Phillips Field was a medium-sized stadium (maximum capacity approximately 20,000) located on the west bank of the Hillsborough River across from

downtown Tampa Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area. It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...

, immediately adjacent to the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

. It opened on October 4, 1937, and served as the home for the University of Tampa's

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 from 1937 to 1967. The facility was named for local businessman I. W. Phillips, who donated the land to the school so that the Spartans would not have to share nearby

Plant Field Plant Field was the first major athletic venue in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1899 by Henry B. Plant on the grounds of his Tampa Bay Hotel to host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ringed by an oval r ...

, which was often unavailable due to its use for many different sports and community events. Besides "Tampa U" home games, Phillips Field hosted many other sporting events. It was the home football field for Middleton High School and Blake High School, two segregated schools that ended the season with a rivalry game at the field. Hillsborough High School and

Plant High School H.B. Plant High School is a public high school located in the neighborhood of South Tampa in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1927 between South Himes Avenue on the east and Dale Mabry Highway on the west. The school is named in honor ...

also played their annual rivalry at the site. Phillips Field was the site of the Cigar Bowl, the area's first college

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, from 1946 to 1954, and the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

scheduled several home games at the facility during the 1930s and 1940s. Phillips Field was also the site of several

NFL preseason The National Football League preseason is the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early ...

contests in the mid-1960s that helped Tampa earn an eventual expansion franchise. The field was also the site of stock car races, large boxing matches, and other community and sporting events. When

Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The faci ...

was completed in 1967, the city of Tampa gave Plant Field to the University of Tampa, and Phillips Field fell into disuse. It was razed in the early 1970s, and

Tampa Preparatory School Tampa Preparatory School is a 6–12 private, co-educational middle and high college-preparatory school in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was established in 1974. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

and

Julian Lane Julian Barnes Lane (October 21, 1914 – May 4, 1997) was the 48th mayor of Tampa, Florida, and later a member of the Florida Legislature. Early life and education Lane was born in Tampa, Florida, He grew up in the Seminole Heights neighbo ...

Riverfront Park were built at its former location.

References

{{coord missing, Florida College football venues Tampa Spartans football 1950s in Florida 1940s in Florida History of Tampa, Florida Demolished sports venues in Florida 1937 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 1937 Defunct American football venues in the United States American football venues in Florida