Memorial Stadium, also known as the "Brick House", was an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located on the campus of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. It was the home of the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...

team for 58 seasons, from

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

through

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Prior to 1924, the Gophers played at

Northrop Field Northrop Field was the on-campus stadium of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team from 1899 to 1923. The original field had seating of around 3,000 and was named for University President Cyrus Northrop. After the 1902 season, the playing fie ...

. Starting in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, the Gophers played their home games in the new

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

, and Memorial Stadium was demolished a decade later. After 27 seasons indoors, the Gophers returned to campus in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

at the new

TCF Bank Stadium Huntington Bank Stadium (formerly known as TCF Bank Stadium) is an outdoor stadium located on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The stadium opened in 2009, after three years of construction. It is ...

, a block from the site of Memorial Stadium.

History

Opened on October 14, 1924, the stadium was dedicated to the 3,527 students, graduates, and workers who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which had ended six years earlier. It sat on approximately . While Memorial Stadium was its home, the football team won six

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

, including three consecutive (1934–1936). The championship years were

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, and 1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, 1960. The official seating capacity, capacity of the stadium during the 1970s was listed as 56,652. From the 1940s onward, temporary bleachers were occasionally brought in to boost capacity to approximately 66,000, though many of the seats were far away from the field. The stadium's attendance record was 66,284, set in 1961 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, 1961 against 1961 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Purdue on November 18. Memorial Stadium also served as the university's track and field venue, and was an occasional back-up venue for professional football and soccer. In 1969 Minnesota Vikings season, 1969, the National Football League, NFL's 1969 Minnesota Vikings season, Minnesota Vikings played a regular season game on October 5 against the 1969 Green Bay Packers season, Green Bay Packers at Memorial Stadium. It was due to a conflict with a 1969 Minnesota Twins season, Minnesota Twins playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium, game three of the 1969 American League Championship Series the following day. The Vikings also played a pre-season game at Memorial in 1971 Minnesota Vikings season, 1971, its second season with artificial turf. The artificial Tartan Turf was removed after seven seasons and returned to natural grass in 1977 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, 1977. The Minnesota Kicks soccer team of the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), NASL played once at Memorial Stadium, a 1981 playoff game on September 6 against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–83), Fort Lauderdale Strikers and lost 3–0. The game was moved due to a schedule conflict with the 1981 Minnesota Twins season, Twins at Met Stadium. It was the last game in Kicks' history. Ancel Keys founded the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene underneath Memorial Stadium, on the ground floor accessed at Gate 27. Here thirty-six conscientious objectors were confined during the yearlong Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Memorial Stadium served as the anchor for Stadium Village, a small commercial area at the southeast portion of the Twin Cities campus.

Move to Metrodome 1982

Pressured by downtown Minneapolis business interests and athletic boosters, the school elected to move out of the stadium to the new Metrodome, about away, during the spring of 1982. Athletic director Paul Giel cited the advantages of recruiting by playing in a new NFL venue. Also, the attendance was expected to go up in the late fall with protection from harsh weather.Brackin, Dennis - [Memorial Stadium: An unfair end? ] Star Tribune, September 2, 2009 Memorial Stadium had been neglected by that time, and was badly in need of renovation. New head coach Lou Holtz gave an impassioned speech when the time came in 1984 to decide whether to remain at the Metrodome, and declared that "Athletes want to play at the Dome."

University Aquatic center

Following the move, the University of Minnesota proposed a new natatorium that would extend into the field at the open end of the horseshoe and ensure that there could be no return to Memorial Stadium. After legal challenges to halt construction of the natatorium failed, the Aquatic Center opened in 1990 and the stadium was torn down two years later. The original brick entrance arch was preserved, and when the McNamara Alumni Center was built on the same site it was installed in the interior atrium over the entrance to a small museum.

Aftermath

The move to the Metrodome proved to be a dismal failure in the long run, as Gophers home games lost the charm of being on a college campus. The Gophers had the lowest priority in scheduling, behind the Twins and Vikings, and had to move games if the Twins were in the baseball playoffs. The university also gave up most concession and parking revenue, although their portion of the rent was the lowest of the three Metrodome tenants. On May 20, 2006, the Minnesota Legislature, state legislature passed a bill providing funding for a new on-campus stadium. It opened in the fall of 2009 as

. The original Memorial Stadium site could not be used, due to the construction of the aquatic and alumni centers. The new stadium is located about a block from where the old stadium once stood, and was designed so that the alumni center on the old site is visible through the open end of the horseshoe. Memorial Stadium inscription

Attendance

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! style=";", Year !! style=";", Total !! style=";", Games !! style=";", Season highest !! style=";", Average , - , 1924, , 139,772 , , 6 , , Illinois (35,341) , , 23,297 , - , 1925, , 193,707, , 7 , , Notre Dame (49,009), , 27,672 , - , 1926, , 156,032, , 5, , Michigan (58,362), , 31,206 , - , 1927, , 166,848, , 5, , Wisconsin (48,443), , 23,126 , - , 1928 , , 146,185 , , 5, , Chicago (53,016), , 29,237 , - , 1929, , 204,083, , 6, , Michigan (58,160), , 34,014 , - , 1930, , 167,728, , 6, , Northwestern (50,225), , 27,955 , - , , 1931, , 115,631, , 5, , Wisconsin (48,443), , 23,126 , - , 1932, , 113,956, , 5, , Northwestern (52,426), , 43,557 , - , 1933, , 164,301, , 6, , Iowa (41,177), , 27,384 , - , 1934 , , 192,922, , 5 , , Michigan (59,362), , 38,584 , - , 1935, , 217,785, , 5, , Northwestern (52,426), , 43,557 , - , 1936, , 247,653, , 5, , Iowa (61,172), , 49,531 , - , 1937, , 254,188, , 5, , Notre Dame (63,237), , 50,838 , - , 1938, , 237,000, , 5, , Michigan (54,212), , 47,400 , - , 1939, , 229,954, , 5, , Northwestern (52,372), , 45,991 , - , 1940, , 234,990, , 5 , , Michigan (61,976), , 46,998 , - , 1941, , 239,227, , 5, , Northwestern (61,784), , 47,845 , - , 1942, , 231,307, , 6, , Michigan (52,351), , 38,551 , - , 1943, , 182,779, , 7, , Purdue (38,709), , 26,111 , - , 1944, , 179,979, , 6 , , Northwestern (39,997), , 29,997 , - , 1945, , 246,931, , 6, , Ohio State (55,789), , 41,155 , - , 1946, , 328,003, , 6, , Michigan (59,037), , 54,667 , - , 1947, , 289,612, , 5, , Purdue (61,087), , 57,922 , - , 1948, , 308,556, , 5, , Purdue (65,549), , 61,711 , - , 1949, , 305,200 , , 5, , Wisconsin (63,139), , 61,040 , - , 1950 , , 267,015 , , 5 , , Iowa (60,312) , , 53,403 , - , 1951, , 224,759, , 5, , Nebraska (54,573), , 45,152 , - , 1952, , 270,292, , 5, , Iowa (60,376), , 54,058 , - , 1953, , 293,313, , 5, , Michigan (62,795), , 58,663 , - , 1954, , 347,555, , 6, , Iowa (65,464), , 57,926 , - , 1955, , 305,581, , 5, , USC (64,074), , 61,116 , - , 1956, , 372,654, , 6, , Iowa (64,235), , 62,109 , - , 1957, , 314,769, , 5 , , Purdue (64,629) , , 62,954 , - , 1958, , 282,230 , , 5 , , Iowa (63,726), , 56,446 , - , 1959, , 256,039, , 5 , , Michigan (56,082), , 51,208 , - , 1960, , 342,199, , 6 , , Iowa (65,292), , 57,033 , - , 1961, , 361,929, , 6 , , Purdue (66,284) , , 60,322 , - , 1962, , 368,200, , 6 , , Iowa (65,061), , 61,367 , - , 1963, , 286,797, , 5, , Michigan (61,817), , 57,759 , - , 1964, , 268,908, , 5, , Iowa (62,514), , 53,782 , - , 1965, , 302,747, , 6, , Michigan (58,519), , 50,458 , - , 1966, , 248,248, , 5, , Iowa (62,631), , 49,600 , - , 1967, , 237,798, , 6 , , Michigan State (56,334), , 39,633 , - , 1968, , 312,806, , 6 , , USC (60,820), , 52,134 , - , 1969, , 272,449, , 6 , , Ohio State (52,972), , 45,417 , - , 1970, , 225,468, , 5, , Nebraska (52,539), , 45,093 , - , 1971, , 207,662, , 6 , , Michigan (44,412), , 34,610 , - , 1972, , 222,079, , 6, , Iowa (44,196), , 37,013 , - , 1973, , 252,917, , 6, , Nebraska (56,782), , 42,153 , - , 1974, , 226,127 , , 6 , , Ohio State (45,411), , 37,688 , - , 1975, , 220,081 , , 7 , , Wisconsin (37,578), , 31,440 , - , 1976, , 262,878, , 6, , Iowa (53,222), , 43,813 , - , 1977, , 247,118, , 7 , , Michigan (44,165), , 35,303 , - , 1978, , 231,411, , 6, , Ohio State (52,209), , 38,569 , - , 1979, , 241,952, , 6, , Purdue (47,281), , 40,325 , - , 1980 , , 265,105, , 6, , Iowa (58,158), , 44,184 , - , 1981, , 301,248, , 7 , , Michigan (52,875) , , 43,035

References

*
University of Minnesota 2006 Football Media Guide - Records

External links

Memorial Stadium
at the

.
Memorial Stadium
at the Minnesota Historical Society. {{University of Minnesota campus 1924 establishments in Minnesota 1981 disestablishments in Minnesota American football venues in Minnesota Defunct college football venues Defunct National Football League venues Demolished sports venues in Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers football venues Sports venues completed in 1924 Sports venues demolished in 1992 Sports venues in Minneapolis