.
Soccer
The
original New York Cosmos played at the stadium between 1972 and 1973. They won their first
NASL Championship NASL or Nasl may refer to:
* Nasl, Iran (disambiguation)
* ''NASL Soccer'', a 1980 early sports videogame
* National Association for the Support of Long Term Care, a US national trade association
* Nessus Attack Scripting Language
* North American ...
at the stadium in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
. The
new Cosmos began playing there in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. Shuart Stadium also played host to the most recent
United States men's match in New York state, when the U.S. hosted
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
in a friendly match on November 30, 1984.
Shuart Stadium was also the venue for the
Long Island Rough Riders
The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The team plays its home games at Hofs ...
of professional soccer's
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
.
Football
For nearly five decades, the stadium was home to
Hofstra's football team. The team played in the
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
conference. They utilized the stadium from its opening until 2009 when the program was retired.
On November 4, 2009, the
New York Sentinels of the
United Football League played a home game at the stadium.
Both the Long Island All-Star Football Game and the Fun City Bowl, featuring the New York City Police and Fire Department teams, have been held at the site.
Other events
The facility was used for three nights every October for the annual Newsday Marching Band Festival where selected Long Island high schools performed in an exhibition-style competition. Since 2014, the event has been held elsewhere.
Various Long Island high school and New York state championship games for different sports are also held at the site.
Design
Originally built in 1962 and opened in 1963, the stadium has received a number of upgrades. In 1968 a new artificial playing surface was installed, making the stadium the third college facility in the nation to receive one. A major expansion was completed in the fall of 1996. The capacity had been raised from 7,000 to approximately 13,000, while the Howdy Myers Pavilion and new scoreboards in both end zones were constructed. In 2007, the artificial turf was replaced with
FieldTurf which was again replaced in late 2012. Then in 2009 new scoreboards were installed in the north and south end zones. More recently, in 2013, the facility was renovated and reconfigured to its current capacity of 11,929. In late 2013, new lights designed by
Musco Lighting
Musco Lighting is a privately owned American company that specializes in design, manufacture of sports and large area lighting systems. Based out of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Musco is responsible for lighting a full range of sports facilities, from Daytona ...
replaced the original lights in the stadium that dated back to 1963.
References
External links
James M. Shuart StadiumHofstra athletics facilities page
{{United Football League (2009)
Hofstra Pride football
New York Cosmos
New York Sentinels stadiums
College lacrosse venues in the United States
College soccer venues in the United States
Defunct college football venues
Major League Lacrosse venues
Premier Lacrosse League venues
National Premier Soccer League stadiums
NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Championship venues
North American Soccer League stadiums
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
United Football League (2009–2012) venues
American football venues in New York (state)
Lacrosse venues in New York (state)
Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States
Soccer venues in the New York metropolitan area
Sports venues in Hempstead, New York
Buildings and structures in Nassau County, New York
Sports venues completed in 1963
1963 establishments in New York (state)