View source for Harvard Stadium

{{Short description|College football stadium in Boston, Massachusetts}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Harvard Stadium
| nickname = 
| logo_image = Harvard_Crimson_logo_2020.svg
| logo_size = 50
| image = Harvard Stadium from above 2023 (Quintin Soloviev).png
| image_size = 250
| caption = Aerial view of Harvard Stadium in August 2023
| location = 95 N. Harvard Street<br>{{nowrap|[[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.}}<!-- 02134 -->
| broke_ground = July 1903
| opened = November 14, 1903<br>{{Years or months ago|1903}}
| closed = 
| demolished = 
| owner = [[Harvard University]]
| operator = Harvard University
| surface = [[FieldTurf]] (2006–present)<br>Natural grass (1903–2005)<ref>Lisa Kennelly, [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512722 "Extreme Makeover: Harvard Stadium"], ''Harvard Crimson'', April 13, 2006.</ref>
| construction_cost = $310,000<br>([[United States dollar|$]]{{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|310000|1903}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}})
| architect = Louis J. Johnson,<br>Class of 1887
| tenants = {{plainlist|
* [[Harvard Crimson]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) (1903–present)
* [[Harvard Crimson men's soccer]] (1905–1982)
* [[Boston Patriots]] ([[National Football League|NFL]]) (1970)
* [[Boston Cannons]] ([[Major League Lacrosse|MLL]])<br>(2007–2014, 2016–2018)
* [[Boston Cannons]] ([[Premier Lacrosse League|PLL]])<br>(2024–present)
* [[Boston Breakers]] ([[Women's Professional Soccer|WPS]]/[[National Women's Soccer League|NWSL]])<br>(2009–2011, 2014)
* [[Boston Brawlers]] ([[Fall Experimental Football League|FXFL]]) (2014)
}}
| seating_capacity = 25,000 (1952–present)
'''Former capacity''':
{{collapsible list|
* 57,166 (1929–1951) 
* 42,000 (1904–1928)
* 20,000 (1903)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocrimson.com/information/facilities/Harvard_Stadium_Football_History|title=Harvard Stadium Football History|publisher=Harvard University|access-date=April 11, 2016}}</ref>{{Citation needed|reason=Current citation does not link to a valid source|date=October 2023}}
}}
| website = {{url|https://gocrimson.com/sports/2020/5/5/information-facilities-harvardstadium.aspx|gocrimson.com/harvardstadium}}
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Harvard Stadium
  | nrhp_type = nhl
  | image =
  | caption =
  | location= 60 N. Harvard St., [[Boston, Massachusetts]]
  | coordinates = {{Coord|42|21|59|N|71|7|38|W|type:landmark_region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Boston Metro#Massachusetts#USA
  | built = 1903
  | architect = McKim, Charles F.; et al.
  | architecture = Classical Revival
  | added = February 27, 1987
  | area = {{convert|11|acre}}
  | refnum = 87000757<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>
}}

'''Harvard Stadium''' is a U-shaped [[college football]] stadium in the [[Allston, Massachusetts|Allston]] neighborhood of [[Boston]], Massachusetts. Owned and operated by [[Harvard University]], it is home to the [[Harvard Crimson football]] program and can seat just over 25,000 spectators.<ref>{{cite web |title=Campus Spotlight Harvard Stadium |url=https://college.harvard.edu/about/campus/harvard-stadium |access-date=October 12, 2023 |publisher=Harvard University}}</ref>

Opened in 1903, it is the oldest original stadium structure still in use for [[college football]] and the nation's oldest permanent concrete structure dedicated to intercollegiate athletics. While the [[University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania's]] [[Franklin Field]] (1895) is the oldest site in continuous use, its current stadium structure dates from a 1922 reconstruction. 

The stadium was a pioneering execution of [[reinforced concrete]] in the construction of large structures. Because of its early importance in these areas, and its influence on the design of later stadiums, it was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1987,<ref name="NRHP">{{cite web |url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=bos.8286 |title=NRHP nomination for Harvard Stadium |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=2014-06-02 |archive-date=2015-09-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905232200/http://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=BOS.8286|url-status=live}}</ref> one of only four athletic facilities so designated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Campus Spotlight: Harvard Stadium |url=https://college.harvard.edu/about/campus/harvard-stadium |access-date=26 January 2025 |website=Harvard}}</ref> 

==History==
[[File:Harvard_Stadium_1903.png|thumb|left|The stadium under construction, 1903]]

Harvard Stadium was constructed on {{convert|31|acre}} of land known as Soldiers Field, donated to Harvard University by former [[Harvard College]] student and University patron [[Henry Lee Higginson]] in 1890 as a memorial to Harvard men who had died in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] {{nowrap|(1861–1865).{{refn|{{cite book |chapter=Memorial Hall |title=Education, Bricks and Mortar: Harvard Buildings and Their Contribution to the Advancement of Learning |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aRI8AAAAIAAJ|year=1949|page=82n|publisher=Harvard University}} Reprint: {{ISBN|9780674238855}}.}}}} 

Lewis Jerome Johnson, professor of civil engineering at Harvard, was a consultant to the design team for the stadium. Johnson proposed to use reinforced structural concrete, which had previously been used in horizontal design, such as floors and sidewalks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sisson |first=Patrick |date=2016-02-01 |title=How Harvard Stadium's concrete design changed the rules of football |url=https://archive.curbed.com/2016/2/1/10871942/harvard-stadium-first-football-stadium |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Curbed |language=en}}</ref>  (A plaque dedicating the stadium to him hangs on the east end wall outside the stadium.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGinty |first=Molly |date=July 27, 2015 |title=Detail View of Harvard Stadium Plaque |url=https://harvardplanning.emuseum.com/objects/104004/detail-view-of-harvard-stadium-plaque |access-date=October 28, 2025 |publisher=Harvard School of Planning and Design}}</ref>) 

The structure, similar in shape to the [[Panathenaic Stadium]], was completed in just {{Frac|4|1|2}} months, costing $310,000. Much of the funds raised came from a [[Class reunion|25th-reunion]] gift by Harvard's Class of 1879. 

Just four years later, Harvard Stadium was displaced as the largest concrete stadium in the nation by [[Syracuse University]]'s [[Archbold Stadium]] in 1907.<ref>{{cite news |last=Searing |first=Robert |date=29 September 2021 |title=In 1907, Syracuse University opens Archbold Stadium, called then the 'greatest athletic arena in America' |url=https://www.syracuse.com/living/2021/09/in-1907-syracuse-university-opens-archbold-stadium-called-then-the-greatest-athletic-arena-in-america.html |access-date=12 October 2021 |work=[[The Post-Standard]] |location=Syracuse, NY |language=en}}</ref> 

It is the home of Harvard's [[American football|football]] team. The stadium also hosted the Crimson [[track and field]] teams until 1984.

In 1929, permanent steel stands (completing a [[Stadium (geometry)|stadium shape]])<ref name="avofstad">{{cite news |date=1930 |title=Aerial view of Harvard Stadium |url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:5h73r100b |access-date=December 1, 2017 |publisher=Digital Commonwealth |location=Newton, Massachusetts)}}</ref> were installed in the stadium's northeast end zone, increasing seating capacity to 57,166. They were torn down after the 1951 season, due to deterioration and reduced attendance. Afterward, there were smaller temporary steel bleachers across the stadium's open end until the building of the Murr Center (which is topped by the new scoreboard) in 1998.

In [[1970 Boston Patriots season|1970]], Harvard Stadium hosted the [[Boston Patriots]] season. It was their first season in the [[National Football League|NFL]] after the [[AFL–NFL merger]] and their last before becoming the [[New England Patriots]]. The team moved to [[Foxboro Stadium|Schaefer Stadium]] in [[Foxborough, Massachusetts|Foxborough]] [[1971 New England Patriots season|the following season]], meeting the post-[[AFL–NFL merger]] requirement to hold games in stadiums no smaller than 50,000 seats. 

Harvard installed [[FieldTurf]] and lights in 2006.<ref name= "Harvard Stadium Information">{{cite web|title=Harvard Stadium|url=https://www.bostoncannons.com/harvard-stadium|publisher=Boston Cannons|access-date=April 24, 2016|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010175317/http://www.bostoncannons.com/harvard-stadium|url-status=dead}}</ref> On September 22, [[2007 Harvard Crimson football team|2007]], Harvard played its first night game at the stadium, beating [[Brown Bears football|Brown University]], 24–17 .<ref name=hbrnnt>{{cite news |url=http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/272650108 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052934/http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/272650108 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 2, 2017 |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |title=Harvard 24, Brown 17 |date=September 22, 2007|access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name=fbtbrn>{{cite news |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/9/23/football-topples-brown-in-historic-night/ |work=Harvard Crimson |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |last=Glenn |first=Malcolm A. |title=Football topples Brown in historic night game |date=September 23, 2007 |access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref>

===Influence on American football===
In the early 20th century, [[American football]] was an extremely violent sport; 18 players died and 159 were seriously injured in 1905 alone.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/09/first-and-100.html|title=First and 100|magazine=The Harvard Magazine|access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> There was a widespread movement to outlaw the game but U.S. president [[Theodore Roosevelt]] intervened and demanded the rules of the game be reformed. In 1906, Roosevelt met with representatives from 62 colleges and universities and formed the Intercollegiate Football Conference, the predecessor of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/football1.html|title=The 1905 Movement to Reform Football|publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref>  The committee's purpose was to develop a uniform set of rules and regulations to make the game safer.  A leading proposal, at the time, was widening the field to allow more running room and reduce serious collisions.  While it was popular among committee members, Harvard objected.  Their recently completed stadium could not accommodate a larger field.  Because of the permanent nature of Harvard Stadium, the proposal was rejected and the [[forward pass]] was legalized in April 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/sports/ncaafootball/22harvard.html |title=Saturday Night Lights: Harvard Stadium Joins the 21st Century|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 September 2007 |access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> Harvard Stadium led to the creation of two aspects of modern American football: standard field dimensions and the forward pass.

===Other events===
[[File:Harvard Stadium - 1910 Hockey.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Ice hockey games at Harvard Stadium, 1910]]

Early in its existence, two ice rinks were built on the stadium during the winter months for the [[Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey|men's ice hockey team]]. The Stadium served as the home for the hockey team until [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/k/1/ky6ab0n88wjbyr/Timeline_of_Tradition.pdf |title=Timeline of Tradition |work=Harvard Crimson |access-date=January 6, 2020}}</ref>

Harvard Stadium was the site of the [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|U.S. Olympic Trials]] for men's track and field in 1912, 1920, 1924, and [[1928 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|1928]].{{citation needed|date = October 2024}}

It is also the host of [[music festival]]s like the [[Amandla Festival]], where [[Jamaica]]n reggae legend [[Bob Marley]] performed a historic concert in 1979. [[Janis Joplin]] performed her last show at the stadium in 1970, shortly before her death. Other concerts included those by [[Miles Davis]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Van Morrison]], [[The Band]], [[B.B. King]], [[Ike & Tina Turner]], [[James Taylor]], [[Joan Baez]], [[Sly and the Family Stone]], [[Rahsaan Roland Kirk]], [[The Supremes]], [[Mountain]], [[Ten Years After]] and [[Johnny Mathis]]. During the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] held in Los Angeles, the stadium hosted several [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|soccer]] preliminaries.<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1984/1984v1pt1.pdf 1984 Summer Olympics official report.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102235952/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1984/1984v1pt1.pdf |date=November 2, 2010 }} Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 129-31.</ref> In 2007, the [[Boston Cannons]], a professional [[lacrosse]] team for [[Major League Lacrosse]], moved their home site to the stadium.<ref>[https://premierlacrosseleague.com/boston 2025 schedule] at premierlacrosseleague.com</ref> They had previously played at [[Boston University]]'s [[Nickerson Field]]. They have since moved to Quincy, Massachusetts.<ref>[[Malcom Glenn|Malcom A. Glenn]], [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517262 Improved Stadium Scores Pro Team], Harvard Crimson, February 23, 2007.</ref>

On April 11, 2009, Harvard Stadium became the home field of the [[Boston Breakers (WPS)|Boston Breakers]] of the [[Women's Professional Soccer]] (WPS) league; they beat [[Saint Louis Athletica]], 2–0.{{citation needed|date = October 2024}}

=== Soccer ===
[[Association football|Soccer]] games played at Harvard Stadium during the [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Summer Olympics]].
[[File:George H. W. Bush participates in the Opening Ceremonies for Olympic Soccer.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|George H. W. Bush participates in the Opening Ceremonies for Olympic soccer tournament in 1984]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; float:center; text-align:center"
|-
!Date
!Time ([[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]])
!Team #1
!Result
!Team #2
!Round
!Attendance
|-
|July 29||19:30||align=left|{{fb|NOR}}||style="text-align:center;"|0–0||align=left|{{fb|CHI}}||Group A||style="text-align:center;"|25,000
|-
|July 30||19:30||align=left|{{fb|CAN}}||style="text-align:center;"|1–1||align=left|{{fb|IRQ}}||Group B||style="text-align:center;"|16,730
|-
|July 31||19:00||align=left|{{fb|NOR}}||style="text-align:center;"|1–2||align=left|'''{{fb|FRA}}'''||Group A||style="text-align:center;"|27,832
|-
|August 1||19:00||align=left|'''{{fb|CMR}}'''||style="text-align:center;"|1–0||align=left|{{fb|IRQ}}||Group B||style="text-align:center;"|20,000
|-
|August 2||19:00||align=left|{{fb|QAT}}||style="text-align:center;"|0–2||align=left|'''{{fb|NOR}}'''||Group A||style="text-align:center;"|17,529
|-
|August 3||19:00||align=left|{{fb|CMR}}||style="text-align:center;"|1–3||align=left|'''{{fb|CAN}}'''||Group B||style="text-align:center;"|27,261
|}

==Panoramas==
{{Panorama
|image = Harvard Stadium - 1905.jpg
|height=180
|caption= Harvard–Yale game in 1905
}}
{{Panorama
| image = Harvard stadium wide view.jpg
| height = 180
| caption = To mark the 100th anniversary of [[Harvard University Band|Harvard's marching band]], hundreds of alumni joined the band on the field on October 12, 2019
}}

==Location==
{{Norefs|section|date = October 2024}}

Although most of Harvard's campus is in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], the stadium and most other intercollegiate athletic facilities, along with [[Harvard Business School]], lie to the south, across the [[Charles River]], in the nearby [[Allston]] neighborhood of Boston. Several donations of land from [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], his family, and friends beginning in 1870 on the Brighton/Allston side of the Charles River through to an 1890's gift from [[Henry Lee Higginson]], which gave the tract the name "Soldier's Field", determined  the location of the athletics complex.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hannon |first1=Helen |title=Soldiers Field |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2005/06/soldiers-field/ |website=The Harvard Gazette |access-date=26 January 2025}}</ref>

The stadium is the most iconic piece of the Soldiers Field athletic complex, which also includes the baseball stadium, outdoor track, an artificial turf field hockey/lacrosse field, two soccer stadiums including [[Jordan Field]], pools, Beren Tennis Center (outdoor), the Gordon Indoor Track, Dillon Fieldhouse, [[Lavietes Pavilion]], and [[Bright Hockey Center]].  Newell Boathouse, home of Harvard's men's crew, lies across Soldiers Field Road on the banks of the Charles. The stadium's horseshoe opens to the northeast, towards the river, and the press box is at the top of the northwest sideline's grandstand.

The running track has been removed; it was non-standard, with long straights and tight turns, and the outside lanes were very near the stadium walls.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=100>
File:Harvard Stadium Dedication Plaque - 1903.jpg|Dedication plaque by the Class of 1879–1903
File:Harvard Stadium - 1903 Greek Play.jpg|Performance of Greek play – 1905
File:Airplane view of Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, Mass.jpg|Aerial view, c. 1930–45
File:President John F. Kennedy Attends a Harvard-Columbia Football Game.jpg|John F. Kennedy attending a game in 1963
File:Harvard Scoreboard - 2006 (1).jpg|Scoreboard – 1984–2007
File:Harvard Stadium - 2000 Ivy exterior.jpg|Exterior ivy, removed in 2006
File:Harvard Stadium - 2006 1.jpg|Aerial view of the 2006 Harvard–Yale game – the Murr Center (built in 1998) now sits across the open end of the stadium
Image:Harvard Stadium, Dudesleeper.jpg|The stadium's southwest-facing exterior, 2006
File:Harvard stadium 2009h.JPG|View of the field in 2009
File:Harvard Scoreboard - 2008.jpg|Scoreboard, 2011
File:Harvard University cheerleaders.jpg|Cheerleaders in Harvard Stadium, 2019
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Harvard Crimson]]
* [[List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat}}
* {{Official website}}

{{S-start|header={{s-sta|et}}}}
{{succession box
| title = Home of the [[Boston Patriots]]
| years = 1970
| before = [[Alumni Stadium]]
| after = [[Foxboro Stadium]]
}}
{{Succession box 
| title=[[Summer Olympics]]<br>Soccer venue
| before= ''various venues'' <br/> ''[[Soviet Union]]'' 
| after= ''various venues'' <br/> ''[[South Korea]]'' 
| years='''[[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984]]'''
}}
{{succession box
| title = Home of the [[Boston Cannons]]&nbsp;
| years = 2007–2018
| before = [[Nickerson Field]]
| after = [[Veterans Memorial Stadium (Quincy, Massachusetts)|Veterans Memorial Stadium<br>(Quincy)]]
}}
{{end}}
{{navboxes
| titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Harvard Crimson|color=white}}
| list = 
{{Harvard Crimson football navbox}}
{{Harvard Crimson men's soccer navbox}}
{{Harvard University}}
{{Ivy League football venue navbox}}
{{New England Patriots}}
{{Defunct NFL stadiums}}
{{Boston Breakers}}
{{National Women's Soccer League stadiums}}
{{1984 Summer Olympic venues}}
{{Olympic venues football}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
{{Greater Boston sports arenas}}
{{Massachusetts college football venues}}
{{FXFL}}
}}

[[Category:American football venues in Boston]]
[[Category:Boston Cannons venues]]
[[Category:Former Major League Lacrosse venues]]
[[Category:Defunct NFL venues]]
[[Category:New England Patriots stadiums]]
[[Category:Harvard Crimson football venues]]
[[Category:Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Lacrosse venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Boston]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Boston]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1903]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Boston]]
[[Category:Boston Breakers]]
[[Category:Soccer venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Women's Professional Soccer stadiums]]
[[Category:Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Boston Brawlers]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Boston]]
[[Category:1903 establishments in Massachusetts]]