Boone Pickens Stadium
Encyclopedia
Boone Pickens Stadium (previously known as Lewis Field) has been home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboys football
team in rudimentary form since 1913, and as a complete stadium since 1920. The facility is the oldest football stadium in the Big 12 Conference
but was left largely neglected and enjoyed only modest renovations throughout its near-century of existence.
With the resurgence of Cowboy football sparked by the 2001 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners
in the annual Bedlam Series
game and the subsequent 2002 Houston Bowl
season, interest grew for a major overhaul of Lewis Field. An ambitious fund-raising project for the renovation dubbed "The Next Level" became the flagship effort of the Oklahoma State athletic department.
Officially the capacity is 60,218 but that includes some of the unfinished unsold suites in the west end zone.
The school built a permanent 8,000-seat grandstand—roughly corresponding to the lower level of the current facility's north grandstand—in 1920. The stadium originally was positioned in the traditional north-south direction, but was reoriented east-west to avoid the strong prevailing winds. It remains one of a handful of major stadiums in the United States with goals at the east and west ends. Because of this, the sun becomes an advantage to the team defending the west end zone during sunny afternoon games, because the team defending the east goal has to look directly into the bright sunlight.
The university planned to build a horseshoe-shaped stadium, similar to Ohio State University
's Ohio Stadium
, in the 1920s to be called War Memorial Stadium. These plans were scrapped before any construction of the proposed stadium started, and the first addition to Lewis Field came in 1924 with the first steel and concrete portion of the current stadium built on the south side. During the 1929–1930 seasons, 8,000 permanent seats were built on the north side for an overall capacity of 13,000. In 1947 the south stands were increased from 20 to 53 rows and capacity climbed to nearly 30,000. For the first time, a permanent press box was then added.
Prior to the 1950 season, 10,600 seats were added to the north stands, increasing capacity to 39,000 (including temporary endzone bleachers). After the 1971 season the cinder track was removed, lowering the field 12 feet and making the space between the field and the stadium retaining walls among the smallest in college athletics. Twenty rows of permanent seats were also added to both sides of the stadium. This expansion, including complete conversion to an artificial turf playing surface, cost $2.5 million and was financed through private donations.
Press box construction was completed in 1980 at a cost of $1.8 million. The press box has seating for more than 200 members of the print media, with separate levels for radio/television broadcasters, photographers and VIP seating on the first level capable of handling 300. A lighting system for night games was installed in time for the 1985 season and cost approximately $750,000.
The all-time attendance record for Lewis Field is 51,458 for the Bedlam Series game in 1979.
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Lewis Field was officially renamed Boone Pickens Stadium during a halftime ceremony at the 2003 football game versus the University of Wyoming
. However, the playing surface is still known as Lewis Field. The stadium’s name was changed to honor OSU alumnus T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman and entrepreneur who founded Mesa Petroleum Company in 1956 and served as its CEO from 1956 to 1996. Pickens donated $165 million overall to the university, the largest single donation for athletics to an institution of higher education in American history, to create an “athletic village” on campus, but the construction of the village was postponed due to the economy's downturn.
Pickens' gift helped build the west end zone at Boone Pickens Stadium, a multi-purpose indoor practice complex, new soccer, track and tennis facilities, a new equestrian center, a new baseball stadium and new outdoor practice fields. During the 2003 football season, OSU broke ground on a $260 million upgrade to Boone Pickens Stadium which included a brick exterior by Wilks Masonry Corporation, to match the modified Georgian architecture
of the OSU campus, and a connection to the Gallagher-Iba Arena
. The stadium turf was replaced in 2005. Boone Pickens Stadium was the second NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision program to install the Desso Sport System's Football Pro Artificial Grass Surface. The first installation was at University of Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium
, also in 2005.
The funds used for the expansion of the stadium have been a topic of controversy and discussion among students and the public, including the city of Stillwater
. The athletic village came under intense scrutiny within the community and garnered statewide attention. In 2005 and 2006, OSU held "town hall meetings" to allow members of the community to express their concerns. At one meeting in the Stillwater Public Library, Commissioner Hank Moore told OSU President David Schmidly, the meeting's moderator, that OSU's actions in implementing the athletic village under the Campus Master Plan contradicted the principles of democracy.
Another hotly contested issue between the Stillwater city commissioners and OSU administrators was the closing of Hall of Fame Avenue, the street running parallel with the north side of the stadium. At the same meeting, Moore said OSU broke a trust agreement with the city on the closing of the street. In January 2007, an agreement was reached regarding Hall of Fame Avenue granting the city ownership, which could revert back to OSU if the city opens a roadway specifically to replace it.
During Spring Commencement exercises at the stadium on May 6, 2006, President George W. Bush
gave the commencement address, becoming the third U.S. president to speak at an OSU commencement (following George H. W. Bush
and Richard Nixon
).
Oklahoma State Cowboys football
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and completes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his seventh year as...
team in rudimentary form since 1913, and as a complete stadium since 1920. The facility is the oldest football stadium in the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
but was left largely neglected and enjoyed only modest renovations throughout its near-century of existence.
With the resurgence of Cowboy football sparked by the 2001 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
in the annual Bedlam Series
Bedlam Series
The Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference...
game and the subsequent 2002 Houston Bowl
Houston Bowl
The Houston Bowl is a now-defunct NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was played annually in Houston, Texas from 2000 to 2005. The game was originally known as the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in 2000 and 2001...
season, interest grew for a major overhaul of Lewis Field. An ambitious fund-raising project for the renovation dubbed "The Next Level" became the flagship effort of the Oklahoma State athletic department.
Officially the capacity is 60,218 but that includes some of the unfinished unsold suites in the west end zone.
The "Lewis Field" era
Oklahoma State, then known as Oklahoma A&M, first began playing at the current site of Pickens Stadium in 1913. Originally known simply as "Athletic Field," it was renamed Lewis Field in 1914 after Laymon Lowery Lewis, a former dean of veterinary medicine and of science and literature and one of the most popular figures in the school’s history. In addition to his duties as dean and instructor at OAMC, Lewis served as the school's acting president in 1914. Under his brief administration, OAMC established the first school of commerce and marketing in the nation and developed experimental stations around the state. In addition to naming the field after him, the students also dedicated the 1914 yearbook, its first, to Lewis.The school built a permanent 8,000-seat grandstand—roughly corresponding to the lower level of the current facility's north grandstand—in 1920. The stadium originally was positioned in the traditional north-south direction, but was reoriented east-west to avoid the strong prevailing winds. It remains one of a handful of major stadiums in the United States with goals at the east and west ends. Because of this, the sun becomes an advantage to the team defending the west end zone during sunny afternoon games, because the team defending the east goal has to look directly into the bright sunlight.
The university planned to build a horseshoe-shaped stadium, similar to Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
, in the 1920s to be called War Memorial Stadium. These plans were scrapped before any construction of the proposed stadium started, and the first addition to Lewis Field came in 1924 with the first steel and concrete portion of the current stadium built on the south side. During the 1929–1930 seasons, 8,000 permanent seats were built on the north side for an overall capacity of 13,000. In 1947 the south stands were increased from 20 to 53 rows and capacity climbed to nearly 30,000. For the first time, a permanent press box was then added.
Prior to the 1950 season, 10,600 seats were added to the north stands, increasing capacity to 39,000 (including temporary endzone bleachers). After the 1971 season the cinder track was removed, lowering the field 12 feet and making the space between the field and the stadium retaining walls among the smallest in college athletics. Twenty rows of permanent seats were also added to both sides of the stadium. This expansion, including complete conversion to an artificial turf playing surface, cost $2.5 million and was financed through private donations.
Press box construction was completed in 1980 at a cost of $1.8 million. The press box has seating for more than 200 members of the print media, with separate levels for radio/television broadcasters, photographers and VIP seating on the first level capable of handling 300. A lighting system for night games was installed in time for the 1985 season and cost approximately $750,000.
The all-time attendance record for Lewis Field is 51,458 for the Bedlam Series game in 1979.
Boone Pickens and "The Next Level"
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
. However, the playing surface is still known as Lewis Field. The stadium’s name was changed to honor OSU alumnus T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman and entrepreneur who founded Mesa Petroleum Company in 1956 and served as its CEO from 1956 to 1996. Pickens donated $165 million overall to the university, the largest single donation for athletics to an institution of higher education in American history, to create an “athletic village” on campus, but the construction of the village was postponed due to the economy's downturn.
Pickens' gift helped build the west end zone at Boone Pickens Stadium, a multi-purpose indoor practice complex, new soccer, track and tennis facilities, a new equestrian center, a new baseball stadium and new outdoor practice fields. During the 2003 football season, OSU broke ground on a $260 million upgrade to Boone Pickens Stadium which included a brick exterior by Wilks Masonry Corporation, to match the modified Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
of the OSU campus, and a connection to the Gallagher-Iba Arena
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Gallagher-Iba Arena, also known as "The Rowdiest Arena in the Country" and "The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”, is the basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States...
. The stadium turf was replaced in 2005. Boone Pickens Stadium was the second NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision program to install the Desso Sport System's Football Pro Artificial Grass Surface. The first installation was at University of Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium
War Memorial Stadium (Wyoming)
Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It is the home field of the Wyoming Cowboys of the Mountain West Conference. It is the highest Division I FBS college football stadium in the nation; the playing field sits at...
, also in 2005.
The funds used for the expansion of the stadium have been a topic of controversy and discussion among students and the public, including the city of Stillwater
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
. The athletic village came under intense scrutiny within the community and garnered statewide attention. In 2005 and 2006, OSU held "town hall meetings" to allow members of the community to express their concerns. At one meeting in the Stillwater Public Library, Commissioner Hank Moore told OSU President David Schmidly, the meeting's moderator, that OSU's actions in implementing the athletic village under the Campus Master Plan contradicted the principles of democracy.
Another hotly contested issue between the Stillwater city commissioners and OSU administrators was the closing of Hall of Fame Avenue, the street running parallel with the north side of the stadium. At the same meeting, Moore said OSU broke a trust agreement with the city on the closing of the street. In January 2007, an agreement was reached regarding Hall of Fame Avenue granting the city ownership, which could revert back to OSU if the city opens a roadway specifically to replace it.
During Spring Commencement exercises at the stadium on May 6, 2006, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
gave the commencement address, becoming the third U.S. president to speak at an OSU commencement (following George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
).
Official Rededication
The stadium was officially re-dedicated as Boone Pickens Stadium on Sept. 5, 2009, when the #9 Cowboys opened the fall football season against #13 Georgia Bulldogs. Prior to the game, there was a grand-opening ceremony outside the stadium. On hand for the ribbon-cutting were coach Mike Gundy, university president Burns Hargis, athletic director Mike Holder and Boone Pickens. Attendance for the game was 53,012, which was a new Oklahoma State Football attendance record surpassing the 52,463 from the 2008 meeting with Troy University.Attendance records
With its success on the football field under Mike Gundy, the Cowboys have set numerous attendance records at Boone Pickens Stadium. The following are the top crowds in the history of Boone Pickens Stadium:- 1. 58,895 vs Kansas State 2011
- 2. 58,516 vs Texas 2009
- 3. 58,274 vs Baylor 2011
- 4. 58,030 vs Kansas 2011
- 5. 56,901 vs Grambling State 2009
- 6. 55,935 vs Nebraska 2010
- 7. 55,752 vs Missouri 2009
- 8. 55,382 vs Louisiana-Lafayette 2011
- 9. 54,654 vs Arizona 2011
- 10. 53,012 vs Georgia 2009
