Washington–Grizzly Stadium

Washington–Grizzly Stadium

The Rolling Stones concert in October 2006
Location	Campus Drive Missoula, Montana, U.S.
Coordinates
Owner	University of Montana
Operator	University of Montana
Capacity	25,217 (2008–present) 23,183 (2003–2007) 19,005 (2002) 18,845 (1995–2001) 12,500 (1986–1994)
Record attendance	26,352 - (November 22, 2014)
Surface	SprinTurf - (2001-present) Natural grass - (1986-2000)
Construction
Broke ground	September 1985
Opened	October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
Construction cost	$3.2 million ($6.91 million in 2024 dollars)
Architect	Fox, Ballas & Barrow Rossman, Schneider & Gadvery
Tenants
Montana Grizzlies - NCAA (1986-present) Missoula County Public Schools

Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Missoula, Montana, located on the campus of the University of Montana. Opened in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies college football team, a dominant program of the Big Sky Conference and consistently a top team in Division I FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA. The infilled SprinTurf playing field is 20 feet (6 m) below ground level at an elevation of 3,190 feet (970 m) above sea level and runs in the traditional north-south orientation. The press box is above the west sideline and lights were added for the 2012 football season. It is the largest all-purpose stadium in the state of Montana.

History

The stadium is named after construction magnate Dennis Washington, a Montanan who donated $1 million to finance the stadium's construction in 1985. The stadium opened on October 18, 1986, and the Griz have racked up an impressive home record of 142-20 (.877).

Capacity and expansions

The current seating capacity is 25,217 and the stadium has been expanded three times, most recently in 2008 with an upper deck expansion of 2,000 seats on the east side.

The original capacity in 1986 was 12,500 permanent seats on the sidelines with open grass seating behind the end zones, an approximate capacity of 15,000, weather-permitting. Permanent seating for the end zones was installed in 1995, which brought the seating to 18,845. Corner seating in the north end zone opened in 2003 and the most recent expansion in 2008 to the east grandstand brought the capacity to 25,217.

A new attendance record was set on August 25th, 2015 when ESPN and 4-Time defending National Champion North Dakota State opened the 2015 FCS season drawing 26,472 people, breaking the old record of 26,352 set in 2014 against Montana State.

Field surface

Infilled SprinTurf was installed in 2001, and replaced in 2008. For its first fifteen seasons, the playing surface was natural grass. With the addition of the artificial turf in 2001, the playing surface was renamed "John Hoyt Field."

GrizVision

The video screen GrizVision, was installed in 2002 in the south end zone; at 26 by 36 feet (8 m × 11 m), it is one of the largest screens in an FCS football stadium.

Previous venues

Before Washington–Grizzly Stadium, the Grizzlies played off-campus at "new" Dornblaser Field from 1968-86. Prior to 1968, Montana played on-campus at "old" Dornblaser Field from 1920-67 (both named for Paul Dornblaser, football captain in 1912, killed in World War I). Prior to 1920, Montana played its home games at a field in downtown Missoula, near the former Missoulian newspaper building.

WA-Griz Largest Crowds

Looking southwest in 2010, against NAU on October 23

Washington–Grizzly Stadium Attendance Records
Official Stadium Capacity: 25,203

	Attendance	Result	Date
1	26,472	Montana 38, North Dakota State 35	Aug. 29, 2015
2	26,352	Montana 34, Montana State 7	Nov. 22, 2014
3	26,303	Montana 28, South Dakota 20	Sept. 13, 2014
4	26,293	Montana 30, Appalachian State 6	Aug. 31, 2013
5	26,136	Montana 23, Northern Arizona 14	Sept. 26, 2015
6	26,082	Montana 37, Eastern Washington 42	Oct. 26, 2013
7	26,066	Montana 17, Eastern Washington 14	Sept. 17, 2011
8	26,065	Montana 19, Cal Poly 20	Sept. 5, 2015
9	26,019	Montana 16, Montana State 21	Nov. 20, 2010
10	25,965	Montana 28, Sacramento State 25	Sept. 25, 2010
11	25,919	Montana 55, Northern Colorado 28	Oct. 01, 2011
12	25,855	Montana 37, Cal Poly 23	Sept. 10, 2011
13	25,811	Montana 31, Weber State 10	Oct. 31, 2009
14	25,751	Montana 41, Eastern Washington 34	Oct. 17, 2009
15	25,744	Montana 30, Portland State 24	Oct. 15, 2011
16	25,726	Montana 49, Portland State 17	Sept. 19, 2009
17	25,698	Montana 38, Western State 0	Sept. 5, 2009
18	25,694	Montana 35, Cal Poly 23	Oct. 10, 2009
19	25,663	Montana 73, Western State 2	Sept. 4, 2010
20	25,629	Montana 35, Montana State 3	Nov. 22, 2008
21	25,568	Montana 47, Idaho State 28	Oct. 9, 2010
22	25,500	Montana 21, Weber State 24 OT	Oct. 10, 2015
23	25,486	Montana 43, Sacramento State 7	Oct. 18, 2008
24	25,401	Montana 45, Weber State 10	Oct. 29, 2011
25	25,326	Montana 38, Central Washington 35	Sept. 27, 2008

Home Field Advantage

The stadium in 2012, after expansion and lights were added

Year	Win	Loss
Year	W	L
1986	2	1
1987	3	2
1988	6	0
1989^	8	0
1990	4	2
1991	4	1
1992	5	1
1993^	6	1
1994^	9	0
1995^	9	0
1996^	9	0
1997	5	1
1998	5	1
1999^	5	2
2000^	8	1
2001^	9	0
2002^	7	1
2003^	6	2
2004^	10	0
2005^	5	2
2006^	8	1
2007^	7	1
2008^	9	0
2009^	9	0
2010	5	1
2011	6	0
2012	3	3
2013^	5	2
2014^	7	0
2015^	5	2
Total	184-25 (.880)
^Includes FCS Playoff Game(s)

Concerts

• June 20, 1998 — Pearl Jam kicked off their North American tour at a sold out Washington-Grizzly stadium.
• October 4, 2006 — The Rolling Stones played their first-ever concert in the state of Montana to a sold-out audience exceeding 22,000 during their A Bigger Bang Tour.
• August 5, 2014 - Paul McCartney performed before an audience of 25,192.

External links

• GoGriz.com - about Washington–Grizzly Stadium
• World Stadiums.com - Washington–Grizzly Stadium