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Ohio Stadium (also known as The Horseshoe, or simply The ’Shoe) is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. On March 22, 1974, the stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service. Ohio Stadium also provided a home to Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew from the league's inception in 1996 until soccer-specific Columbus Crew Stadium opened in 1999. Ohio Stadium is also Columbus' largest concert venue, with seating for up to 110,000; the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd are among the many acts who have played in Ohio Stadium over the years.
Construction As early as 1913, Ohio Field at High Street and Woodruff Avenue was unable to contain the crowds attracted to many Buckeye home football games, leading to faculty discussion of moving the site elsewhere and building a new facility. The growing popularity of football in Ohio led to the design of a horseshoe-shaped stadium, conceptualized and designed by architect Howard Dwight Smith in 1918. A public-subscription Stadium Campaign to fund the project was begun in October 1920 and raised over $ 1 million in pledges by January 1921, of which $975,000 was actually honored. The stadium was completed in 1922 by E. H. Latham Company of Columbus with materials and labor from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co. at a construction cost of $1.34 million and a total cost of $1.49 million. The stadium's original capacity was 66,210, astronomical in size at the time. Many university officials feared that the stadium would never be filled to capacity. Smith employed numerous revolutionary architectural techniques during the building of the stadium. At the base is a slurry wall, to keep out the waters from the Olentangy River. The stadium sits on the flood plain, giving it a precarious, but beautiful setting. Instead of building a large bowl, like the previously constructed Yale Bowl or later at Michigan Stadium, Ohio Stadium was designed to have an upper deck that would hang over part of the lower deck, giving Ohio Stadium its "A", "B", and "C" decks. Instead of employing numerous columns like those at Harvard Stadium, Smith designed double columns that allow for more space between columns. The rotunda at the north end of the stadium, which is now adorned with stained glass murals of the offensive and defensive squads that comprise the Buckeye football team,• was designed to look like the dome at the Pantheon in Rome. Opening The first game in the stadium was against Ohio Wesleyan on October 7, 1922, and brought a crowd of around 25,000, which left people concerned because the stadium was only half full. This concern was put to rest at the stadium dedication against Michigan on October 21. The crowd was announced at the game to be 72,000, but no one is really sure how many people made it into the stadium. This attendance mark was broken in a game against Michigan in 1925 when 90,411 came out to support the Buckeyes; this is also the last time standing-room-only tickets were sold for a game. In 1923, a cinder track was built around the football field. The stadium became home to the track and field team for OSU for many years. Renovations As time passed, minor adjustments raised the seating capacity to more than 90,000. In 1984, a new $2.1 million scoreboard was installed. The stadium was heavily renovated from 1999 to 2000 -- the press box was replaced, additional seating was installed above the existing upper deck and 81 luxury suites and 2,500 club seats were added. A track and field-specific stadium had been built by the university nearby, thus the track at Ohio Stadium was no longer needed. The track was removed and the field of play was lowered by 14.5 feet to add additional seating closer to the field. The temporary bleachers in the south end zone were replaced with permanent seating. General improvements were also made in the seating and concourse areas. The result of the $194 million renovation was a capacity that rose to 101,568. Eighty percent of the cost of the renovation was funded by the sale of leases on the suites and club seats, with the remaining 20 percent funded by donations and the sale of naming rights for portions of the stadium. No public or university money was spent in the renovation process. In 1971, the natural grass field was removed, and AstroTurf was installed, complements of a generous donation. In 1979, the surface was replaced with Superturf. In 1990, natural grass made its return to the Horseshoe, a special grass called "Prescription Athletic Turf." New field designs were put in place for the 1992 season and exist to this day. Columbus Crew MLS games were held at Ohio Stadium between 1996 and 1999. The home opener was held on April 13, 1996 against D.C. United before 25,266 fans. Star player Brian McBride scored 2 goals and had an assist in a 4–0 rout. The field at Ohio Stadium was the smallest in the MLS, measuring only 62 yards wide by 106 yards long, limited by the track surrounding it.• Because of the smaller market for soccer than Ohio State football, B Deck, C Deck, and the South end zone seats were closed, leading to a capacity of 25,234. • Attendance stayed strong through the first season, seeing a record audience of 31,550 September 15, 1996 win over the MetroStars, 2–0.• Again, because of the smaller market for soccer than Ohio State football, B Deck, C Deck, and the South end zone seats were closed, leading to a capacity of 25,234.• Despite the facility's size, problems like field dimensions and the lack of lighting pushed the Crew to find a new home. Jamey Rootes, Crew President and General Manager stated, 'We prefer a smaller, more intimate environment (than Ohio Stadium). . . . We've got to create a major league environment. Ohio Stadium is a great stadium, but we cannot create a major league environment in a facility that is way too big for us."• The Crew finished their tenure at Ohio Stadium 30–18. Buckeyes football Ohio Stadium saw its largest crowd on September 10, 2005, with 105,565 fans in attendance for the Buckeyes' 25-22 loss to the Texas Longhorns, the first meeting between the two teams. The game broke a record set in a 2002 contest with archrival Michigan, which the Buckeyes won 14-9 en route to a National Championship. Mel Kiper has stated that Ohio Stadium has the second-best atmosphere of any college venue, and Beano Cook said, "There is nothing that beats when the Ohio State Marching Band and the sousaphone player dots the 'i' for Script Ohio." The crowd is known for being loud during the offensive series of the visiting team. University of Iowa coach Hayden Fry complained after a 1985 loss that the fans were too loud for his quarterback, Chuck Long, to call plays and suggested sound meters be used to gauge the noise level, penalizing home teams if there was too much noise. He said, "It's a realistic fact that happened. He became mentally disturbed for the first time since he's been a starter for us because of his inability to communicate."• Iowa had been ranked No. 1 before the loss. The loudest recorded game at Ohio Stadium was a 2002 contest with Penn State, which the Buckeyes won 13-7. Historical images The following are historical images of Ohio Stadium. Image:Ohiostadium1930.jpg|Ohio Stadium 1930 Image:Ohiostadium1942.jpg|Ohio Stadium 1942 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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