Falcon Stadium
Encyclopedia
Falcon Stadium is an outdoor football
stadium
on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs
, Colorado
. It is the home field of the Air Force Falcons
of the Mountain West Conference
. It also serves as the site for the academy's graduation ceremonies each spring.
, at a cost of $3.5 million, and has a current seating capacity
of 46,692. The first game was on September 22, 1962, when Air Force Falcons
defeated Colorado State
24–0. Until that time, from 1956
-61
, Air Force played its home games at various sites across the state. Most games were played at the University of Denver
's DU Stadium
, but several were played in Colorado Springs
, Pueblo
, and CU's
Folsom Field
in Boulder
.
Falcon Stadium has often been the site of pranks during the weeks Air Force plays Army
and Navy
. In 1991, midshipmen from the Naval Academy
snuck into the stadium and repainted the seats that spelled out "AIR FORCE" to read "AIR FARCE". In a similar prank in 2007, the midshipmen struck again, changing the letters to "CHAIR FORCE."
. The design of Falcon Stadium is unbalanced, with the western side having two large grandstand tiers above the main bowl and the eastern having a single tier bordered by seven separate sections of grandstands.
The playing field is aligned in the traditional north-south configuration at an elevation
of 6621 feet (2,018.1 m) above sea level. Falcon Stadium is the second highest in Division I-A college football
, exceeded only by Wyoming's
War Memorial Stadium
, which is 600 feet (183 m) higher. The Walkup Skydome
at Division I-AA Northern Arizona
in Flagstaff
is also slightly higher, by 250 feet (76.2 m).
Falcon Stadium had a natural grass field for its first 44 years. Prior to the 2006
football season, synthetic FieldTurf
was installed at a cost of $750,000. Natural grass remains around the perimeter of the FieldTurf surface. Permanent lighting was installed in Falcon Stadium in 2002
at a cost of $500,000, and the video screen at the south end of the field was installed in 2004
. A new sound system was also installed for the 2006 season.
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...
stadium
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...
on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It is the home field of the Air Force Falcons
Air Force Falcons football
The Air Force Falcons are a college football team from the United States Air Force Academy, located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Conference.-Style:...
of the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
. It also serves as the site for the academy's graduation ceremonies each spring.
History
Falcon Stadium opened in 19621962 in sports
1962 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* AFL Championship – Dallas Texans won 20-17 over the Houston Oilers in double overtime* NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers won 16-7 over the New York Giants...
, at a cost of $3.5 million, and has a current seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 46,692. The first game was on September 22, 1962, when Air Force Falcons
Air Force Falcons football
The Air Force Falcons are a college football team from the United States Air Force Academy, located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Conference.-Style:...
defeated Colorado State
Colorado State Rams football
The Colorado State Rams football program, established in 1893, represents Colorado State University and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference under head coach Steve Fairchild...
24–0. Until that time, from 1956
1956 in sports
1956's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* The men's Olympic Gold Medal:** Downhill: Toni Sailer, Austria** Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria** Giant Slalom: Toni Sailer, Austria* The women's Olympic Gold Medal:** Downhill: Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland...
-61
1961 in sports
1961 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* AFL Championship – Houston Oilers won 10-3 over the San Diego Chargers* NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers won 37-0 over the New York Giants...
, Air Force played its home games at various sites across the state. Most games were played at the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
's DU Stadium
DU Stadium
DU Stadium was a stadium in Denver, Colorado. Built in 1926, the crescent-shaped main grandstand design was based on other similar-sized stadiums from the same the time period, Brown Stadium and Cornell's Schoellkopf Field...
, but several were played in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Pueblo
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
, and CU's
Colorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...
Folsom Field
Folsom Field
Folsom Field is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Colorado, at Boulder, Colorado. Opened in 1924, it is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pacific-12 Conference; until July 2011, Colorado was a member of the Big 12 Conference. The horseshoe-shaped stadium...
in Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
.
Falcon Stadium has often been the site of pranks during the weeks Air Force plays Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
and Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
. In 1991, midshipmen from the Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
snuck into the stadium and repainted the seats that spelled out "AIR FORCE" to read "AIR FARCE". In a similar prank in 2007, the midshipmen struck again, changing the letters to "CHAIR FORCE."
Construction
Falcon Stadium was built into a natural bowl southeast of the center of the academic campus (and 500 feet (152.4 m) below). As with the rest of the campus, Falcon Stadium lies at the base of the Rampart Range of the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. The design of Falcon Stadium is unbalanced, with the western side having two large grandstand tiers above the main bowl and the eastern having a single tier bordered by seven separate sections of grandstands.
The playing field is aligned in the traditional north-south configuration at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 6621 feet (2,018.1 m) above sea level. Falcon Stadium is the second highest in Division I-A college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, exceeded only by Wyoming's
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...
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...
, which is 600 feet (183 m) higher. The Walkup Skydome
Walkup Skydome
The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome is an indoor multi-purpose stadium in Flagstaff, Arizona, on the campus of Northern Arizona University. Opened in September 1977, it is the home of the NAU Lumberjacks football and basketball teams of the Big Sky Conference. The seating capacity is 16,230, with...
at Division I-AA Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
in Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
is also slightly higher, by 250 feet (76.2 m).
Falcon Stadium had a natural grass field for its first 44 years. Prior to the 2006
2006 in sports
2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 2, Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 34-20 Notre Dame* January 2, Sugar Bowl – West Virginia 38-35 Georgia...
football season, synthetic FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
was installed at a cost of $750,000. Natural grass remains around the perimeter of the FieldTurf surface. Permanent lighting was installed in Falcon Stadium in 2002
2002 in sports
2002 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria-American football:...
at a cost of $500,000, and the video screen at the south end of the field was installed in 2004
2004 in sports
2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...
. A new sound system was also installed for the 2006 season.
External references
- Air Force Academy Official Athletic Site
- Air Force Sports.com - Falcon Stadium - Fan Guide
- Sports-Venue.Info - Falcon Stadium information & photos