From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LaVell Edwards Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the BYU Cougars.
[edit] History and seating
The stadium opened in 1964 as Cougar Stadium, replacing a smaller, 5,000-seat stadium of the same name. The capacity of the facility was just under 30,000 with stands on both sides of the playing field. Seating was soon added to make room for 35,000 fans. Temporary bleachers placed at the back of the end zones raised the capacity to 45,000. In 1982, the stadium was expanded to accommodate more than 65,000. Permanent concrete stands, separated by entryways from the east and west grandstands, were put in place of the temporary bleachers, the playing field was lowered eight feet and the track was removed. At the end of the 2000 football season the name of the stadium was changed to LaVell Edwards Stadium, in honor of the legendary head coach, who retired at the end of the season.
In 2003, in order to raise revenue, the stadium was redesigned to provide more luxury seating. The change resulted in seating capacity being reduced to 64,045.Reference? The luxury seating was a noticeable addition because the arrangement of blue and white seats in this section spell out BYU in block letters.
On August 30, 2008, BYU unveiled a new video board on the north endzone, allowing fans seated in the south endzone to see the instant replays and graphics which previously were shown only on the south board.
[edit] Fans' noise-making
Former Air Force head football coach Fisher DeBerry has said of Edwards Stadium, "Probably the loudest and best stadium is whenever things are going good for BYU and their fans start beating on the metal bleachers. That can be a very tough place to play."[1]
[edit] Jurassic fossils under the stadium
Part of the largest collection of Jurassic-era fossils in North America, housed at Brigham Young University, was stored underneath the east bleachers of the stadium until 2005. The fossils, consisting of unprepared field jackets, have since been prepared and are on display in the BYU Earth Science Museum's collection room.[2][3][4]
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
