Capacity: 47,000
Year Opened: 1950
Highlights: Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center Dedication (2016);
Super Bowl VIII (1974)
Conference USA Championship Game (2013)
John F. Kennedy Speech (1962)
Rice defeats #1 Texas A&M (1957)
Final Game in the Southwest Conference (1994)
One of America's great stadiums, Rice Stadium will celebrate its 70th season in 2019.
A landmark on the college football circuit since its debut in 1950, Rice Stadium received a major upgrade to the overall fan experience in August of 2016 when the $33 million Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center opened its doors.
A spectacular upgrade for Rice student-athletes, the facility also ushered in a new era for fans thanks to the installation of new Daktronics video system in 2016
The main video display measures 29 feet high by 49 feet wide and features a 13HD pixel layout for excellent image quality and contrast with wide-angle visibility to appeal to every seat in the stadium. The production center for the video board also allows Rice Athletics to produce network quality broadcasts, greatly enhancing the overall ability to deliver programming to fans worldwide.
The playing surface at Rice Stadium, which was first switched to artificial turf in 1970, was upgraded in 2014 to Astroturf 3D60H Synthetic Turf, providing a state-of-the art foundation for the program. As part of Rice hosting the Atlanta Falcons for their practices in advance of Super Bowl LI, the grass practice field located north of the Patterson Center also received a major overhaul.
Rice Stadium has a storied history of its own, but its creation was the result of arguably the greatest season in school history.
Led by Froggy Williams and Joe Watson, Rice captured the 1949 Southwest Conference championship and blasted North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl to end the year 10-1 and ranked fifth in the final AP poll.
The original Rice Stadium (now the home for Rice track and soccer) seated less than 37,000 fans, many of those in temporary seating installed for football each fall. Rice administrators and Houston's civic leaders decided the existing structure was no longer a proper venue for the SWC champions or representative of a booming city. Public response to a call for commitments for seats at a new venue was overwhelming and the project was set in motion with the unlikely goal of opening its gates in time for the upcoming 1950 season.
Brown & Root, Inc. was the general contractor for the project and the groundbreaking was held in February 1950. Working feverishly on 24-hour shifts over the next eight months, the completed stadium was ready for the showdown between the defending Cotton and Orange Bowl champions as Rice defeated Santa Clara 27-7 on September 30, 1950.
Rice Football has twice matched its historic 1949 win total after moving to its new home, first in 2008 and again in 2013, with the 10th win coming as the Owls defeated Marshall to win the Conference USA Championship.
The R Room, which was added in 1971 in the south end zone, is dedicated to the greatest names in Rice Athletics and features photos of past All-Americans, conference championship teams as well as the members of the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame, Distinguished “R” Award winners and Honorary “R” recipients. The R Room continues to host numerous academic, civic and other social events.
Rice Stadium has been the scene for many exciting moments in the football legacy of the City of Houston. At various times, the stadium has served as the home stadium for the Bluebonnet Bowl, the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and the Houston Oilers.
On Jan. 13, 1974, Rice Stadium was the site of Super Bowl VIII, in which the Miami Dolphins defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7. Rice Stadium is one of only three campus facilities still in operation that have hosted a Super Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium and Stanford Stadium are the others). Tulane hosted three Super Bowls at Sugar Bowl Stadium before it was demolished in 1979.
The Stadium has also held major concerts. Huge crowds were part of the excitement for the Pink Floyd, Eagles, Elton John\Billy Joel, and George Strait concerts.
More than 11,000,000 fans have watched Rice Owls football at Rice Stadium.
