Skelly Stadium | |
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 View from southeast in2009 | |
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| Full name | Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | Skelly Stadium (1947–2007) Skelly Field (1930–1947) |
| Address | 3112 East 8th Street Tulsa, Ok United States |
| Coordinates | 36°8′55″N95°56′38″W / 36.14861°N 95.94389°W /36.14861; -95.94389 |
| Owner | University of Tulsa |
| Operator | Univ. of Tulsa Athletics |
| Type | Stadium |
| Capacity | 30,000 (2008–present) List
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| Record attendance | 47,350 (vs. #1Oklahoma,1987) |
| Surface | FieldTurf (2000–present) List
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| Current use | Football |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 11, 1930 (1930-05-11) |
| Opened | October 4, 1930; 95 years ago (1930-10-04) |
| Construction cost | $275,000 (all in tax money) (approximate, original) ($5.18 million in 2024[1]) |
| Architect | Smith & Senter[2] |
| Tenants | |
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| Website | |
| tulsahurricane.com/skellyfield | |
Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium is an outdoorcollege footballstadium in thesouth centralUnited States, located on the campus of theUniversity of Tulsa inTulsa, Oklahoma. Commonly known asH. A. Chapman Stadium, it is the home field for theTulsa Golden Hurricane of theAmerican Athletic Conference.
The HA Chapman Stadium opened 95 years ago in 1930 and its currentseating capacity is around 30,000 for football, following the renovation of 2008.[3][4] TheFieldTurf playing field has a traditional north-south alignment at an approximateelevation of 770 feet (235 m) abovesea level.
The 14,500-seat stadium opened in1930 asSkelly Field, named for its primary benefactor,William Skelly, the founder ofSkelly Oil. Tulsa defeatedArkansas 26–6 at the inaugural game on October 4.[5]
In1947, the north stands were added and the stadium was renamedSkelly Stadium. In1965, the track was removed, the field was lowered, the west stands were expanded and the south stands were added, bringing the capacity to 40,385 seats. In February 2005, the north stands were demolished to make way for the new Case Athletic Complex, reducing the seating to 35,542.[5] In 2007–2008, the stadium was renovated, reducing capacity to 30,000[6]
Located on historicU.S. Route 66, the stadium hosted theOklahoma Outlaws of theUnited States Football League (USFL) in1984. Skelly was once the principal home field for two American football legends – future NFL Hall-of-Famer (and later U.S. Congressman)Steve Largent when he played for the University of Tulsa andDoug Williams of the Oklahoma Outlaws, who later was aSuper Bowl MVP for theWashington Redskins. The stadium was also home to theTulsa Roughnecks of theNorth American Soccer League 1978–1984 and the short-lived Tulsa Mustangs of theAFA.
On April 26, 2007, it was reported that, with a renovation project underway, the stadium was renamed asSkelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium after the primary benefactor of the renovation.[7]
The stadium is also used for theJenks–Union football rivalry games.
The stadium's attendance record was established 38 years ago in1987, when 47,350 watched top-rankedOklahomashut out Tulsa 65–0 on September 26.[5][8][9][10]
| Rank | Attendance | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47,350 | September 26, 1987 | No. 1Oklahoma | L, 65–0 |
| 2 | 41,235 | September 13, 1986 | Oklahoma State | W, 27–23 |
| 3 | 40,785 | September 9, 1989 | Oklahoma State | W, 20–10 |
| 4 | 40,385 | September 18, 1993 | Oklahoma State | L, 16–10 |
| September 20, 1997 | Missouri | L, 42–31 | ||
| September 12, 1998 | Oklahoma State | W, 35–20 | ||
| September 9, 2000 | Oklahoma State | L, 36–26 | ||
| August 30, 2002 | No. 1Oklahoma | L, 37–0 | ||
| 9 | 40,248 | November 17, 1990 | Montana State | W, 20–2 |
| 10 | 40,235 | September 29, 1984 | No. 10Oklahoma State | L, 31–7 |
The highest attendance average in a season was 31,236 in 1991 with 7 games.[9]
| Rank | Season | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | 31,236 | 7 |
| 2 | 1965 | 28,899 | 4 |
| 3 | 1982 | 28,355 | 5 |
| 4 | 1989 | 25,388 | 5 |
| 5 | 1993 | 25,077 | 5 |
| 6 | 1992 | 24,883 | 6 |
| 7 | 1996 | 24,814 | 5 |
| 8 | 1995 | 24,538 | 6 |
| 9 | 1987 | 24,074 | 4 |
| 10 | 1990 | 23,917 | 5 |
| Win | Date | Opponent | Score | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First win | October 4, 1930 | Arkansas | 26–6 | 10,000 |
| 25th win | October 27, 1934 | Kansas State | 21–0 | 12,000 |
| 50th win | October 18, 1941 | Saint Louis | 33–7 | 8,500 |
| 75th win | November 22, 1945 | Arkansas | 45–12 | 17,000 |
| 100th win | November 10, 1951 | Kansas State | 42–26 | 13,226 |
| 125th win | November 15, 1958 | Texas Tech | 9–7 | 12,278 |
| 150th win | October 23, 1965 | Cincinnati | 49–8 | 24,867 |
| 175th win | September 29, 1973 | Cincinnati | 16–13 | 24,000 |
| 200th win | November 3, 1979 | Wichita State | 28–26 | 17,821 |
| 225th win | October 20, 1984 | Wichita State | 55–20 | 12,621 |
| 250th win | November 16, 1991 | Louisville | 40–0 | 31,717 |
| 275th win | September 20, 2003 | Arkansas State | 54–7 | 16,231 |
| 300th win | October 24, 2008 | UCF | 49–19 | 30,000 |
| 325th win | October 10, 2015 | ULM | 34–24 | 17,490 |
| 350th win | September 28, 2023 | Temple | 48–26 | 17,538 |
The stadium was renovated following the2007 season. The project included new seating, a new pressbox, club and loge seating, and a new scoreboard. With the removal of the upper section of the west stands,seating capacity dropped to approximately 30,000, which made Chapman Stadium the smallest stadium inConference USA.
