Pacific Memorial Stadium
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Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium, previously known as Pacific Memorial Stadium, was a 28,000-seat outdoor
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in the
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, located on the campus of the University of the Pacific in
Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
. The home venue of the
Pacific Tigers The Pacific Tigers represent the University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, in intercollegiate athletics. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division I, and are currently in their second stint as members ...
was constructed in 1950 for
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 later hosted women's
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 ...
; it was closed in 2012 and demolished two years later.


Construction

Pacific Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 after the successful fund drive which netted $165,000. Most of this money was through the sale of pre-ordered tickets (scrip), which were usable over a 10-year period. Construction began on the earth-filled structure in May 1950. Astonishingly, it was finished on time for the home opener (fifth game of the season) on October 21, a build time of less than six months. The field's approximate alignment was north-northwest to south-southeast. It has been reported and researched the stadium was built on a former Yokuts village. These remains found were discovered in 1923 and raised concern for when the stadium was set to be demolished. The stadium originally seated 35,975 with room for expansion to over 44,000, but renovations reduced the capacity to a configuration of 28,000. It was the venue for a 1997 friendly soccer match between
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
; notable striker
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scored six goals and Brazil won 8–2.


Upgrades

The Pacific Club, which was added to the east-side of the stadium in 1973, was donated by Alex Spanos at a cost of $250,000. It sat up to 300, featuring glass walls and a great view of the stadium. When not in use for sporting events, it also held many university functions and gatherings. The scoreboard in the north end zone was erected in 1982 at a cost of $140,000 and measured . Thanks to donations from athletic boosters, lighting power at the stadium was upgraded from 35 to 75
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in August
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.


Renaming

Pacific Memorial Stadium was officially renamed Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium on October 15,
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, to honor
Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...
(1862–1965). He ended his head coaching career at "College of the Pacific" in
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
, and donated the land for the stadium to be built in 1950. Stagg is widely regarded as a pioneer in the development of sports, not only football but also basketball and baseball.


Closure

On February 26, 2012, the university announced it would close Stagg Memorial Stadium to conduct a feasibility study to assess needed repairs, upgrades and changes required to make the facility meet modern standards in conjunction with a financial assessment to determine if the stadium could be repaired or if it should be replaced.


Demolition

The university began removal of Stagg Memorial Stadium on February 24, 2014, to make room for new athletics facilities, including a dedicated tennis center with 12 courts and a clubhouse, and new fields for soccer and field hockey. The first Pacific field hockey home game on the new turf field at University of the Pacific was played on September 12, 2014, versus the
University of Albany A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center was held on October 17, 2014.


Tenants

The stadium was home to the
Pacific Tigers football The Pacific Tigers football team represented the University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific in NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) college football. The team competed in the Big West Conference during their last season in 1995. Th ...
program, beginning in 1950, until it was discontinued following the
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
season. For many years it was also the home football field for nearby Stagg High School. The stadium was the sole home to the
women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national ...
team until its closure in 2012.


References

{{Big West Conference soccer venues American football venues in California College soccer venues in California Defunct college football venues Pacific Tigers football Sports venues completed in 1950