Alumni Stadium (WPI)

File:Football game at wpi stadium.jpg

The Class of 1886 started the efforts to raise funds for both a field and gymnasium at the 1911 Alumni Council meeting. The goal of $200,000 (${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|200000|1913}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) for the building of both a field ($25,000) and a gymnasium ($100,000) was reached in June 1913.{{Cite web|url=https://web.wpi.edu/academics/library/history/techbible/campus.html|title=WPI Tech Bible - The WPI Campus|website=web.wpi.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-10-09}} The remaining funds ($75,000) were spent on purchasing gym equipment and starting an endowment. The 1911 plan originally called for Alumni Stadium to build on a strip of land west of Bliss Field, where the Engineers had been playing their games. When the institute purchased twelve acres near Park Avenue in 1912, it became apparent that this newly acquired land was more adaptable for their new field. The Olmsted Brothers were hired to draft new plans for an athletic field and discovered the institute would be required to purchase an additional tract of land from the Worcester Art Museum to build Alumni Stadium. The construction contract was awarded to Alumnus Varnum P. Curtis in May 1913 with Professor Arthur W. French being the consulting engineer and Professor Arthur J. Knight as the resident engineer. In the summer of 1913 they broke ground.{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Herbert Foster|title=Seventy Years of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute|date=1937|publisher=Privately Published|page=243|url=https://web.wpi.edu/academics/library/history/seventyyears/page243.html|access-date=2017-10-09}}

Prior to the 1914 season, the field had its final grading and seeding completed.{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Herbert Foster|title=Seventy Years of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute|date=1937|publisher=Privately Published|page=258|url=https://web.wpi.edu/academics/library/history/seventyyears/page258.html|access-date=3 July 2017}} On November 14, 1914, the first game was played at the stadium culminating with a 14–0 win over their rivals, the RPI Engineers.The Students of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Tech News Volume 6, Issue 10, November 17, 1914 " (1914). Tech News All Issues. 965. http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/technews/965 Although, it was not until the following year, 1915 (WPI's 50th Anniversary) that construction was complete with the installation of a decorative iron fence and gate.

File:Football Game at WPI.jpgThe first renovations of Alumni Stadium occurred in 1926 when bleachers with a capacity of 2,800 were installed on the east and west side of the field.{{Cite web|url=https://web.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/Facilities/rev_rec_fac_masterplan_2005_no_blanks.pdf|title=Recreational Facilities Master Plan|date=2005|website=WPI|access-date=2017-10-08}} In May 1985, an Omniturf surface was installed marking the first time the Engineers would play its home games on a turf field.{{Cite journal|last=Perry, Jr.|first=Roger N.|date=August 1985|title=Edmund Titus Cranch|url=https://issuu.com/wpiarchives/docs/up004.089.0001_ocr|journal=WPI Journal|pages=6|via=issuu}}The Students of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "Newspeak Volume 13, Issue 13, August 27, 1985" (1985). Newspeak All Issues. 302. http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/newspeak/302 This switch from grass to turf was met with criticism from the WPI community citing both cost and safety concerns. The latter stemming from articles published by both the local newspaper, the Worcester Gazette, and Sports Illustrated.The Students of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "Newspeak Volume 13, Issue 14, September 4, 1985" (1985). Newspeak All Issues. 301. http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/newspeak/301 However, the WPI Athletic Department reaffirmed its decision and the Omniturf surface remained for its expected lifetime of 10–12 years. life The stadium underwent a major renovation before the 1997 season consisting of the installation of a new AstroTurf 12 playing surfacing and the resurfacing of the track. Ten years later in 2007, the stadium had another major renovation which included a new FieldTurf playing surface, new bleachers (decreasing capacity to 2,000) and press box on the west side of the field, a new scoreboard, and a new field lighting system.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wpi.edu/news/fieldrenovation|title=WPI to Renovate Alumni Field|date=2007-04-27|work=WPI|access-date=2017-10-09|language=en}} Additionally in 2007, the eight-lane track was resurfaced and named after longtime track and field coach, Merl M. Norcross, during a dedication ceremony during Homecoming.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wpi.edu/news/alumnifielddedication|title=Dedication of Renovated Alumni Field to Highlight WPI Homecoming Weekend|date=2007-09-26|work=WPI|access-date=2017-10-09|language=en}} In the summer of 2015 the field was resurfaced again with FieldTurf.{{Cite web|url=http://athletics.wpi.edu/facilities/AlumniStadium/index|title=Alumni Stadium and Norcross Track|website=athletics.wpi.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-10-09}}

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Category:College football venues in Massachusetts

Category:WPI Engineers football

Category:Sports venues in Worcester, Massachusetts

Category:Sports venues completed in 1914

Category:1914 establishments in Massachusetts