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A History of Tiger Stadium: Evolution of the Pantheon of Concrete and Steel

Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:50 pm
Posted by Sev09
Nantucket
Member since Feb 2011
15571 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:50 pm
1924 - Initial Construction Completed - Capacity: 12,000
When the stadium opened in 1924, the seating capacity was 12,000, with grandstands on both sides of the playing field.




1931 - Grand Stands Expanded Outward - Capacity: 22,000
In 1931, 10,000 seats were added to the existing grandstands.





1936 - Grand Stands Expanded Upward, New "Coliseum" Facade - Capacity: 30,000
In 1936, the grand stands were expanded upward, adding 8,000 additional seats.






1937 - North End Zone Enclosed - Capacity: 46,000
In 1937 capacity was increased when the north end zone was enclosed with a 16,000-seat addition. Money was not allocated in the state budget for the seating expansion, but money was allocated for dormitories. To bypass the legislature and increase his beloved school's stadium capacity, Governor Huey P. Long ordered that dormitories be built in the stadium, with seating above the student living quarters. Until the early 1990s, the West, North and South Stadium dormitories were featured as part of student housing at LSU. The dormitories were later converted to office space for Athletic Department staff and faculty and studios for the College of Art & Design's Fine Arts graduate students.






1953 - South End Zone Enclosed - Capacity: 67,720
The horseshoe was eliminated in 1953 by the addition of the south grandstands increasing capacity to 67,720. Unlike the existing stadium structure, they were double-decked in order to fit within the space provided.






1978 - First Upper Deck Added (1st West Upper) - Capacity: 76,092
The first of the two upper decks was added to the west side of the stadium in 1978 to bring capacity to approximately 76,000.




1980s and 1990s - Various enhancements, small additions - Capacity: 76,869-79,940
The stadium was upgraded multiple times in the 1980s beginning with replacement of bench seats with chair back seats and waterproofing of the east and west stands in 1985. The playing surface was moved eleven feet to the south to center the field in 1986. The north and south ends of the stadium were waterproofed and chair back seats added in 1987 to bring those sections up to date with the 1985 improvements. Also in 1987 the press box was redecorated, a few more seats were installed at the upper portion of the west lower stands, and all seating within the stadium was renumbered using a uniform seat-width. By the end of the 1980s the stadium held 80,150 spectators.

The official capacity of the stadium was lowered to 79,940 in 1994 when a section of seating was removed for renovations to the visiting team locker room.




2000 - East Upper Deck Added - Capacity: 91,600
The east upper deck seating 11,600 was completed in 2000 and brought total capacity to 91,600.





2005-2006 - West Upper Torn Down and Rebuilt to Match East - Capacity: 92,300
The west upper deck was torn down at the end of the 2004 season, and construction began on "The Stadium Club." The new suites contain over 3,200 special amenity seats as a well as a state-of-the-art press box. The "Paul Manasseh Press Box" has been named for and dedicated to the memory of the long-time and popular sports information director. Construction on this addition was scheduled to be completed by the beginning of September 2005, but delayed due to Hurricane Katrina. Construction was completed for the 2006 season, bringing the stadium's capacity to 92,400.






2011-2013 - Additional Club Seats Added to West Side, West Side Facade Enhancements - Capacity: 92,542
A small number of club seats were added before the 2011 season, increasing the capacity to 92,542.





2014 - South End Zone Upper Added - Capacity: 102,321
On April 27, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a $80 million south end-zone upper deck expansion that added 70 "Tiger Den" suites, 3,000+ club seats and 1,500+ general public seats to bring the total capacity of Tiger Stadium to 102,321 making it the 6th-largest college football stadium in the country. Construction began on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2014. The project is being privately funded by Tiger Athletic Foundation.


This post was edited on 5/10/16 at 2:54 pm
Posted by Old Money
Member since Sep 2012
36515 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:56 pm to
1953
Posted by JermStone
Beaumont, Tx
Member since Jun 2008
5741 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:57 pm to
very cool. anyway you can add a picture coming from the north end zone before the expansion to see the comparison from the inside?
Posted by ALTiger
Alabama
Member since Nov 2009
3031 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:58 pm to
Solid thread.
Posted by HappyTigerDay
Shreveport
Member since Sep 2011
829 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:59 pm to
This is great. Thanks for posting!

Posted by HonoraryCoonass
Member since Jan 2005
18104 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 1:59 pm to
Thanks.
Posted by Turkey_Creek_Tiger
Member since Dec 2012
12343 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 2:02 pm to




The original rendering looks better
This post was edited on 7/24/14 at 2:03 pm
Posted by LNCHBOX
70448
Member since Jun 2009
84305 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 2:04 pm to


The campus looks so empty. I couldn't imagine that. Cool post.
Posted by LesMiles BFF
Lafayette
Member since May 2014
5101 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 2:05 pm to
Amazing how close you could park on gameday back in 1953
Posted by Broham
Crowley
Member since Feb 2005
18423 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 2:07 pm to
And we bitching about the scoreboard.


Posted by Run DMC
somewhere in Louisiana it's tricky
Member since Jan 2007
5791 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 3:21 pm to
I've always wondered why they didn't match the south end zone to the north end zone and add the exterior colosseum look?
Posted by uptowntiger84
uptown
Member since Jul 2011
3929 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 8:55 pm to
I knew evolution was real
Posted by HoustonGumbeauxGuy
Member since Jul 2011
29652 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 10:18 pm to


Solid post.

Posted by Cmlsu5618
Destin, FL
Member since Sep 2010
3763 posts
Posted on 7/24/14 at 10:46 pm to
All I have for you is
Posted by Tiger_n_ATL
Atlanta
Member since Jul 2005
32455 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 10:27 am to
nice work
Posted by Poulet
Member since Jul 2014
35 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 11:20 am to


Must be the third quarter
Posted by I20goon
about 7mi down a dirt road
Member since Aug 2013
13028 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 11:31 am to
Thank you very much for this!


who the frick downvotes something like this? oh... must be Gump lurkers around (or maybe prickly Aggies).
Posted by Turkey_Creek_Tiger
Member since Dec 2012
12343 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 12:47 pm to
quote:




why did they not make the south endzone the same as the north endzone in 1953? It would have looked so much nicer
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 12:48 pm
Posted by TIGERhype
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2014
959 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 2:21 pm to
Great post! My wife just recently bought me this sweet black and white print thats an aerial shot of the stadium when it was just the horseshoe, very similar to that 1937 shot. I always wonder what games were like then, I just love the history that comes with our stadium and football program we're some lucky fans!!
Posted by Geauxgurt
Member since Sep 2013
10476 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 3:44 pm to
So the new East and West uppderdecks already killed the collesium aspect of the original design and they added one row or arches on the new upperdeck.

I am happy LSU is expanding, but the designers ruined the epic stlye of Tiger Stadium once the upper decks started going up. I know the south endzone was already messed up, but it's a damn shame they lost the classic look except for on one side.
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