Folsom Field facts for kids
View to southwest & Flatirons, 2008
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 Folsom Field
Folsom Field
Location in Colorado##Location in the United States
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| Former names | Colorado Stadium (1924–1944) |
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| Location | 2400 Colorado Avenue Boulder, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 40°00′32″N 105°16′01″W / 40.009°N 105.267°W |
| Owner | University of Colorado |
| Operator | University of Colorado |
| Capacity | 26,000 (1924–1955) 45,000 (1956–1966) 50,516 (1967–1975) 52,005 (1976–1978) 51,463 (1979–1990) 51,748 (1991–1995) 51,808 (1996–1998) 51,655 (1999–2000) 50,942 (2001–2002) 53,750 (2003–2009) 53,613 (2010–2013) 50,183 (2014–present) |
| Record attendance | 54,972 |
| Surface | Grass (1924–70, 1999–present) AstroTurf (1971–98) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 14, 1924 |
| Opened | October 11, 1924 101 years ago |
| Renovated | 1968, 1976, 2003 |
| Expanded | 1956, 1967, 2003 |
| Construction cost | $65,000 (1924) |
| Architect | Waldo E. Brockway Sink Combs Dethlefs (renovations) |
| Tenants | |
| Colorado Buffaloes (NCAA) (1924–present) | |
Field
Folsom Field is a famous outdoor football stadium located in Boulder, Colorado. It's on the campus of the University of Colorado. This stadium is the home field for the Colorado Buffaloes team, who play in the Pac-12 Conference.
The stadium first opened in 1924. It's shaped like a horseshoe and faces north. The university's sports office, named after former coach Dal Ward, is at the north end.
The playing field is made of natural grass, which was put back in 1999. It sits very high up, at an elevation of about 5,360 feet (more than a mile above sea level!). This makes Folsom Field one of the highest stadiums in major college football. Only stadiums in Wyoming and Air Force are higher.
Contents
History of Folsom Field
Before Folsom Field, the Colorado football team played at Gamble Field. Folsom Field opened as Colorado Stadium in 1924. It has been the home of the Colorado Buffaloes football team ever since. The team has a great winning record at home.
In 1944, Colorado Stadium was renamed Folsom Field. This was done to honor coach Fred Folsom, who had passed away. Coach Folsom led the Buffaloes from 1895 to 1902 and again from 1908 to 1915. He had an impressive record of 78 wins, 24 losses, and 2 ties.
Folsom Field became the first "zero-waste" stadium in the NCAA in 2008. This means they have a strong program for recycling and composting. It helps keep the stadium clean and good for the environment.
Stadium Upgrades and Changes
When Folsom Field first opened in 1924, it could hold 26,000 fans. Over the years, it has been made bigger and better.
More Seats for Fans
A big expansion in 1956 made the stadium taller. This increased its seating to 45,000. In 1967, 6,000 more seats were added. This happened when the running track was removed. The track and field team moved to a different location.
In 1968, a large, six-story press box was built. It was placed on top of the west side of the stadium. In 1976, the old wooden seats were replaced with new aluminum ones. This brought the capacity up to 52,005.
Modernizing the Stadium
In 2003, fancy suites and club seating areas were added. These were built on the east side of the stadium. This made the capacity 53,750. A few seats with blocked views were later removed, making the current capacity 50,183.
More construction began in 2014. This project included a new indoor practice area. It also added a high-performance sports center. There were also plans for more seating in the northeast corner.
The Playing Field Surface
From 1924 until 1970, Folsom Field had natural grass. In 1971, a fake grass called AstroTurf was put in. The first game on this new surface was on September 18 against Wyoming.
The AstroTurf was replaced in 1978 and again in 1989. After 28 years of fake grass, Folsom Field returned to natural grass in 1999. This project was expensive, costing $1.2 million. It included special heating and drainage systems.
Other Exciting Events at Folsom Field
Folsom Field isn't just for football! It also hosts many other events.
Concerts at the Stadium
Many famous music groups have played concerts here. The Grateful Dead played in 1980. The Rolling Stones performed in 1981.
The Dave Matthews Band had a concert here in 2001. This show was even released as a DVD! More recently, Dead & Co. has played multiple two-night concerts.
| Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour / Concert name | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
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| September 3, 1972 | Grateful Dead | — | Summer '72 Tour | - | - | Rained during show. Officially released on Dick's Picks Volume 36. |
| July 16, 1978 | The Rolling Stones | US Tour 1978 | 60,000 / 60,000 | $690,000 | ||
| June 7, 1980 | Grateful Dead | Warren Zevon | Summer '80 Tour | -/- | ||
| June 8, 1980 | ||||||
| October 3, 1981 | The Rolling Stones | — | American Tour 1981 | 120,000 / 120,000 | $1,920,000 | |
| October 4, 1981 | ||||||
| July 12, 1986 | Colorado Sun Day Festival | Van Halen Loverboy Dio Bachman-Turner Overdrive |
5150 Tour | -/- | ||
| May 26, 1993 | Paul McCartney | — | The New World Tour | 37,245 / 39,137 | $1,210,463 | |
| July 11, 2001 | Dave Matthews Band | Angelique Kidjo Wyclef Jean |
Summer 2001 Tour | 43,041 / 43,041 | $2,130,593 | This show was recorded for the album and DVD entitled, Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado. |
| July 2, 2016 | Dead & Company | N/A | Dead & Company Summer Tour 2016 | 49,166 / 85,582 | $4,179,233 | |
| July 3, 2016 | ||||||
| June 9, 2017 | Dead & Company Summer Tour 2017 | 55,882 / 86,982 | $4,365,860 | |||
| June 10, 2017 | ||||||
| July 13, 2018 | Dead & Company Summer Tour 2018 | 62,904 / 86,982 | $5,369,669 | |||
| July 14, 2018 | ||||||
| July 5, 2019 | Dead & Company Summer Tour 2019 | 67,835 / 86,982 | $6,512,990 | |||
| July 6, 2019 | ||||||
| July 10, 2020 | Dead & Company Summer Tour 2020 | |||||
| July 11, 2020 |
Other Community Events
Folsom Field is also the finish line for the Bolder Boulder. This is a very popular 10K (about 6.2 miles) running race.
The first Promise Keepers conference was held at Folsom Field in June 1992. This was a large gathering for men.
Record-Breaking Crowds
Folsom Field has seen some huge crowds!
The biggest crowd for a University of Colorado football game was 54,972. This happened in 2005 during a game against Colorado State. The Buffaloes won that game with a last-minute field goal.
The largest crowd ever at Folsom Field was for a rock concert in 1977. An estimated 61,500 people attended. This was much more than the stadium's seating capacity at the time! The concert featured famous bands like Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger.
Images for kids
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The Colorado Buffaloes play at Colorado Stadium sometime in the 1920s.
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Folsom Field between 1933 and 1950. The team is practicing in the North end of the field.
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Folsom Field 135th commencement on June 9, 1967. 1,836 degrees were awarded.
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Club and box seats built prior to 2003 season on July 13, 2006
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Facade built prior to 2003 season on July 13, 2006
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View from the club level seats before the football Spring Game on April 14, 2007
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View to the southwest of the Flatirons in 2016
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A view of the north side of the stadium in 2016.
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New video boards were added before the 2012 season.
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Folsom Field's east side as it looked in 2016 after the addition of the Champions Center.
