City Stadium is a stadium in Richmond, Virginia. It is owned by the City of Richmond and is located south of the Carytown district off the Downtown Expressway. The stadium was built in 1929 and seats approximately 22,000 people when both stands are used. It has been used by the Richmond Kickers of USL League One since 1995, at a capacity of 6,000.[2][3]
 View of the stadium in 2024 | |
 | |
| Former names | City Stadium (1929–1983) University of Richmond Stadium (1983–2010) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3201 Maplewood Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23221 |
| Public transit |  4 |
| Owner | City of Richmond |
| Type | Stadium |
| Capacity | 22,611 (full)[1] 6,000 (Richmond Kickers matches)[2] |
| Surface | Patriot Bermuda Grass |
| Current use | Soccer |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1929 |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Construction cost | $80,000 |
| Tenants | |
| |
The stadium was used by the University of Richmond for American football from 1929 to 2009. The University of Richmond's final home football game at the stadium was played on December 5, 2009, against Appalachian State University in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Overview
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From 1964 through 1967, the stadium was home to the Richmond Rebels of the Atlantic Coast Football League and the Continental Football League. The Rebels left the Continental Football League in 1967 to become the Richmond Mustangs of the United American Football League.[4][5]
The stadium then hosted the Richmond Roadrunners of the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1968 and 1969, and their successor, the Richmond Saints, in 1970.
Postseason college football games featuring historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were played at the stadium in 1976 (as the Bicentennial Bowl) and during 1977–1980 (as the Gold Bowl).[6]: 158–159
University of Richmond Stadium served as the site of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship from 1995 to 1998. The venue broke an attendance record when 21,319[7] visited the semifinals of the 1995 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, with matches between the Virginia Cavaliers and Duke Blue Devils, and the Portland Pilots and Wisconsin Badgers. For a time in the mid-2000s, the stadium also hosted Virginia's high school football state championship games.
Naming
editThe stadium was known as City Stadium until 1983, when it adopted the name University of Richmond Stadium or UR Stadium as part of an agreement, in which the University of Richmond agreed to lease the stadium for $1 per year in exchange for maintaining the facility. The facility's name reverted to City Stadium in 2010 when the University of Richmond ended its tenancy and moved its football games to its new on-campus E. Claiborne Robins Stadium.[8]
International soccer matches
edit| Date | Competition | Team | Res | Team | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 10, 1996 | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying |  United States
|
2-0 |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
19,312 |
| June 8, 2003 | Friendly | United States
|
2-1 |  New Zealand
|
9,116 |
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy". www.richmondkickers.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b About City Stadium richmondkickers.com
- ^ City Stadium - Richmond Kickers Stadium Journey
- ^ "Innovation and lost opportunities abounded". Continental Football League Booster Club. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ Fulp, Jack (October 18, 1967). "Mustangs to visit area...". The Progress Index.
- ^ "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ "men's Soccer attendance Records" (PDF). ncaa.org. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ Rename game: Facility is again City Stadium after being UR Stadium[permanent dead link]
External links
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- City Stadium on Richmond Kickers site
- City Stadium on Richmond Ivy site
- Aerial picture
- Information on history and groundskeeping of the stadium