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24-604: In 1956, the Donald C. Watson Rink was opened just north of Harvard Stadium at Soldiers Field, the area in the Allston neighborhood of Boston used by Harvard athletics, just across the Charles River from campus. The rink held approximately 2,000 people, but did not have many modern amenities. When plans were made to upgrade facilities, the $ 5-million cost became prohibitive, and the decision was made to renovate Watson Rink. In 1978, following

48-515: A building or structure in Boston is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Boston is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Harvard Stadium Former capacity : Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston , Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and

72-569: A memorial to Harvard men who had died in the Civil War (1861–1865). The structure, similar in shape to the Panathenaic Stadium , was completed in just 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 months, costing $ 310,000. Much of the funds raised came from a 25th reunion gift by Harvard's Class of 1879. It is the home of Harvard's football team. The stadium also hosted the Crimson track and field teams until 1984 and

96-462: Is also the host of music festivals like the Amandla Festival , where Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley performed a historic concert in 1979. Janis Joplin performed her last show at the stadium in 1970, shortly before her death. Other concerts included those by Miles Davis , Ray Charles , Van Morrison , The Band , B.B. King , Ike & Tina Turner , James Taylor , Joan Baez , Sly and

120-464: Is home to the Harvard Crimson football program. In its current form, Harvard Stadium seats just over 25,000 spectators. Built in 1903, it was a pioneering execution of reinforced concrete in the construction of large structures. Because of its early importance in these areas, and its influence on the design of later stadiums, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The stadium

144-425: Is the nation's oldest permanent concrete structure dedicated to intercollegiate athletics. It seated up to 57,166 in the past, as permanent steel stands (completing a stadium shape ) were installed in the stadium's northeast end zone in 1929. They were torn down after the 1951 season, due to deterioration and reduced attendance. Afterward, there were smaller temporary steel bleachers across the stadium's open end until

168-548: The Dallas Cowboys traded disgruntled running back Duane Thomas to the Patriots for Carl Garrett and Halvor Hagen on July 31. Thomas became embroiled in a conflict with head coach John Mazur , prompting Patriots general manager Upton Bell to request that Commissioner Pete Rozelle void the trade three days after it had been made. Rozelle granted Bell's request, and the traded players returned to where they had been prior to

192-822: The Boston Bruins Alumni team all participated in the event. The Bruins defeated Team USA, while Gazprom defeated Team Canada. The arena was also home to the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League for the 2015–16 NWHL season in which the Pride won the Isobel Cup Championship. The Bright-Landry Center, when used for ice hockey, shares a design quirk with the Bruins' still-standing "original" home rink, today's Northeastern University-located Matthews Arena –

216-730: The Family Stone , Rahsaan Roland Kirk , The Supremes , Mountain , Ten Years After and Johnny Mathis . During the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, the stadium hosted several soccer preliminaries. In 2007, the Boston Cannons , a professional lacrosse team for Major League Lacrosse , moved their home site to the stadium. They previously played at Boston University 's Nickerson Field . They have since moved to Quincy, Massachusetts. Harvard installed FieldTurf and lights in 2006. Beginning on April 11, 2009, Harvard Stadium became

240-650: The New England Patriots, in an effort to regionalize the franchise's equal distance from Boston and Providence . The Patriots finished with six wins and eight losses, third place in the AFC East Division. It was the first season the Patriots played in the new Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts , after playing in three different stadiums the previous three seasons in Boston. During training camp,

264-449: The banks of the Charles. The stadium's horseshoe opens to the northeast, towards the river, and the press box is at the top of the northwest sideline's grandstand. The running track has been removed; it was non-standard, with long straights and tight turns, and the outside lanes were very near the stadium walls. †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used

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288-713: The building of the Murr Center (which is topped by the new scoreboard) in 1998. Harvard Stadium hosted one Boston Patriots season in 1970 . It was their first season in the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger and their last before becoming the New England Patriots . The team moved to Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough the following season . Harvard Stadium was constructed on 31 acres (13 ha) of land known as Soldiers Field, donated to Harvard University by Henry Lee Higginson in 1890 as

312-487: The concept into the vertical structure of the stadium design. There is a plaque dedicating the stadium to his honor on the east end wall outside the stadium. Harvard installed both FieldTurf and lights in 2006. In 2007 , Harvard played its first night game at the stadium, winning 24–17 over Brown University on September 22. In the early 20th century, American football was an extremely violent sport; 18 players died and 159 were seriously injured in 1905 alone. There

336-499: The deal. Front office Head coaches Offensive coaches Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Rookies in italics This article relating to an American football season is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Massachusetts

360-462: The hockey season, the walls were removed and the roof was extended before the new arena itself was installed. After a season without a full-time home, the "new" arena opened on November 19, 1979, with an exhibition between Harvard and the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team. In November 2006, Bright Arena was home to the 2006 Friendship Cup, the Cup's debut year. Team USA Alumni, Team Canada Alumni, Team Gazprom and

384-627: The home field of the Boston Breakers of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league when they beat Saint Louis Athletica 2–0. Soccer games played at Harvard Stadium during the 1984 Summer Olympics Although most of Harvard's campus is in Cambridge , the stadium and most other intercollegiate athletic facilities, along with Harvard Business School , lie to the south, across the Charles River , in

408-432: The most fundamental aspects of modern American football: standard field dimensions and the legal forward pass. Early in its existence two ice rinks were built on the stadium during the winter months for the men's ice hockey team . The Stadium served as the home for the hockey team until World War I . Harvard Stadium was the site of the U.S. Olympic Trials for men's track and field in 1912, 1920, 1924, and 1928 . It

432-580: The nearby Allston neighborhood of Boston. The stadium is the most iconic piece of the Soldiers Field athletic complex, which also includes the baseball stadium, outdoor track, an artificial turf field hockey/lacrosse field, two soccer stadiums, pools, Beren Tennis Center (outdoor), the Gordon Indoor Track, Dillon Fieldhouse, Lavietes Pavilion , and Bright Hockey Center . Newell Boathouse, home of Harvard's men's crew, lies across Soldiers Field Road on

456-507: The opposing team's benches at the Bright-Landry Center exist on opposing sides of the rink, just as they also did in the 20th century Boston Garden (1928–1995) for ice hockey games. 42°22′06″N 71°07′38″W  /  42.368342°N 71.127141°W  / 42.368342; -71.127141 This article about a sports venue in Massachusetts is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

480-630: The stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage. 1971 New England Patriots season The 1971 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League and 12th overall. The 1971 season was the first that the team played as the New England Patriots , changing their name from the Boston Patriots, briefly to the Bay State Patriots before changing it again to

504-454: The time, was widening the field to allow more running room and reduce serious collisions. While it was popular among committee members, Harvard objected. Their recently completed stadium could not accommodate a larger field. Because of the permanent nature of Harvard Stadium, the proposal was rejected and the forward pass was legalized in April 1906. Harvard Stadium led to the creation of two of

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528-404: Was a consultant to the design team for the stadium. It is historically significant that this stadium represents the first vertical concrete structure to employ reinforced structural concrete. Prior to the erection of the stadium in 1902, reinforced structural concrete was used in horizontal, that is flooring, sidewalks, etc., design only. Johnson was the engineer of note responsible for incorporating

552-556: Was a widespread movement to outlaw the game but U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt intervened and demanded the rules of the game be reformed. In 1906, Roosevelt met with representatives from 62 colleges and universities and formed the Intercollegiate Football Conference, the predecessor of the NCAA . The committee's purpose was to develop a uniform set of rules and regulations to make the game safer. A leading proposal, at

576-472: Was the home of the Boston Patriots during the 1970 season, until Schaefer Stadium opened the following year to fulfill post- AFL–NFL merger minimum seating requirements requiring a 50,000+ seat venue. Harvard Stadium was the largest concrete stadium in the nation until the construction of Syracuse University 's Archbold Stadium in 1907. Lewis Jerome Johnson, professor of civil engineering at Harvard,

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