Robert Rice Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, located on the campus of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. Originally opened in 1927 as Ute Stadium, it was the home of the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

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. Renamed for Robert L. Rice in 1972, it was almost completely demolished after the 1997 season to make way for the Utes' current home, Rice-Eccles Stadium, which occupies the same physical footprint.

History

After a record crowd came to the Utes' previous home, Cummings Field, to see Utah play

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

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1926, a drive began for a larger and more modern stadium. While the state house unanimously approved a loan from the state in order to build a new stadium, the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

adjourned before taking it up. To get around the problem, the U of U formed a stadium trust that issued tax-free bonds for the new stadium. The stadium was also funded in part by selling tickets to two home games for the next 10 years. Total cost came to $133,000.Sorensen, Parry
Out with the old, in with the new
''Continuum''. University of Utah Alumni Association, 1998. The stadium, originally named Ute Stadium, opened in 1927 with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 20,000. The first

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game was a 40–6 Ute victory over Colorado Mines on October 1. It was dedicated three weeks later on October 22 with a 20–13 victory over

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. On hand was

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. Originally, the stadium was built of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

, with earth-fill.Former info page
at official Utes athletic site For 20 years, a giant pile of dirt stood in the north end zone. In 1947, 10,000 seats were added in the north end, turning the stadium into a

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...

. After the 1971 season, health club pioneer Robert L. Rice donated $1 million towards the stadium's first major facelift. 2,500 seats were added in the south end zone, and the bleachers were replaced with chairback seats. The old grass surface was replaced with

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

. The dressing rooms were also remodeled, and the running track was removed. The renovated stadium was dedicated in Rice's honor with the start of the 1972 season. In 1982, the field was lowered 9.5 feet, and new seats were built along the sidelines and on the south end. After the 1994 season, the turf was replaced with SportGrass, a natural grass surface grown on top of a layer of artificial turf. For many years, the stadium also doubled as an

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

during the summer. Although it was noted as one of the more intimate venues in

, it had become somewhat antiquated by the 1980s. By then, very few Division I-A stadiums remained by then that used timber as a major part of its construction. Ute Stadium Panorama UofU 1929

Pro football

Several pro football preseason games were played at Ute Stadium. *August 23, 1947 ( AAFC) Brooklyn Dodgers 20-17 Chicago Rockets *September 8, 1951 ( NFL) Chicago Cardinals 36-21 Los Angeles Rams *September 19, 1959 (NFL) New York Giants 17-13 San Francisco 49ers *August 16, 1963 (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals 24-22 San Francisco 49ers *August 22, 1964 (NFL) Minnesota Vikings 24-21 San Francisco 49ers *August 14, 1965 (

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

) Denver Broncos 27-17 Oakland Raiders *September 11, 1970 (NFL) Denver Broncos 16-14 Boston Patriots

Replacement

After Salt Lake City was awarded the

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in 1995, it soon became obvious that Rice Stadium was not adequate to be the main stadium. With this in mind, the athletic department decided to completely overhaul the facility to bring it up to modern standards. After the 1997 season, virtually all of the old stadium was demolished to make way for Rice-Eccles Stadium. The bleachers built in the south end zone in 1982 were all that remained of the old stadium until they were demolished after the 2019 season to make room for an expansion.

Football attendance records

References

{{Utah Utes football navbox Defunct college football venues Utah Utes football venues Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Sports in Salt Lake City American football venues in Utah Event venues established in 1927 Defunct sports venues in Utah 1927 establishments in Utah 1997 disestablishments in Utah Sports venues demolished in 1997 Demolished sports venues in the United States