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 The stadium in 2006 | |
 Interactive map of Nickerson Field | |
| Former names | Boston University Field (1954–1963) |
|---|---|
| Address | 285 Babcock Street[1] |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°21′11″N71°07′08″W / 42.353°N 71.119°W /42.353; -71.119 |
| Public transit |  Green Line atBabcock Street |
| Owner | Boston University |
| Operator | Boston University Athletics |
| Capacity | 9,871[1] |
| Field size | 86 × 134 yards[1] (78.6 × 122.5 m) |
| Surface | List
|
| Current use | Soccer Lacrosse Rugby league |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 20, 1915 |
| Opened | August 18, 1915; 110 years ago (August 18, 1915) |
| Renovated | 1955 |
| Tenants | |
List
| |
| Website | |
| goterriers.com/nickerson-field | |
Nickerson Field is an outdoor athleticstadium inBoston, Massachusetts, on the campus ofBoston University (BU). The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for someBoston University Terriers athletics programs, includingsoccer andlacrosse. It was also the home of theBoston University Terriers football team until the program was discontinued following the 1997 season.[2]
The stadium is located on the site ofBraves Field, the former homeballpark of theBoston Braves, amajor league baseball team in theNational League; the franchise relocated toMilwaukee in March 1953,[3] and relocated again in 1966, becoming theAtlanta Braves. Parts of Braves Field, such as the entry gate and right field pavilion, remain as portions of the current stadium. The old Braves Field ticket office atHarry Agganis Way also remains, now used by theBoston University Police Department asheadquarters complete with acellblock. The stadium has been the home of BU teams longer (50-plus years) than it was the home of the Braves (parts of 38 seasons).
The field is named forWilliam Emery Nickerson (1853–1930), a partner ofKing C. Gillette during the early years of theGillette Safety Razor Company.[4]
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The university's previous athletic field was in the town ofWeston. That field had been named for Nickerson, a member of the BUboard of trustees who had donated funds for the facilities in Weston in 1926.[5] Nickerson "was anMIT graduate who was the principal inventor of the machinery used to manufacture the firstGillette safety razor."[6][7] The first Nickerson Field was dedicated on October 6, 1928, with a game against theNew Hampshire Wildcats.[8]
BU purchased theformer home of theBoston Braves on July 30, 1953,[9] and in April 1954 renamed it "Boston University Field".[10] In 1955, the left field pavilion and the "Jury Box" were demolished and in November, 1959, the grandstand was taken down to make room for three high rise dormitories that were completed in 1964. The existing right field pavilion was squared off on the west side and filled in on the east side where a section had been removed to accommodate the Braves Field right field foul pole andbullpens. The three dormitories overlooking the field coincidentally suggest the outline of the original main grandstand section.[11]
In February 1956, BU was awarded $391,000 for the Weston field, which had been taken byeminent domain for construction ofMassachusetts Route 128.[12] BU used the proceeds, in part, to renovate the former baseball park, and on September 28, 1963, renamed it "Nickerson Field", inheriting the name of the prior field in Weston.[13]
In 1968, the field underwent a renovation. The four Braves Field light towers were dismantled. That year, BU became the second college in the United States to installAstroTurf. The following year, not only did the BU football team practice on that field, so did theBoston College Eagles football team and theBoston Patriots. Both used the field to prepare for away games they would play on AstroTurf fields.
During the1983 season, Nickerson Field was the home field of theBoston Breakers of theUnited States Football League. From the mid-1980s to 1995, the stadium hosted the New England Scholastic Band Association's marching band field show championships. In 1989, to accommodate commencement speakers U.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and French PresidentFrançois Mitterrand, a large platform was constructed toSecret Service specifications on one side of the field. In 2001, the antiquated turf was replaced with a newer, more player-friendly artificial surface (FieldTurf) as part of a deal with theWomen's United Soccer Association to host theBoston Breakers games. With a professional soccer team playing at Nickerson the football lines, which had remained on the field even though BU no longer had a football program, were not repainted. The platform built for Bush and Mitterrand was removed during the summer of 2008, when the field was expanded and resurfaced.
In the summer of 2015, the field received a new artificial turf, GreenFields MX Trimension; the new surface was installed over a period of five weeks, covering 110,000 square feet (10,000 m2).[14]
Since its reconfiguration in the 1950s, multiple professional sports franchises have used the stadium:
| Year(s) | Team | Sport | League(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–1962 | Boston Patriots | American football | AFL |
| 1974–1975 | Boston Astros | Soccer | ASL |
| 1975 | Boston Minutemen | Soccer | NASL |
| 1979 | New England Tea Men[n 1] | Soccer | NASL |
| 1983 | Boston Breakers | American football | USFL |
| 1988–1990 | Boston Bolts | Soccer | ASL /APSL |
| 2001–2003 | Boston Breakers | Soccer | WUSA |
| 2004–2006 | Boston Cannons | Lacrosse | MLL[n 2] |
| 2009–present | Boston Bears | Rugby league | AMNRL,USARL,NARL, RLU[n 3] |
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by first stadium | Home of the Boston Patriots 1960 – 1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home of the Boston Cannons 2004 – 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host ofMajor League Lacrosse championship weekend 2004 – 2005 | Succeeded by |
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