Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Opened 36 years ago in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies, a member of the Big Sky Conference in Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA).
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Address | Campus Drive |
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Location | University of Montana Missoula, Montana, U.S. |
Coordinates | 46.864°N 113.981°W / 46.864; -113.981 |
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 | 26,856 (November 20, 2021) |
Surface | FieldTurf – (2016–present) SprinTurf – (2001–2016) Natural grass – (1986–2000) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | September 1985 |
Opened | October 18, 1986; 35 years ago (1986-10-18) |
Construction cost | $3.2 million[1] ($7.91 million in 2021[2]) |
Architect | Fox, Ballas & Barrow[1] Rossman, Schneider & Gadvery[1] |
Tenants | |
Montana Grizzlies – NCAA (1986–present) Missoula County Public Schools |
Its infilled FieldTurf playing field is twenty 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.[3] The press box is above the west sideline and lights were added for the 2012 season.[4]
It is the largest all-purpose stadium in the state of Montana, and is the largest on-campus stadium in the Football Championship Subdivision that participates in the playoffs. Yale's massive Yale Bowl is the largest on-campus stadium in the FCS, but Ivy League members abstain from postseason play.
The stadium is named after construction magnate Dennis Washington, a Montanan who donated $1 million to finance the stadium's construction in 1985. The inaugural game came in mid-season in 1986 (October 18), and the Griz have a record of 199–30 (.869) at the venue, through the 2017 season. Montana has gone undefeated at home in eleven of those seasons; the Griz won all ten home games in 2004 and posted a 9–0 mark six times (1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2008, 2009).
The current seating capacity is 25,217 and it 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 in 2015 when ESPN and four-time defending national champion North Dakota State opened the FCS season on August 29 and drew 26,472. The previous record was 26,352, set in 2014 against rival Montana State on November 22; both games were Grizzly victories.
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."
After fifteen seasons of SprinTurf, the playing surface was replaced with multi-color FieldTurf in the summer of 2016. Following the installation of FieldTurf in the new softball stadium (Grizzly Field), FieldTurf pitched the university with a new football field and within a month, it was approved by the board of regents and installed.
The video screen GrizVision, was installed in 2002 in the south end zone; at 26 by 36 feet (8 m × 11 m), it was one of the largest screens in an FCS football stadium and was upgraded in 2016 to a much larger screen: it features HD-quality video and measures 32 by 55 feet (10 m × 17 m), approximately twice the area of the old display.
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). The old field was at the site of the Mansfield Library.
Prior to 1920, Montana played its home games at a field in downtown Missoula, near the former Missoulian newspaper building.
Attendance | Result | Date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 26,856 | Montana 29, Montana State 10 | Nov. 29, 2021 |
2 | 26,508 | Montana 25, Montana State 29 | Nov. 17, 2018 |
3 | 26,472 | Montana 38, North Dakota State 35 | Aug. 29, 2015 |
4 | 26,352 | Montana 34, Montana State 7 | Nov. 22, 2014 |
5 | 26,303 | Montana 28, South Dakota 20 | Sept. 13, 2014 |
6 | 26,293 | Montana 30, Appalachian State 6 | Aug. 31, 2013 |
7 | 26,136 | Montana 23, Northern Arizona 14 | Sept. 26, 2015 |
8 | 26,082 | Montana 37, Eastern Washington 42 | Oct. 26, 2013 |
9 | 26,066 | Montana 17, Eastern Washington 14 | Sept. 17, 2011 |
10 | 26,065 | Montana 19, Cal Poly 20 | Sept. 5, 2015 |
11 | 26,019 | Montana 16, Montana State 21 | Nov. 20, 2010 |
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 |
2016 | 5 | 1 |
2017 | 5 | 1 |
2018 | 3 | 3 |
2019 | 7 | 0 |
2020 | 2 | 0 |
2021 | 6 | 1 |
Total | 218–34 (.865) | |
^Includes FCS Playoff Game(s) |
Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour / Concert name | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 20, 1998 | Pearl Jam | Goodness | Yield Tour | — | — | |
October 4, 2006 | The Rolling Stones | Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | A Bigger Bang Tour | 22,000+ | — | This is the band's first-ever concert in the state of Montana.[5] |
August 5, 2014 | Paul McCartney | — | Out There | 25,192 / 25,192 | $3,775,111 | |
August 13, 2018 | Pearl Jam | — | Pearl Jam 2018 Tour | 23,262 / 23,690 | $2,114,194 | |
August 13, 2021 | Guns N' Roses | Mammoth WVH | Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour | TBA | TBA |
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