History
Before 1938, the Razorbacks played in a 300-seat stadium built in 1901 on land on top of "The Hill", which is now occupied by Mullins Library and the Fine Arts Center (in the "center" of campus). The new stadium cost approximately $492,000 and was funded by the Works Progress Administration, with the University of Arkansas only paying 22 percent of the contact. The stadium opened for the 1938 football season as University Stadium, holding a capacity of 13,500 spectators. In the home opener for the Razorbacks, the Razorbacks defeated Oklahoma A&M by a score of 27–7 on September 24, 1938. The following week, Arkansas dedicated the stadium to then sitting Arkansas Governor Carl E. Bailey on October 3, 1938, changing the name of the stadium to Bailey Stadium. Following Governor Bailey's defeat in the 1940 gubernatorial election to Homer Martin Adkins, the stadium's name was changed in 1941 to Razorback Stadium.
Athletic director Frank Broyles began searching for architects for the proposed $65 million stadium expansion and renovation in 1998, believing that the renovation was needed in order for the Razorbacks to compete in the Southeastern Conference at a consistent level. Broyles hoped for a completion date of 2000 or 2001 and narrowed the search down to three architecture firms: Eisenman Architects of New York, Heery International of Atlanta and Rosser International of Atlanta. Broyles awarded the renovation contract to Heery International with local support from the Wittenberg, DeLoney and Davidson architecture firm of Fayetteville.
The renovation was partly funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, when the foundation donated $21 million in 1999 to help renovate the stadium. What was then the largest LED display in a sports venue, the 30 by 107 foot screen produced by SmartVision was installed along with a new scoreboard at the northern end zone in 2000. The expansion was completed before the beginning of the 2001 football season, increasing the permanent seating capacity to 72,000 from its previous capacity of 51,000 seats. The Razorback Stadium was renamed Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in honor of the generosity by the Reynolds Foundation on September 8, 2001, where Arkansas lost to Tennessee by a score of 13–3.
On November 3, 2007, the date of the last Fayetteville home game of the 2007 football season, the playing field was dedicated and named in honor of outgoing athletic director Frank Broyles.
A major renovation to the stadium was proposed in 2011 by Athletic Director Jeff Long, unveiling the plans to enclose the north end zone. The proposed renovation is estimated at $78 million to $95 million, which would feature at least 5,000 new seats, including field-level suites and indoor and outdoor club areas.
A new upgrade to the stadium for the 2012 season will double the size, 38 by 167 feet, of the previous LED screen, 30 by 107 feet. The upgrade is contracted through LSI Industries.
Read more about this topic: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
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