Camp Randall Stadium

View from the north in 2021.
Madison Location in Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin Madison Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	1440 Monroe Street University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°4′12″N89°24′46″W / 43.07000°N 89.41278°W /43.07000; -89.41278
Public transit	Metro Transit
Owner	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Operator	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Capacity	76,057 (2024–present)[1] Former List 76,118 (2023) 75,822 (2022) 80,321 (2005–2021) 82,123 (2004) 76,634 (2001–2003) 76,129 (1998–2000) 77,745 (1991–1997) 76,293 (1987–1990) 77,280 (1966–1986) 63,435 (1958–1965) 52,788 (1955–1957) 52,819 (1953–1954) 51,000 (1951–1952) 45,000 (1940–1950) 36,000 (1937–1939) 32,700 (1932–1936) 38,293 (1926–1931) 29,783 (1925) 20,000 (1921–1924) 11,900
Surface	FieldTurf (2003–present)[1] AstroTurf (1968–2002) Natural grass (1917–1967)
Construction
Broke ground	1917
Opened	November 3, 1917 108 years ago
Renovated	2004, 2022 (south end zone)
Expanded	1921, 1924, 1940, 1951, 1958, 1966, 2004
Construction cost	$15,000 ($368,143 in 2024 dollars[2])
Architect	Arthur Peabody[3] Berners-Schober Associates, Inc. (2005 renovation)
Tenants
Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) (1917–present)
Website
camprandallstadium.com

Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium inMadison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of theUniversity of Wisconsin. It has been the home of theWisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since1895, and as a fully functioning stadium since1917. It is the oldest and seventh-largest stadium in theBig Ten Conference.The field has a conventional north–south alignment at an approximateelevation of 880 feet (270 m) abovesea level.

The stadium lies on the grounds ofCamp Randall, aUnion Army training camp during theCivil War.^[4][5] The camp was named after thenGovernorAlexander Randall, who later becamePostmaster General of the United States.

After an outcry from veterans over plans to turn the site into building lots, the state bought it in 1893 and presented it to the university. Soon afterward, it was pressed into service as an athletic ground. It was originally used by the track and field team before the football and baseball teams moved there in 1895. The wooden bleachers were very difficult to maintain, and some were condemned as unsafe in 1914. The university then asked for $40,000 to build a concrete-and-steel stadium, and got $20,000. After three sections of bleachers collapsed during a 1915 game, the state readily granted the additional money. The new stadium opened for the first time on October 6, 1917. It consisted of 7,500 concrete seats—roughly corresponding to the lower portion of the current stadium's east grandstand—and 3,000 wooden seats from the old field.

After the wooden seats burned down in1922, more permanent seats were added in stages until it consisted of a horseshoe opening to the south, with a running track around the field. In 1940, the UW built an addition to the east side of Camp Randall that included housing for 150 people (as well as a rifle range and facilities for boxing and wrestling). In 1951, the university decided to turn the Stadium Dorm rooms into office space. The stadium was renovated at various points to raise the size of the horseshoe by nearly doubling the number of rows around the stadium in stages, placing south stands in front of theWisconsin Field House (built in 1930), the removal of the track and addition of nearly 11,000 seats in1958, the addition of the upper deck on the west side in1966, and finally the2005 addition of boxes along the eastern rim of the stadium.

Originally natural grass, the field was one of the first in the United States to convert toartificial turf in1968.^[6][7][8] Superturf was installed in 1980,^[9] and a newAstroTurf field was installed in1990,^[10] and replaced in1998.^[11] A new type of artificial grass, infilledFieldTurf, was installed for the2003 season, replaced after the spring term in time for the2012 season.^[12]

The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university. In 2002, a large-scale reconstruction project commenced, which added luxury boxes, a five-story office building, and separate football program offices. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. The construction was completed prior to the start of the2004 season. The football team continued to play at the stadium throughout the construction.

Also during this period of reconstruction at the stadium, changes were made to the visiting team locker room. Known as one of the best visiting team locker rooms in the Big Ten Conference, it was initially painted a bright pink, a color thought to affect the play of the visiting team (similar to Iowa's pale pink visiting locker room). The UW Athletic Dept. decided that the color may irritate the opposing team and had the room painted a pale shade of blue called "prison blue", named for the shade of paint used inWisconsin Department of Corrections facility cells, which is intended to have a "calming effect." Since this change, the Badgers have had a 43–4 home record.

The numbers of Wisconsin's twoHeisman Trophy winners,Alan Ameche andRon Dayne, are displayed on the upper deck façade. Both of their numbers (35 and 33, respectively) are retired; The retired numbers ofElroy Hirsch (40),Dave Schreiner (80),Allan Shafer (83), andPat Richter (88) were added during the 2006 football season.^[13]

AtBarry Alvarez's final game as head coach in 2005, plans were announced to place a statue of him in the Stadium's Kellner Plaza. The bronzestatue was unveiled in2006 on October 13. On November 17, it was joined by a similar statue of former UW athlete andathletic directorPat Richter.^[14]

Announced in the fall of 2010 and completed in January 2014, the Student Athlete Performance Center, an expansion of Camp Randall to the north, included a new scoreboard, academic and strength training facilities, multimedia instructional space, lower-level football team access tunnel, and renovated locker rooms, shower rooms and equipment space. The new scoreboard is 50 by 170 feet (15 by 52 m) and the Daktronics screen is 4,271 square feet (396.8 m²) (per @BadgerFootball), with two smaller screens flanking either side.^[15]

In 2018, a plan was announced to build premium seating in the south end zone (replacing existing bleacher seating), replace the artificial turf, upgrade utilities, and improve the press box. These projects were completed over the summer of 2022, cutting the stadium's capacity from 80,321 down to its current number of 75,822.^[16] With the2024 expansion of the Big Ten and its new television contract adding new evening games to the schedule deep into November, and the possibility of hostingCollege Football Playoff games, UW–Madison replaced the field after the 2023 season with a heated surface and winterization measures which will allow it to continue hosting games until the end of the year. The scoreboard will also have additional panels added on to replace traditional static advertising hoardings.^[17]

On October 30, 1993, Wisconsin defeated theMichigan Wolverines, 13–10, for the first time since1981. As the final gun sounded, students began tocharge the field to celebrate, but were blocked by the guardrails surrounding the field. The crowd in the back, not aware of what was going on at the front, continued to move forward, aided by gravity. Those in front were crushed against the rails and then trampled when the rails finally gave way and the throng spilled onto the field.^[18] There were no fatalities, but 73 students were injured, six of them critically.^[19] Several Badgers football players assisted with removing the injured from the tangle. Per Mar Security (stadium security) and the University of Wisconsin were later found liable for this situation.^[20]

As a result, design changes were made in the stadium that increased the size and strength of the fences. Stadium personnel also received training to help them better handle a field rush. A field rush after a defeat of no. 1Ohio State on October 16, 2010, showed that the measures taken after 1993 worked, as only one minor injury took place.^[21][22]

Badger football events at Camp Randall Stadium include numerous traditions. Some of these include:

In 1969, the Badgers had lost 24 straight games, andMichael Leckrone took over theWisconsin Marching Band. Working with athletic directorElroy Hirsch, Leckrone and the band created a fan event called "The Fifth Quarter", that took place at the end of the game.

Songs typically played during the Fifth Quarter include "On Wisconsin", "You've Said It All" (also known as the "Bud" song, referring to its beginning as a jingle in a Budweiser beer commercial), "Space Badgers" (A variation on the opening toAlso sprach Zarathustra), "Dance Little Bird" (The Chicken Dance), "Beer Barrel Polka", "Tequila", and "Hey Baby." Many spectators remain in the stands for 20 minutes after the game to enjoy the performance. Many of the songs are associated with specific choreography in which the band, cheerleaders and the audience all participate.

At the end of the Fifth Quarter, the band lines up to play "Varsity" as the spectators sing. The band then exits the field via the north entrance to perform more and sing "It's Hard to Be Humble", after which the band marches to the Mosse Humanities Building, where it is dismissed.

The Fifth Quarter was officially named in 1978, and its traditions have been passed down since then.

Leckrone directed his final "Fifth Quarter" performance on November 24, 2018, after a 50-year career as director of the band.^[23]

Another tradition at UW football games is the "Jump Around", where fans dance to theHouse of Pain song of thesame name. This takes place between the third and fourth quarters. The tradition began during the 1993 football season with the men's swim team smuggling in a megaphone and discman and playing the song to rile up sections O and P. The media start was on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badgers' Homecoming game against thePurdue Boilermakers.^[24] After no offensive points were scored in the third quarter, the Badgers' marketing agent in charge of sound piped the song through the loudspeakers.^[25] It stirred up fans and players and has become a tradition of the last decade.

On September 6, 2003, (the Badgers' first home game of the season), with construction of the skyboxes surrounding the stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" tradition that had been a staple for five years. Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision, but no notification had been given to the fans.^[26] As the fourth quarter began and students realized there had been no "Jump Around", they became upset. Some jumped around without the requisite music. Then an entire section sat down in protest, a majority directed their middle finger at the sound booth, and a chant of "Fuck the sound guy" began. Sitting down was particularly significant as the student section generally stands on the bleachers while the team is playing. Chanting andbooing continued through the majority of the fourth quarter. With 6:29 to go in the game,Lee Evans scored on a 99-yard play and led the Badgers to a victory.

When news surfaced on Monday, September 8, 2003, that this event was not a technical or human malfunction, but rather a decision by campus officials, the students launched a protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural engineers confirmed that the stadium could withstand the vibrations created by jumping. Two days later, ChancellorJohn D. Wiley announced that the "Jump Around" tradition would resume.^[27]

The stadium is also used by theWisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association for its state football championships.

TheGreen Bay Packers played twelve exhibition games at Camp Randall, which, up until 2013, had a largerseating capacity than the Packers' home stadium,Lambeau Field. The series began in1986, shortly after theChicago Bears began to use nearbyUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville as a training camp site. The most recent pre-season Packers game at Camp Randall was played in1999.

The University of Wisconsin men's and women's ice hockey teams each played an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium on February 6, 2010, as part of theCulver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The Wisconsin women defeated Bemidji State 6–1, while the Badger men beat Michigan 3–2.

Camp Randall has also hosted a number of major concerts.

The Camp Randall athletic complex includes three additional facilities: theField House, home to the UWbasketball teams until January 1998, and now thewrestling and women'svolleyball teams; the Dave McClain Athletic Facility, an indoor football practice facility named for the late Badgers football coach,Dave McClain, which also houses locker rooms for football, men's and women'strack, andsoccer, and strength and conditioning,sports medicine, and academic services; and the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell"), which contains a 200-meter indoor track that surrounds facilities for intramural sports. The indoor track is used by the UW track teams during their indoor seasons. The Shell also houses a practice ice sheet. The Shell was demolished in October 2024 to make way for a new indoor football practice facility.

[1]

Note: Streaks do not include ties.

• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
• Lists of stadiums

• Mattern, Carolyn J.Soldiers When They Go: The Story of Camp Randall, 1861–1865. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1968.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCamp Randall Stadium.

• Official website
• Camp Randall Stadium inThe Buildings of the University of Wisconsin
• Camp Randall on UWBadgers.com
• Camp Randall on Ballparks.com
• The Fieldhouse on UWBadgers.comArchived 2006-11-12 at theWayback Machine
• McClain Facility on UWBadgers.comArchived November 12, 2006, at theWayback Machine
• "The Shell" on UWBadgers.comArchived 2006-10-30 at theWayback Machine
• University of Wisconsin–Madison Athletic Department Collection
• Aerial View of Camp Randall Stadium

• College football venues in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Badgers football
• Sports venues in Madison, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Sports venues completed in 1917
• 1917 establishments in Wisconsin
• College football venues

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2025
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link from Wikidata