Hubbry Logo
search
logo
1626010

Joan C. Edwards Stadium

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Joan C. Edwards Stadium

Joan C. Edwards Stadium, formerly Marshall University Stadium, is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It currently can hold 30,475 spectators and includes twenty deluxe, indoor suites, 300 wheelchair-accessible seating, a state-of-the-art press-box, 14 concession areas, and 16 separate restrooms. It also features 90,000 sq ft (8,000 m2) of artificial turf and 1,837 tons of structural steel. It also houses the Shewey Athletic Center (Marshall University), a fieldhouse and a training facility. The new stadium opened in 1991 and replaced Fairfield Stadium, a condemned off-campus facility built in 1927 in the Fairfield Park neighborhood.

Marshall has a 188-43 overall record at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for a winning percentage of .814, one of the top home winning percentages in the nation.

The Joan C. Edwards Stadium was first proposed in 1986 to replace Fairfield Stadium. On January 16, then-Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. met with Huntington and University leaders, stating that "money is available" if the plans for the stadium were put together. On June 15, the Board of Regents gives the green light to the new stadium project; on September 9, the university begins purchasing property east of the central campus for the proposed stadium.

On January 15, 1987, Governor Moore asked the Board of Regents to approve funding for the sale of bonds that would help finance the new stadium. On June 8 of the following year, the state Legislature passes a state budget which has the inclusion of a new 30,000-seat stadium if the Board of Regents can secure funding. A little over one month later on June 9, the Board of Regents passes a resolution that endorsed the construction of a new football stadium.

On October 4, 1988, a rendering of the new stadium was unveiled. The designers of the new facility were Stafford/Rosser Fabrap, a joint venture between Stafford Consultants of Princeton and Rosser Fabrap International of Atlanta. Soon after, the Board of Regents were given 1,800 sq ft (170 m2). of property by the Greater Huntington Area Chamber of Commerce. On November 1, the Board of Regents purchased additional property and hired investment bankers who helped decide the optimal financing method for the project.

On January 11, 1989, the Board of Regents approved a $70 million bond sale, $30 million of which was for the new Marshall stadium. Demolition of the existing structures for the new stadium began on December 9. A contract for the new stadium was awarded on June 13, 1990, to RC-Irey, a joint venture between River City Construction Company of Huntington and the Frank Irey, Jr. Company of Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place one month later on July 18. By October 6, 1990, steel beams were being erected for the new stadium. Marshall's "Thundering Herd" played their last game at Fairfield Stadium against Eastern Kentucky University on November 10, losing 12–15.

On January 19, 1991, the designers admitted there was only room for 28,000 seats, not the original 30,000 due to an error in calculating the size of the chairback seats. The remaining 2,000 were to be added to the south end zone after the 1993 season. It would be the sixth largest stadium in NCAA Division I-AA football. By May 3 of that year, it was announced that the stadium was two-thirds complete and on August 9, the "Thundering Herd's" freshmen and transfers held their first practice in the new stadium.

On September 7, 1991, the new Marshall Stadium was unveiled before a crowd of 33,116. The opening game was against New Hampshire, which Marshall won, 24–23. One year later in July, Marshall football staff and administrators relocated into a new facilities structure at the north end of the stadium adjacent to 3rd Avenue.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.