Rice-Eccles Stadium

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Updated On :09 Apr, 2021

Full Name
Rice-Eccles Stadium

Capacity
45,807

Type
Outdoor

Location
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America

Surface Type
Artificial Turf

The Rice-Eccles Stadium is located in the Salt Lake City, in the campus of the University of Utah in the United States. The playing field is 4,637 feet above sea level. It was opened on 12th September 1998 after a year of construction. The structure of the stadium was designed by the architecture firm FKKR Architects and engineered by Reaveley Engineers + Associates. A college football team Utah Utes that plays in the Pac-12 Conference, is the tenant of the stadium since its opening. It has also acted as the main venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics. That time, the stadium was temporarily renamed as "Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium" for commercial purposes.

Trivia

There is a 2002 Winter Olympic Museum, Olympic cauldron, and other memorabilia located just south of the stadium. The famous Hoberman Arch was also located here until it was removed in October 2014.
In 1998, the surface of the stadium had been installed with SportGrass which is a hybrid version of artificial turf and natural grass. That time, it was the first stadium that has used this type of hybrid grass.

Significance

The Utah Utes football team played their first game at the stadium against Louisville Cardinals on 12th September 1998. The home team won the match with a scoreline of 45-22 in front of a jam-packed stadium of around 44,112 spectators.
Rice-Eccles Stadium was the venue that hosted the opening and the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and also the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics of the year.
Irish rock band "U2" performed with American rock band "The Fray" as their opening act at the arena on 24th May 2011.
English rock band "The Rolling Stone" has performed in the arena three times: twice in 1994 and once in 2002.
Rice-Eccles Stadium had also served as the home of the Real Salt Lake team (a Major League Soccer franchise) from 2005 to 2008.