Phillips Field (Florida)
{{Short description|Stadium in Tampa, Florida, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name = Phillips Field
| nickname =
| image = Phillips field stadium postcard.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = View of the stadium in a postcard c. 1954
| location = Tampa, Florida, U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|27.951144|-82.467106|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-FL|display=ti}}
| broke_ground =
| opened = October 4, 1937
| renovated =
| expanded =
| closed = {{end date and age|1967}}
| demolished =
| owner = University of Tampa
(1937–1967)
| operator =
| surface = Grass ringed by asphalt track
| construction_cost =
| architect =
| project_manager =
| main_contractors =
| former_names =
| tenants = Tampa Spartans football (1937–67)
Cigar Bowl (1946–54)
| seating_capacity = 20,000
| dimensions =
}}
Phillips Field was a medium-sized stadium (maximum capacity approximately 20,000) located on the west bank of the Hillsborough River across from downtown Tampa, immediately adjacent to the University of Tampa. It opened on October 4, 1937 and was the home field of the University of Tampa Spartans football program from 1937 to 1967.{{cite web|url=https://www.tbo.com/south-tampa/historians-to-recognize-phillips-field-at-ceremony-b82477045z1|title=Historians to recognize Phillips Field at ceremony (archived from the original)|date=April 11, 2013|publisher=The Tampa Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727013359/https://www.tbo.com/south-tampa/historians-to-recognize-phillips-field-at-ceremony-b82477045z1 |archive-date=2015-07-27 }} The facility was named for local businessman I. W. Phillips, who donated the land to the school so that the Spartans would not have to share nearby Plant Field, which was often unavailable due to its use for many different sports and community events.{{cite web|url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00025463/00001/23j?td=phillips|title=Interview with A.C. Howell|publisher=}}
Overview
Though it was expressly built for Spartans football, Phillips Field nevertheless played host to other college football contests. It was the site of the Cigar Bowl, the area's first college bowl game, which was played from 1946 to 1954.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3NEOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e1UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3638,2751542&dq=cigar-bowl%20tampa&hl=en|title=The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C-QcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nmQEAAAAIBAJ&dq=cigar-bowl%20tampa&pg=6707,7838699|title=Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search|publisher=}} The Florida Gators scheduled several home games at the facility during the 1930s and 1940s, and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats also played several home games there in the 1950s and 1960s.{{cite web|url=http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/tampa-football-all-began-at-phillips-field/|title=Breakfast Bonus - Tom McEwen Sports - from TBO.com Blogs|publisher=|access-date=2015-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626000058/http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/tampa-football-all-began-at-phillips-field|archive-date=2012-06-26|url-status=dead}}
File:Phillips Field 1947 game.jpg
At the high school level, Middleton High School and Blake High School, two segregated local schools, shared Phillips Field for home games and ended their seasons there with a well-attended rivalry game. Hillsborough High School and Plant High School also played their annual rivalry at the site because neither schools' regular stadium could accommodate the large crowds that attended the game.{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/vanished-landmark-gets-a-historical-marker/2115697/|title=Vanished landmark Phillips Field to get historical marker|publisher=}}
At the professional level, Phillips Field was used by various local semi-pro football squads and hosted barnstorming and other exhibition games, including several NFL preseason contests in the mid-1960s that helped Tampa earn an eventual expansion franchise.
Besides football, the field hosted stock car racing, boxing matches, and other sporting and community activities, though most such events were held at nearby Plant Field, which boasted a much larger playing surface.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19600715&id=TKIkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OvoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3543,1931316&hl=en|date=July 15, 1960|work=Lakeland Ledger|title=Stock Cars Race At Phillips Field}}
When Tampa Stadium was completed in 1967, the University of Tampa acquired Plant Field from the city of Tampa and Phillips Field fell into disuse. The land was sold and the stadium razed in the early 1970s, and Tampa Preparatory School and Julian Lane Park were built at its former location.{{cite web|url=http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/saluting-a-little-known-tampa-sports-contributor/|title=Breakfast Bonus - Tom McEwen Sports - from TBO.com Blogs|publisher=|access-date=2015-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305180144/http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/saluting-a-little-known-tampa-sports-contributor/|archive-date=2012-03-05|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Tampa Spartans football navbox}}
{{University of Tampa}}
Category:College football venues in Florida
Category:Tampa Spartans football
Category:History of Tampa, Florida
Category:Demolished sports venues in Florida
Category:1937 establishments in Florida