Romney Stadium
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Romney Stadium is a stadium in Logan, Utah. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Utah State University Aggies. It opened in 1968 and currently holds 30,257 people.
Named for E.L. “Dick” Romney, Utah State’s all-time winningest football coach and former athletics director, Romney Stadium was officially dedicated on Sept. 27, 1969. The first game in Romney Stadium history came on Sept. 14, 1968, when Utah State defeated New Mexico State, 28-12.
There has been one major stadium addition since 1969. Thanks to a massive volunteer effort in 1980, 10,000 seats were added to the southern bowl which brought the capacity of the stadium to 30,257. Prior to the 1997 season, approximately 4,000 chairback seats replaced wooden bleachers on the west side of the stadium.
Ahead of the 1999 season, new scoreboards were added at each end of the stadium and additional bleacher seats were installed as well. New aluminum bleachers replaced wooden bleachers on the lower sections of the east side of the stadium in 2001. In 2003 that project expanded to the upper sections.
In the summer of 2004, the bent bluegrass field was replaced with a state of the art synthetic turf by SprinTurf. A new press box with luxury suites are planned for the future. In addition, a number of additional improvements are expected as soon as 2007, including a completely new north endzone complex.
The stadium was designed specifically for American football with all seats, until the 1980 expansion, located between the 15-yard lines and all directed toward the 50-yard line. The first row of seats on the east, west and south sides are elevated eight-feet above the playing field and within 30 feet of the sidelines.
Like most stadiums, the field runs north and south. The glass-enclosed press box, located on the stadium’s west side, was renovated in 1997 and features closed-circuit television monitors for replays. The press box can comfortably accommodate 40 writers with facilities for radio and TV broadcasters.
The stadium was financed by a student body which believed in athletics to the extent of underwriting a special bonding assessment for both Romney Stadium and the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which serves as home for Utah State’s basketball, gymnastics and volleyball teams. The continuing growth of Utah State’s campus prompted University planners to relocate the original Romney Stadium, which was built in 1927 on the grounds where the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building now stands. That facility was dedicated on Oct. 8, 1927, in recognition of Coach Romney’s lasting contributions to Utah State football.
Romney, who guided the Aggies to four conference championships, compiled a 128-91-16 record (.579 winning percentage) in 29 seasons (1919-48). That structure served as Utah State’s home for 41 seasons (1927-67). Utah State played its final game in the old complex on Nov. 11, 1967, as the Aggies defeated Montana, 20-14. Over the past 33 seasons, Utah State has compiled a 94-69 mark (.577) winning percentage) in Romney Stadium. Only nine times in the 33-year history of the stadium has Utah State experienced a losing record at home.
Utah State’s largest crowd to witness a game in Romney Stadium was 33,119 in a 45- 17 loss to Brigham Young on Oct. 4, 1996.
