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Stadium Bowl

Coordinates: 47°16′01″N 122°26′56″W / 47.267°N 122.449°W / 47.267; -122.449
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Stadium Bowl
August 2014
Map
Former namesTacoma Stadium
LocationTacoma, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°16′01″N 122°26′56″W / 47.267°N 122.449°W / 47.267; -122.449
OwnerTacoma Public Schools
Capacity15,000
SurfaceFieldTurf
Construction
OpenedJuly 10, 1910
ArchitectFrederick Heath
Tenants

Stadium High School
Tacoma is located in the United States
Tacoma
Tacoma
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Location in the United States
Tacoma is located in Washington (state)
Tacoma
Tacoma
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Location in Washington

The Stadium Bowl (originally Tacoma Stadium) is a 15,000-seat stadium in the northwest United States, located in Tacoma, Washington. The stadium is located next to Stadium High School with views of Commencement Bay and the Puget Sound. It was designed by Frederick Heath.[1] The stadium plays host to the American football teams for both Silas High School and Stadium High School. The stadium originally opened in 1910, and the adjacent high school would change its name to reference the Bowl.

A panorama of the stadium and adjacent high school, with Commencement Bay in the background (2008)

History

The stadium was proposed in 1906 at the site of Old Woman's Gulch and designed by Frederick Heath.[2] It was originally built with a seating capacity of 23,486 and a total capacity of 32,000 that was later reduced to 17,000.[3][4] The stadium is on an asymmetrical block bounded by North E Street (south); Tacoma High School and North 1st Street (east); North 3rd Street and North Stadium Way (originally Cliff Avenue) (west); and North Schuster Parkway, railroad tracks and Commencement Bay (north).

The stadium was was built from 1909 to 1910 using steam shovels and sluicing to move more than 180,000 cubic yards ([convert: unit mismatch]) down the edges of the gulch to create a flat playing field of 2.5 acres (1.0 ha).[5] Wooden molds were built to cast concrete for 31 rows of stadium seating (able to hold 11,000 spectators) surrounding the playfield.[6][7] It was dedicated on June 10, 1910, and was originally named Tacoma Stadium.[8] It cost $135,000 to construct[2] (equivalent to $3.19 million in 2023 dollars).[9] One of its first major events held at the new stadium was a military tournament in late July with 32,000 spectators on the final night.[10]

Floodlights were temporarily installed for a 1929 football game, the first to be played at night in the Pacific Northwest. It was home to several minor league sports teams and hosted football and baseball exhibitions for college and professional teams.[5] The stadium was flooded in 1932 and 1981, and was damaged in the April 1949 and April 1965 earthquakes that shook the Puget Sound region.[5] The Stadium Bowl was condemned due to earthquake damage in 1949 but was later reopened in 1961 following the rebuilding of seated areas.[11] A restoration project began in 1977 with $2 million in federal funds to replace the original seating structure, but had to sacrifice roughly half of the seating capacity because of soil instability. This was followed by a further restoration allowing the stadium to reopen in 1985.

Crowd gathering at Stadium Bowl for a speech made by President Theodore Roosevelt circa 1911

Notable events

Stadium Bowl has hosted many memorable sporting events, concerts, and ceremonies including:

Appearances in media

Stadium bowl and the connected high school are well known for its unique and captivating design. This has led the bowl to make appearances in film, and is often highly ranked in lists that showcase high schools with the best architecture.

Most notably, Stadium high school was used as a filming location in the 1999 cult classic film, 10 Things I Hate About You. Renamed "Padua High School" in the movie, many scenes were filmed at the school. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie involves Heath Ledger's character serenading Julia Stiles' character while she is at soccer practice in the Stadium Bowl. While singing Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", Ledger would run up and down the iconic stairs of the Bowl, making for one of the most memorable in the film.

Stadium Bowl was chosen in 2008 as one of the best high school football stadiums in the U.S. by ESPN.[19]

Stadium Bowl was listed on MaxPreps as one of "10 high school football stadiums to see before you die".[20]

Sports Illustrated also listed Stadium as one of the 13 must see high school football stadiums in the United States.[21]

Flooding Problems

Unfortunately, the stadium has dealt with numerous flooding incidents throughout its history that has put it out of commission and required repair.

In 1981 a burst storm drain washed away the scoreboard and the north end zone of the football field.[6]

On October 10, 2015, Stadium bowl experienced a mass flooding due to improper drain management. Videos of the bowl flooding quickly went viral. The videos of the bowl flooding were so captivating that they were even featured on CNN.[22]

Despite having multiple drains in the streets above the stadium, the drains became too overwhelmed with water, causing the flooding. The water eroded soil under the stadium's main stairwell, soaked the field-turf with water, mud, and debris, flooded the locker rooms used by home and away teams, and also caused a small trench to form on the Northern side of the stadium.[23]

The flooding would cause all subsequent sporting events at the stadium to be postponed, canceled, or relocated to nearby fields or schools.[23] Officials decided to keep the stadium closed until the spring of 2016, and football games would not return until the following September.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Stadium Bowl – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Magnificent Stadium is Complete". Tacoma Daily News. June 9, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Looking Back". The News Tribune. April 29, 2015. p. A2. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Stadium-smitten: The state's best high-school football stadiums". The Seattle Times. October 14, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Callaghan, Peter (September 14, 2010). "The bowl's turn for a party". The News Tribune. pp. A1, A14. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Plaque outside the stadium, May 28, 1993. Consulted February 8, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "STADIUM". Tacoma History. October 3, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "Tacoma's Great Stadium is Formally Dedicated". The Tacoma Times. June 10, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  10. ^ "Greatest of All Nights at Stadium". Tacoma Daily Ledger. July 30, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Stadium Bowl, old and new". The News Tribune. June 1, 1980. p. G8. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Varnell, George M. (October 12, 1917). "Grid Curtain Goes Up in Northwest Saturday". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved February 16, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Officers Held to Scoreless Tie". Spokesman Review. October 14, 1917. Retrieved February 16, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Washington State and Texas A. and M. arrive in Tacoma for big game". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 6, 1941. p. 11.
  15. ^ "Washington State loses "Evergreen Bowl" to Texas A. and M." The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 7, 1941. p. 2, sports.
  16. ^ "Mud battle in the offing for Washington State, Penn State". The Spokesman-Review. November 27, 1948. p. 11.
  17. ^ Jacobs, William (November 28, 1948). "Penn State wins, 7-0, over Wash. State". Pittsburgh Press. p. 27.
  18. ^ Ashlock, Herb (November 29, 1948). "Sarboe & Co. safe; Penn State surprised". Spokane Daily Chronicle. p. 13.
  19. ^ "Best stadiums to watch a high school football game". ESPN.com. October 20, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  20. ^ "10 high school football stadiums to see before you die - MaxPreps". MaxPreps.com. September 27, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Kramer, Jesse. "13 incredible high school football stadiums". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  22. ^ Storm sends water rushing into school's football stadium - CNN Video, retrieved February 17, 2021
  23. ^ a b Lynn, Adam (October 12, 2015). "Flood damage knocks Tacoma's Stadium Bowl out of commission". The News Tribune.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "Football returns to Stadium High after flood". king5.com. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
Washington (state)

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