Washington–Grizzly Stadium

Washington–Grizzly Stadium
Construction
Washington–Grizzly Stadium in June 2006
Location	Campus Drive Missoula, Montana, U.S.
Coordinates	46°51′50″N 113°58′52″W / 46.864°N 113.981°W / 46.864; -113.981Coordinates: 46°51′50″N 113°58′52″W / 46.864°N 113.981°W / 46.864; -113.981
Owner	University of Montana
Operator	University of Montana
Capacity	25,217 (2008–present) 23,183 (2003–2007) 19,005 (2002) 18,845 (1995–2001) 12,500 (1986–1994)
Record attendance	26,352 - (November 22, 2014)
Surface	FieldTurf - (2016-present) SprinTurf - (2001-2016) Natural grass - (1986-2000)
Broke ground	September 1985
Opened	October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
Construction cost	$3.2 million^[1] ($6.92 million in 2016 dollars^[2])
Architect	Fox, Ballas & Barrow^[1] Rossman, Schneider & Gadvery^[1]
Tenants
Montana Grizzlies - NCAA (1986-present) Missoula County Public Schools

Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Missoula, Montana, located on the campus of the University of Montana. Opened in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies college football team, a dominant program of the Big Sky Conference and consistently a top team in Division I FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA. The infilled SprinTurf playing field is 20 feet (6 m) below ground level at an elevation of 3,190 feet (970 m) above sea level and runs in the traditional north-south orientation.^[3] The press box is above the west sideline and lights were added for the 2012 football season.^[4] It is the largest all-purpose stadium in the state of Montana.

History

The stadium is named after construction magnate Dennis Washington, a Montanan who donated $1 million to finance the stadium's construction in 1985. The stadium opened on October 18, 1986, and the Griz have racked up an impressive home record of 142-20 (.877).

Capacity and expansions

The current seating capacity is 25,217 and the stadium has been expanded three times, most recently in 2008 with an upper deck expansion of 2,000 seats on the east side.

The original capacity in 1986 was 12,500 permanent seats on the sidelines with open grass seating behind the end zones, an approximate capacity of 15,000, weather-permitting. Permanent seating for the end zones was installed in 1995, which brought the seating to 18,845. Corner seating in the north end zone opened in 2003 and the most recent expansion in 2008 to the east grandstand brought the capacity to 25,217.

A new attendance record was set on August 25th, 2015 when ESPN and 4-Time defending National Champion North Dakota State opened the 2015 FCS season drawing 26,472 people, breaking the old record of 26,352 set in 2014 against Montana State.

Field surface

Infilled SprinTurf was installed in 2001, and replaced in 2008. For its first fifteen seasons, the playing surface was natural grass. With the addition of the artificial turf in 2001, the playing surface was renamed "John Hoyt Field." After 15 seasons of "SprinTurf", The playing surface in WGS was replaced with multi-color "FieldTurf" in the summer of 2016. After Grizzly Field (Softball) installed "FieldTurf" in their new stadium, "FieldTurf" pitched the University with a new football field and within a month, it was approved by the Board of Regents and installed.

GrizVision

The video screen GrizVision, was installed in 2002 in the south end zone; at 26 by 36 feet (8 m × 11 m), it is one of the largest screens in an FCS football stadium. In 2016 GrizVision was upgraded to a much larger screen.

Previous venues

Before Washington–Grizzly Stadium, the Grizzlies played off-campus at "new" Dornblaser Field from 1968-86. Prior to 1968, Montana played on-campus at "old" Dornblaser Field from 1920-67 (both named for Paul Dornblaser, football captain in 1912, killed in World War I). Prior to 1920, Montana played its home games at a field in downtown Missoula, near the former Missoulian newspaper building.

WA-Griz largest crowds

Looking southwest in 2010, against NAU on October 23

**Washington–Grizzly stadium attendance records**
Official stadium capacity: 25,203
	Attendance	Result	Date
1	26,472	Montana 38, North Dakota State 35	Aug. 29, 2015
2	26,352	Montana 34, Montana State 7	Nov. 22, 2014
3	26,303	Montana 28, South Dakota 20	Sept. 13, 2014
4	26,293	Montana 30, Appalachian State 6	Aug. 31, 2013
5	26,136	Montana 23, Northern Arizona 14	Sept. 26, 2015
6	26,082	Montana 37, Eastern Washington 42	Oct. 26, 2013
7	26,066	Montana 17, Eastern Washington 14	Sept. 17, 2011
8	26,065	Montana 19, Cal Poly 20	Sept. 5, 2015
9	26,019	Montana 16, Montana State 21	Nov. 20, 2010
10	25,965	Montana 28, Sacramento State 25	Sept. 25, 2010

Football record

The stadium in 2012, after expansion and lights were added

Year	Win	Loss
Year	W	L
1986	2	1
1987	3	2
1988	6	0
1989^	8	0
1990	4	2
1991	4	1
1992	5	1
1993^	6	1
1994^	9	0
1995^	9	0
1996^	9	0
1997	5	1
1998	5	1
1999^	5	2
2000^	8	1
2001^	9	0
2002^	7	1
2003^	6	2
2004^	10	0
2005^	5	2
2006^	8	1
2007^	7	1
2008^	9	0
2009^	9	0
2010	5	1
2011	6	0
2012	3	3
2013^	5	2
2014^	7	0
2015^	5	2
2016	5	1
Total	189-26 (.879)
^Includes FCS Playoff Game(s)

Concerts

June 20, 1998 — Pearl Jam kicked off their North American tour at a sold out Washington-Grizzly stadium.
October 4, 2006 — The Rolling Stones played their first-ever concert in the state of Montana to a sold-out audience exceeding 22,000 during their A Bigger Bang Tour.^[5]
August 5, 2014 - Paul McCartney performed before an audience of 25,192.

References

1 2 3 "New UM Stadium Project on Schedule". Great Falls Tribune. August 6, 1986. p. 3C.
↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
↑ Topographic map & aerial photo from USGS via Microsoft Research Maps
↑ http://www.montanakaimin.com/mobile/sports/lighting-up-washington-grizzly-stadium-1.2690020
↑ iorr.org/tour05/missoula.htm - Retrieved October 27, 2011

External links

GoGriz.com - about Washington–Grizzly Stadium
World Stadiums.com - Washington–Grizzly Stadium

Montana Grizzlies football

Venues	Dornblaser Field (I) (1912–1967) Naranche Stadium (alternate (Butte), 1938–1950) Dornblaser Field (II) (1968–1986) Washington–Grizzly Stadium (1986–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Brawl of the Wild (Montana State) Little Brown Stein (Idaho) EWU–UM Governors Cup (Eastern Washington)

Culture and lore	Monte "Up With Montana" University of Montana Grizzly Marching Band

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

University of Montana

Schools and Colleges	College of Arts and Sciences College of Education and Human Sciences College of Forestry and Conservation College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences College of Technology School of Business Administration School of Journalism School of Law College of Visual and Performing Arts

Campuses	University of Montana ‒ Missoula University of Montana – Helena College of Technology Montana Tech of the University of Montana University of Montana Western

Athletics	Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz Football (Brawl of the Wild, Little Brown Stein) Washington–Grizzly Stadium Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball (Dahlberg Arena) Soccer Dornblaser Field Marching Band Monte "Up With Montana"

Historic buildings and landmarks	University Hall Forestry Bld. Schreiber Gym Rankin Hall Social Science Bld. Fine Arts Bld. The Oval The "M" Trail Memorial Row The Payne Family Native American Center

Student life	Student Organizations International Program

Noted people	Mike Mansfield Jeannette Rankin Harold Urey Carroll O'Connor

Media	Camas CutBank Montana Kaimin Montanan KBGA 89.9 FM Montana Public Radio Montana PBS

Category Portal

Football stadiums of the Big Sky Conference

Alex G. Spanos Stadium (Cal Poly)
Roos Field (Eastern Washington)
Holt Arena (Idaho State)
Washington–Grizzly Stadium (Montana)
Bobcat Stadium (Montana State)
Alerus Center (North Dakota)
Walkup Skydome (Northern Arizona)
Nottingham Field (Northern Colorado)
Providence Park (Portland State)
Hornet Stadium (Sacramento State)
Eccles Coliseum (Southern Utah)
Aggie Stadium (UC Davis)
Stewart Stadium (Weber State)

College football venues in Montana

Division I
FCS

Big Sky	Bobcat Stadium (Montana State) Washington–Grizzly Stadium (Montana)

NAIA

Frontier	Alumni Coliseum (Montana Tech) Blue Pony Stadium (Montana State University – Northern) Herb Klindt Field (Rocky Mountain) Nelson Stadium (Carroll) Vigilante Field (Montana Western)

Missoula, Montana

Education

High schools	Big Sky Hellgate Sentinel Seeley-Swan Loyola Sacred Heart High School Valley Christian

Higher education	University of Montana UM-College of Technology

Museums	Fort Missoula Montana Museum of Art & Culture Missoula Art Museum

Geography

Mountains	Blue Mountain Mount Jumbo Mount Sentinel South Hills Lolo Peak Montana Snowbowl

Rivers	Bitterroot Blackfoot Clark Fork

History

Places	Glacial Lake Missoula Fort Missoula Missoula Cemetery

People	Christopher P. Higgins Frank Worden Judge Frank Woody Andrew B. Hammond

Media

Television	KPAX (8.1 CBS/MTN, 8.2 CW) KUFM (11.1 PBS, 11.2 Kids, 11.3 Create, 1.4 World, 11.5 TVMT) KECI (13.1 NBC) KTMF (23.1 ABC, 23.2 Fox) K32EU 32 (PBS)

Print	Missoula Independent Missoulian Montana Kaimin

Breweries

Services

Healthcare	St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center Community Medical Center

Transportation	Missoula International Airport Mountain Line (bus) Interstate 90 Highway 12 Highway 93

Sports

Teams	Montana Grizzlies Osprey (baseball) Hellgate Rollergirls

Venues	Washington–Grizzly Stadium (football) Ogren Park at Allegiance Field (baseball) Glacier Ice Rink (hockey) Dornblaser Field (soccer) Dahlberg Arena (basketball) Missoula County Fairgrounds (horse racing)

University of Montana

Category
People from Missoula
User Missoula Template

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