Harvard Stadium

Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the Allston area of Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned and managed by Harvard University and is where the Harvard Crimson football team plays. The stadium can hold just over 25,000 fans.

The stadium opened in 1903, making it the oldest stadium still used for college football in the United States. It is also the oldest permanent concrete building made for college sports in the country. Although Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania (built in 1895) is older, its current building was rebuilt in 1922.

Harvard Stadium was an early important example of using reinforced concrete in large building projects. Because of its historical importance and influence on later stadium designs, it became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is one of only four athletic facilities to receive this special honor.

History

Harvard Stadium was built on 31 acres of land called Soldiers Field. This land was given to Harvard University in 1890 to honor students who served in the Civil War.

The stadium was finished in just over four months and cost $310,000 to build. It was the first large concrete stadium in the United States and shaped how football fields are designed today. It is where Harvard's football team plays its home games and was also used for track and field until 1984.

The stadium has hosted many important events over the years. It was used for U.S. Olympic track and field trials and concerts by famous musicians. During the 1984 Summer Olympics, it held soccer games. It has also been a home field for different sports teams over time.

Date	Time (EDT)	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Round	Attendance
July 29	19:30	Norway	0–0	Chile	Group A	25,000
July 30	19:30	Canada	1–1	Iraq	Group B	16,730
July 31	19:00	Norway	1–2	France	Group A	27,832
August 1	19:00	Cameroon	1–0	Iraq	Group B	20,000
August 2	19:00	Qatar	0–2	Norway	Group A	17,529
August 3	19:00	Cameroon	1–3	Canada	Group B	27,261

Panoramas

!Harvard Stadium - 1905

Harvard–Yale game in 1905

!Harvard stadium wide view

To mark the 100th anniversary of Harvard's marching band, many alumni joined the band on the field on October 12, 2019.

Location

Most of Harvard University's campus is in Cambridge, but Harvard Stadium and many sports places are in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, across the Charles River. This area is called "Soldier's Field" because of gifts from people like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Henry Lee Higginson.

Harvard Stadium is the most famous building in the Soldier's Field sports area. This area also has a baseball stadium, a track, a field for hockey and lacrosse, two soccer fields including Jordan Field, pools, a tennis center, an indoor track, and more. The stadium looks like a horseshoe and faces northeast toward the river.