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University at Buffalo Stadium

Coordinates: 42°59′57″N 78°46′39″W / 42.99917°N 78.77750°W / 42.99917; -78.77750
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UB Stadium
"The Bullpen"[citation needed]
Aerial view of the stadium in 2023
Map
AddressWebster Road
Amherst, NY
United States
Coordinates42°59′57″N 78°46′39″W / 42.99917°N 78.77750°W / 42.99917; -78.77750
OwnerUniversity at Buffalo
OperatorUniv. at Buffalo Athletics
TypeStadium
Capacity25,013 (2017–present)
29,013[2][failed verification] (1999–2017)
15,000 (1993–1999)
SurfaceA-Turf Titan (2014–present)
Momentum Turf (2005–2013)
Natural grass (1993–2004)
Current useFootball
Soccer
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 17, 1991
OpenedSeptember 4, 1993; 31 years ago (September 4, 1993)
Expanded1999
Construction cost$23 million
($48.5 million in 2023 dollars)[1]
ArchitectHOK Sport
Tenants
  • Buffalo Bulls (NCAA) teams:
  • football (1993–present)
  • men's soccer (1993–2017)
  • women's soccer (1993–present)
  • men's and women's track and field
    (1993–present)
Website
ubbulls.com/ub-stadium

UB Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York on the campus of the University at Buffalo. It is primarily used for football, soccer, and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. The Stadium hosted the athletics events and the closing ceremonies of the 1993 World University Games held in July of 1993. The first football game was held between the Bulls and Maine Black Bears on September 4, 1993.[3]

History

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The stadium was built from 1991 to 1993 as the final piece of the school's "Run to Division I" drive, meant to bring UB football back to Division I status and as the feature athletics venue for the 1993 Summer Universiade. The program had been dropped for seven years in the 1970s, but returned at a lower level. The team had played at a much smaller, 4,000-seat UB Stadium (now known as Walter Kunz Stadium) from the time of its move to the town of Amherst north of Buffalo in 1985 until 1992. The current stadium opened in the summer of 1993, hosting the World University Games. The Bulls played their first six years in the stadium as a member of Division I-AA, finally making their return to Division I-A in 1999.

Jim Kelly hosted his third-annual StarGaze charity event at the venue in 1994. The stadium was the primary venue for the 1995 World Masters Athletics Championships. The stadium hosted the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Empire State Games on July 21, 2010.

Location and configuration

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The stadium consists of a north-south field surrounded by an eight-lane track. There are the original double-decked grandstands on either sideline spanning the entire length of the football field, a large bleacher grandstand around the south end of the track, and two shorter bleacher sections on the north side with the free-standing scoreboard located between them. The stadium is lit by the four large light towers near the corners of the stadium.

The stadium is located at the east side of UB's North Campus. Students living on the North Campus typically walk to the stadium from their on-campus housing or take the UB Stampede shuttle buses directly to Alumni Arena, which is nearby.

UB Stadium has a capacity of approximately 25,000. The sideline seating areas consist of two main grandstands which hold 15,000 (7,500 each). A large bleacher grandstand in the southern end of the stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 10,000. There is additional space on the north and south ends of the field level that is utilized as a standing room only space which accommodates approximately 3,000, though this is not factored into the capacity of the stadium.

In 1999, the school added two rounded bleacher sections to UB Stadium, raising the capacity to above 29,000. The southern section holds 10,000. Two half-sections were constructed in the north endzone, both with a capacity of 3,000 each (6,000 total). In October 2017, demolition work commenced on the northern endzones of the stadium in preparation for the program's new 92,000-square-foot (8,500 m2), $18 million field house.[4] The demolition of the bleachers brought the stadium's capacity down to about 25,000.

Attendance records (football)

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Rank Attend. Date Rival Score
1 29,795 August 31, 2006 Temple 9–3 (OT)
2 29,013 September 11, 2004 Syracuse 17–37
3 26,511 November 18, 2000 Miami (OH) 16–17
4 24,714 September 12, 2014 Baylor 21–63
5 24,013 September 14, 2013 Stony Brook 26–23 (OT)
6 23,671 September 29, 2018 Army 13–42
7 23,602 October 5, 2013 Eastern Michigan 42–14
8 22,918 November 5, 2013 Ohio 30–3
9 22,676 September 22, 2007 Baylor 21–34
10 22,658 August 30, 2001 Rutgers 15–31
11 21,933 September 10, 2011 Stony Brook 35–7
12 21,870 September 12, 2009 Pittsburgh 27–54
13 21,719 October 18, 2008 Army 27–24 (OT)
14 21,139 September 20, 2014 Norfolk State 36–7
15 21,103 August 29, 2002 Lehigh 26–37
16 20,952 September 28, 2013 UConn 41–12
17 20,872 September 5, 2015 Albany 51–14
18 20,843 October 3, 2015 Bowling Green 22–28
19 20,841 September 27, 2014 Miami (OH) 35–27
20 20,835 September 11, 1999 Akron 10–17

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "UB Stadium - Amherst, NY Tickets". eventticketscenter.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  3. ^ Holland, Scott (September 4, 2013). "1993 Buffalo Football – A 'new' UB Stadium". University at Buffalo Digital Collections. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014.
  4. ^ Fuller, Jon (September 15, 2017). "UB moves forward on fieldhouse". www.buffalo.edu. University at Buffalo. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
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