Fairfield Stadium
Encyclopedia
Fairfield Stadium was a stadium
in Huntington, West Virginia
. It was primarily used for football
, and was the home field of the Marshall University
football team between 1927 and 1990, prior to the opening of Joan C. Edwards Stadium
.
track and was owned by the city and mostly maintained by community volunteers.
In 1970, a major renovation project was completed that expanded the seating capacity by 5,000 seats . An artificial grass playing surface was installed, and the playing surface was lowered. Along with that, a new press box and locker room for the home team was constructed. The 1970 season ended with the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932 on November 14, which killed all 75 people aboard, including 37 players and six coaches.
The stadium fell into disrepair in the 1970s and 80s. In 1984 the original 1927 east side was torn down, after being found unsafe, and was replaced by temporary aluminum bleachers.
For the 1991 season, because Edwards Stadium's locker rooms were not completed, visiting teams were forced to dress at Fairfield and then ride the team bus more than a mile to and from the game (Marshall used facilities in the Cam Henderson Center
near the new stadium). MU soccer, which had played there from the program's founding continued to use the field until 1993 when it too moved to Edwards Stadium. Today that program has its own soccer specific stadium, Sam Hood Field
.
The stadium was also used by the former Huntington High School and Huntington East High School (the merger of those schools, which is the current Huntington High
, has its own on-campus stadium).
The stadium, which held 18,000, was built in 1927, and demolished in early 2004. For the movie We Are Marshall
, Herndon Stadium
in Atlanta
was used as the stand-in for Fairfield Stadium.
The last scoreboard from Fairfield Stadium was salvaged and put in the parking lot of Gino's Pub and Pizzeria on Fifth Avenue a few blocks from the new stadium, which is lit up and shows the score of the Marshall-Xavier game in 1971, which was Marshall's first win since the plane crash.
The Marshall University Forensic Science Center
complex completed in 1997 is the renovated former football locker room of Fairfield that was used until the completion of Joan C. Edwards Stadium
in 1991. A lone locker with a football jersey, football helmet, and a plaque commemorating the 1970 football team can be found on display in the lobby of the DNA Forensic laboratory. The remainder of the property is now used by the Erma Byrd Clinic, the primary classroom structure for second year students at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
.
38.4101127°N 82.431761°W
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
. It was primarily used for football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and was the home field of the Marshall University
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
football team between 1927 and 1990, prior to the opening of Joan C. Edwards Stadium
Joan C. Edwards Stadium
The Joan C. Edwards Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. It can hold 38,019 spectators and includes twenty deluxe, indoor suites, 300 wheelchair-accessible seating, a state-of-the-art press-box, fourteen concession areas, and...
.
History
The original stadium was a red brick structure that featured a grass field circled by a cinderCinder
A cinder is a pyroclastic material. Cinders are extrusive igneous rocks. Cinders are similar to pumice, which has so many cavities and is such low-density that it can float on water...
track and was owned by the city and mostly maintained by community volunteers.
In 1970, a major renovation project was completed that expanded the seating capacity by 5,000 seats . An artificial grass playing surface was installed, and the playing surface was lowered. Along with that, a new press box and locker room for the home team was constructed. The 1970 season ended with the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932 on November 14, which killed all 75 people aboard, including 37 players and six coaches.
The stadium fell into disrepair in the 1970s and 80s. In 1984 the original 1927 east side was torn down, after being found unsafe, and was replaced by temporary aluminum bleachers.
For the 1991 season, because Edwards Stadium's locker rooms were not completed, visiting teams were forced to dress at Fairfield and then ride the team bus more than a mile to and from the game (Marshall used facilities in the Cam Henderson Center
Cam Henderson Center
The Cam Henderson Center is the primary indoor athletics complex at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, USA. The first basketball game played in the facility was a varsity match between Marshall and Army on November 27, 1981...
near the new stadium). MU soccer, which had played there from the program's founding continued to use the field until 1993 when it too moved to Edwards Stadium. Today that program has its own soccer specific stadium, Sam Hood Field
Sam Hood Field
Sam Hood Field is a soccer-specific stadium located in Huntington, West Virginia on the campus of Marshall University.The 1,500-seat stadium was built in 1995 and is home to the men's and women's soccer programs from Marshall. Prior to 1995 the teams played at Joan C. Edwards Stadium/James F...
.
The stadium was also used by the former Huntington High School and Huntington East High School (the merger of those schools, which is the current Huntington High
Huntington High School (West Virginia)
Huntington High School is a four year high school located on top of a hill just outside of Huntington, West Virginia. It was established in 1996 through the consolidation of the old Huntington and Huntington East High Schools. The school has a student body of approximately 1600 students. Huntington...
, has its own on-campus stadium).
The stadium, which held 18,000, was built in 1927, and demolished in early 2004. For the movie We Are Marshall
We Are Marshall
We Are Marshall is a 2006 American drama film directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 37 football players on the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team as well as five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters and...
, Herndon Stadium
Herndon Stadium
Alonzo Herndon Stadium, named for Alonzo Herndon, is a 15,011-seat stadium on the campus of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the only two-sided stadium in the Atlanta University Center. It is one block over from the locally known Herndon Home, and sits above the MARTA...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
was used as the stand-in for Fairfield Stadium.
The last scoreboard from Fairfield Stadium was salvaged and put in the parking lot of Gino's Pub and Pizzeria on Fifth Avenue a few blocks from the new stadium, which is lit up and shows the score of the Marshall-Xavier game in 1971, which was Marshall's first win since the plane crash.
The Marshall University Forensic Science Center
Marshall University Forensic Science Center
The Marshall University Forensic Science Center, located in Huntington, West Virginia, houses a two-year graduate program in forensic science and the state of West Virginia's Combined DNA Index System laboratory facility....
complex completed in 1997 is the renovated former football locker room of Fairfield that was used until the completion of Joan C. Edwards Stadium
Joan C. Edwards Stadium
The Joan C. Edwards Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. It can hold 38,019 spectators and includes twenty deluxe, indoor suites, 300 wheelchair-accessible seating, a state-of-the-art press-box, fourteen concession areas, and...
in 1991. A lone locker with a football jersey, football helmet, and a plaque commemorating the 1970 football team can be found on display in the lobby of the DNA Forensic laboratory. The remainder of the property is now used by the Erma Byrd Clinic, the primary classroom structure for second year students at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is the medical school at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. It is one of three medical schools in the state....
.
External links
38.4101127°N 82.431761°W