.jpg) Commencement ceremonies in 1960 | |
 | |
| Former names | Soldier Field (1892–1901) |
|---|---|
| Address | Stadium Way |
| Location | Washington State University Pullman, Washington,U.S. |
| Owner | Washington State University |
| Operator | Washington State University |
| Capacity | 23,500 |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1892 |
| Opened | 1892, 1895 (football) |
| Renovated | 1936 |
| Closed | 1970 – November |
| Demolished | 1971 (south grandstand) 1974 (north grandstand) 1999 (east grandstand) |
| Tenants | |
| WSU Cougars (1892–1969) (Pacific-8 Conference,NCAA) Idaho Vandals (1969–70) –NCAA | |
Rogers Field was an outdoor athleticstadium in thenorthwestUnited States, on the campus ofWashington State University inPullman, Washington. It was the home venue of theWSU Cougarsfootball andtrack teams until severely damaged by a fire in April 1970.[1] Partially demolished in early 1971, Rogers Field was replaced by the concreteMartin Stadium, which was built on the same site and opened in1972.
Originally opened 133 years ago in 1892 fortrack and field and named "Soldier Field", it hosted its first football game in 1895, when WSU defeated itsPalouse neighborIdaho 10–4. In 1902, the stadium was renamed for GovernorJohn Rogers, who died in office the previous December. In its early years, it also hostedCougar baseball, with home plate in the southeast corner.[2] The final structure was completely rebuilt in1936.[3][4]
The 23,500-seat wooden stadium had ahorseshoe-shaped three-section grandstand, open on the west end,[5][6] with a quarter-mile (402 m) running track. The press box sat at the top of the south sideline's grandstand, and the playing field was natural grass, at anelevation of 2,530 feet (770 m) abovesea level. The field was unlit, but plans were in place to installAstroTurf for the1970 season.[7] The running track wascinder until replaced by anall-weather rubberized surface in early 1968.[8][9]
During what came to be its final WSU season in1969, Rogers Field was also the home for the neighboringIdaho Vandals. TheirNeale Stadium, also wooden, had been condemned during the summer of 1969 due to soil erosion and was to be rebuilt withconcrete grandstands, ready in 1970 (or 1971).[10] Idaho played its limitedPalouse home schedule in 1969 (3 games) at Rogers Field, and due to delays in their project had planned on playing there again in1970 (4 games). During the ten-game schedules of the late 1960s, the WSU football team split its usual allotment of four home games equally betweenSpokane and Pullman (two games each).[11]
A suspicious fire in 1970 significantly damaged the south grandstand and press box of Rogers Field late on Saturday, April 4, the first day ofspring break.[1] A definitive cause of the blaze was not determined, but was widely believed to have beenarson.[12] A track & field meet withOregon State had been held at the stadium earlier in the day.[13][14][15] Idaho's idle (and condemned)Neale Stadium had burned less than five months earlier in November 1969, also a suspected arson which burned its south grandstand and press box.[10][16]
The two-year-oldall-weather track at Rogers was saved by students, mostly track athletes, who jumped the fence prior to the arrival of the fire department. The track sections nearest to the fire were watered down to keep them cool, and the highly-flammable foam landing pits (pole vault and high jump) were quickly moved to the grass infield.[1]
Prior to the fire, theWSU Cougars had planned to play three home games, all in the Pac-8, atJoe Albi Stadium inSpokane in1970, which was installingAstroTurf that summer.[17] The two scheduled for Pullman wereIdaho in mid-September andOregon State in mid-November. Various sites were considered, includingHusky Stadium inSeattle andCivic Stadium inPortland,[18][19] but WSU played all five games in Spokane. Despite another one-win season and low turnout for the USC and Oregon State games in November, WSU set a home attendance record in 1970.[20][21]
Requiring less seating capacity, Idaho opted to stay put on the Palouse in 1970 and played its four home games at the partially destroyed stadium in Pullman.[22] The game between the teams, the so-called "Displaced Bowl", was easily won by WSU on September 19 in Spokane. It ended a ten-game losing streak forJim Sweeney's Cougars, dating back to the 1969 season opener. As WSU's home opener, the game drew 27,200 spectators, at the time the largest for football in Spokane outside theApple Cup.[23]
The victory over Idaho was the only one for WSU in 1970, as their next win came in the third game of the1971 season. With the new stadium in Pullman under construction in 1971, the Cougars again played their full home schedule in Spokane, four games, but waited until the last one on October 30 to post a home victory. WSU defeatedOregon, led by quarterbackDan Fouts and running back Bobby Moore (laterAhmad Rashad). The 31–21 win evened WSU's record to 4–4 and 2–2 in the Pac-8, with visions of a possible league title andRose Bowl appearance.[24] It followed a Cougar upset of defendingRose Bowl championStanford by a point on the road;[25] that was Stanford's only conference blemish in1971, and they repeated asRose Bowl champions. November was not as fortunate for WSU, which went winless on the road againstUSC,Oregon State, andWashington to finish at 4–7.[26][27][28][29]
Poor weather in the spring of1971 caused delays in the construction of Idaho's new stadium, and the Vandals played "home" games atBronco Stadium inBoise and at Joe Albi in Spokane in September.[30][31] After a three-year absence, the UI Vandals returned to campus inMoscow on October 9 at their new "Idaho Stadium", originally an outdoor venue with natural grass. The debut game was a Vandal victory overIdaho State, and Idaho won eight straight games and finished at 8–3, their best football record to date. Artificial turf was installed thenext year, and the stadium was enclosed three years later in1975, renamed theKibbie Dome.
The new concrete football stadium opened on the site of Rogers Field in1972. It had a modest seating capacity of 22,600, a running track, lights, and anAstroTurf playing field. The first game inMartin Stadium was on September 30, a disappointing 19-point loss to theUtah Utes of theWAC, with 20,600 in attendance.[32][33] Initially, only the south grandstand and press box were new in 1972;[34][35][36] the old north grandstand was demolished after the1974 season,[37][38][39] and the east end zone seats from Rogers were finally replaced in 1999.[40][41]
Following the1978 season, the running track was removed and the field level was lowered 16 feet (4.9 m), allowing aseating capacity expansion with thirteen new rows of seats. The revamped Martin Stadium debuted in mid-October1979, with an inspired victory over theUCLA Bruins.[42]
The lastApple Cup in Spokane was played 45 years ago in1980, but the Cougars continued to play several home games there through the1983 season. The WSUacademic calendar was changed from a delayed semester to the traditionalsemester schedule in1984.[43][44] With classes starting four weeks earlier in late August, WSU students were now on campus for the entire football season, and the Spokane games were eliminated. (Home games inSeattle atCenturyLink Field were played from2002 to2014.)
The name "Rogers Field" continues on campus, transferred to an area used forsoccer practices andintramurals, adjacent to the west end of Martin Stadium.[15]
46°43′55″N117°09′36″W / 46.732°N 117.160°W /46.732; -117.160
