Archbold Stadium


Archbold Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Syracuse, New York. It opened in 1907 and was home to the Syracuse University Orangemen football team prior to the Carrier Dome opening in 1980. At the time of its construction, it was one of only three concrete stadiums in the world.

History

The stadium was named for John D. Archbold, who donated $600,000 for the project. He was also responsible for funding towards the building of Archbold Gymnasium, located just to the east overlooking the stadium.
The stadium was occasionally used to stage Syracuse Stars minor league baseball games, such as in 1920 while the Stars were awaiting the completion of Star Park.

Description

The 800' x 475' stadium was oval-shaped, with a track and a natural grass football field. The west end zone, the stadium's main entrance, was marked by a grand castle-like façade with turrets framing the gateway arch. There was originally a wooden roof over the central section of the south grandstands for the reserved seating.

Grandstand expansion

In the 1950s, the stadium was expanded to the north and south, bringing the capacity up to 40,000. However, by the 1970s, stricter fire codes forced a reduction in capacity to 26,000.
This proved to be the stadium's undoing. By the mid-1970s, Syracuse faced the prospect of being demoted to Division I-AA unless it got a more modern stadium, and quickly. It was closed following the 1978 season, to be razed for the building of the Carrier Dome, which occupies Archbold's former footprint.

Final game

In the final game at Archbold Stadium, on November 11, 1978, the Orangemen defeated nationally ranked Navy, 20-17.
During its history, Syracuse compiled a 265-112-20 record at Archbold.