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 The venue photographed in 2024 | |
  Fitton Field Location within Massachusetts | |
| Full name | Fitton Football Stadium |
|---|---|
| Address | 1 College St. Worcester, MA United States |
| Coordinates | 42°14′29.6″N71°48′35.9″W / 42.241556°N 71.809972°W /42.241556; -71.809972 |
| Owner | College of the Holy Cross |
| Operator | Holy Cross Athletics |
| Type | Stadium |
| Capacity | 23,500 (1986–present)[1] |
| Record attendance | 27,000[1] |
| Surface | Kentucky bluegrass (2016–present)[1] |
| Current use | Football |
| Construction | |
| Opened | September 26, 1908; 117 years ago (1908-09-26)[1] |
| Renovated | 1912; 1924; 1986; 2016[1] |
| Expanded | 1912, 1924, 1986 |
| Tenants | |
| Holy Cross Crusaders (NCAA) 1908–present[1] | |
| Website | |
| goholycross.com/fitton-field | |
Fitton Field is afootballstadium inWorcester, Massachusetts, primarily used forCollege of the Holy Cross sporting events. The stadium opened in 1908 as the official home for theHoly Cross Crusaders football team. Prior to that, the adjacent baseball field served as the venue for most games. The stadium has a capacity of 23,500.[1]
Named afterReverend James Fitton, who donated land to theArchdiocese of Boston to found the college, it is an irregularly shaped three-sidedhorseshoe on the edge of the college's campus.[1] The northern football stands are shorter than the southern due toInterstate 290 being adjacent to the field.
Formally known as Fitton Football Stadium, the football facility is home to theHoly Cross Crusaders football team. The field itself was used as the football field and it was termed Fitton Field as early as 1908. A wooden structure was constructed at that time, but a more sturdy concrete structure did not appear until 1912. In 1924, the concrete was replaced with the steel structure that still stands today, increasing the stadium's capacity. The structure remained unchanged until 1986, when the wooden seating was replaced with aluminumbleachers, which further expanded its capacity to the current level. In 2016, the field was completely replaced for the first time since 1903. Among the upgrades was a new bluegrass blendsod planted as well as new irrigation systems and netting.[1][2]
Fitton Field has hosted numerous speakers, includingcommencement addresses by two sitting presidents. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt delivered his address in 1905 while touring Massachusetts; this was his only public speech in Worcester.[3] PresidentLyndon B. Johnson gave his address in 1964, replacing the initial guest, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated just a few months prior.[4]
While historically having high attendance numbers, with many fans from the Worcester area and beyond filling the disproportionately large stadium, in the 1990s a two-decade-plus slump of relatively low attendance began. However, attendance numbers have begun to rebound with the recent resurgence of the Holy Cross Crusaders football team. In 2022, in a game against theFordham Rams football team, Fitton Field posted its highest attendance since the 1980s, with almost 18,000 fans as audience to a revived historical rivalry and Crusader victory.[5]
The largest attendance at Fitton Field was 27,000 in 1938, which was the last home game for Holy Cross'sAll-American back,Bill Osmanski.[1]
In 1992, Fitton Field was to be the home of the New England Blitz of theProfessional Spring Football League, but the PSFL folded before any games were played.
Fitton Field was used to film the movieThe Game Plan in 2006.[6]
As of 2022, Fitton Field is the fourth oldest Division I football stadium, surpassed only byFranklin Field,Harvard Stadium andKyle Field.[7] The field also holds the record of being the 15th largest Division I FCS stadium in terms of capacity and by far the largest in thePatriot League.[8][9]
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