Rate this venue        
A bit of a dumpSubstandardGood standardExcellent facilitiesWorld-Class venue (2 votes, average: 2/5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Las Cruces, New Mexico // USA | Home to: New Mexico State Aggies NCAA I-A - WAC // College Football

Mapping

Profile


Aggie Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the New Mexico State University Aggie. It opened in 1978 and holds 30,343 people.

Capacity 30,343
Opened September 16, 1978
Owner New Mexico State University
Operator New Mexico State University
Surface Hybrid Bermuda Grass
Location Stewart St
Las Cruces, NM 88001
Construction cost $4 million

Prior to the building of the stadium, the Aggies had played on the same site since 1933. Located just to the northeast of Hadley Hall (home to the president’s office), and originally known as Quesenberry Field, the original Memorial Stadium was built over it in 1950. It was dedicated as a memorial to New Mexico A&M students who had died in World War II, World War I, and the Spanish-American War, among whom was Henry C. Gilbert Jr., whose parents were instrumental in the 10-year long fundraising drive. Memorial Stadium, which served for twenty-eight seasons, was replaced, both due to its small size (at maximum, the seating capacity was only 12,155) and the want of an expanded athletics plant with more infrastructure and parking. (Currently Memorial Tower, which was originally part of the press box of the stadium, is the only remaining reminder of the stadium. It now houses alumni association offices and an on-campus restaurant.)

The “new” Aggie Memorial Stadium, this time dedicated to alumni who had served in the Korean War and Vietnam War, was built for $4 million over a period of eighteen months. It was funded by the New Mexico state legislature as part of a capital project on the campus. The first home game saw the Aggies beat rival UTEP 35-32 on September 16, 1978. Twenty years and ten days later, the Aggies and Miners played to the largest crowd in stadium history, with 32,993 in attendance to see the Aggies win again, 33-24. The stadium, designed by alumnus Craig Protz of Bohering-Protz Associates, was built in a natural bowl just to the south of the Pan American Center, the home of Aggie basketball. The first level of seating wraps around the field, except for two 100-foot wide sections above either endzone. The southern is used as a berm, with the Fulton Athletic Center, a $6 million fieldhouse and athletic training and education center which opened in 2004, behind it. The northern end leads to the ticket office and main entrace to the stadium. The seating extends to a rounded second level on either side of the field, which extends the length of the seating bowl. The stadium also is known for being well-lit for night games, with sodium vapor lighting on four poles on the stadium’s corners rising 175 feet above the playing field.

In addition to football, the stadium also serves for commencement ceremonies and other large outdoor gatherings on campus.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

Images

Why not add your photos?
Some of the above images are reproduced from external sources under the license of the Creative Commons Project

Useful Links


The ACC.com - The Official website of the Atlantic Coast Conference
NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association website
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State Aggies website

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

Your Reviews

Add your Review

Your review:
Offensive content and language will be removed

By clicking submit, I agree that these comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of sportingsights.com.