Tiger Stadium (LSU) - Construction and Seating Capacity

Construction and Seating Capacity

With an official seating capacity of 92,542, Tiger Stadium is the seventeenth largest stadium in the world by capacity. It is the tenth largest stadium in the NCAA and the fourth largest in the Southeastern Conference, behind Neyland Stadium at Tennessee, Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama, and Sanford Stadium at Georgia.

When the stadium opened in 1924, the seating capacity was 12,000, with grandstands on both sides of the playing field. In 1931, 10,000 seats were added to the existing grandstands.

In 1936 capacity was more than doubled when the north end zone was enclosed with a 24,000-seat addition. Money was not allocated in the state budget for the seating expansion, but money was allocated for dormitories. To bypass the legislature and increase his beloved school's stadium capacity, Governor Huey P. Long ordered that dormitories be built in the stadium, with seating above the student living quarters. Until the early 1990s, the West, North and South Stadium dormitories were featured as part of student housing at LSU. The dormitories were later converted to office space for Athletic Department staff and faculty and studios for the College of Art & Design's Fine Arts graduate students.

The horseshoe was eliminated in 1953 by the addition of the south grandstands increasing capacity to 67,720. Unlike the existing stadium structure, they were double-decked in order to fit within the space provided. The first of the two upper decks was added to the west side of the stadium in 1978 to bring capacity to approximately 78,000.

The stadium was upgraded multiple times in the 1980s beginning with replacement of bench seats with chair back seats and waterproofing of the east and west stands in 1985. The playing surface was moved eleven feet to the south to center the field in 1986. The north and south ends of the stadium were waterproofed and chair back seats added in 1987 to bring those sections up to date with the 1985 improvements. Also in 1987 the press box was redecorated, a few more seats were installed at the upper portion of the west lower stands, and all seating within the stadium was renumbered using a uniform seat-width. By the end of the 1980s the stadium held 80,150 spectators.

The official capacity of the stadium was lowered to 80,000 in 1994 when a section of seating was removed for renovations to the visiting team locker room. The east upper deck seating 11,600 was completed in 2000 and brought total capacity to 91,600. The west upper deck was torn down at the end of the 2004 season, and construction began on "The Stadium Club." The new suites contain over 3,200 special amenity seats as a well as a state-of-the-art press box. The "Paul Manasseh Press Box" has been named for and dedicated to the memory of the long-time and popular sports information director. Construction on this addition was scheduled to be completed by the beginning of September 2005, but delayed due to Hurricane Katrina. Construction was completed for the 2006 season, bringing the stadium's capacity to 92,400. A small number of club seats were added before the 2011 season, increasing the capacity to 92,542.

During construction on the west side, a then-record-breaking crowd of 92,664 fans packed Tiger Stadium in a game against Auburn on October 22, 2005, as LSU defeated Auburn in overtime 20-17. On October 6, 2007 a new record was recorded when 92,910 fans watched as the #1 ranked Tigers defeated the #9 Florida Gators 28-24. A record-breaking attendance of 93,039 was again set on November 8, 2008 when #1 Alabama defeated #16 LSU in overtime 27-21. The record was breached yet again on October 10, 2009 when the #1 ranked Florida Gators came into Tiger Stadium and defeated #4 LSU 13-3. The attendance was 93,129. The current record of 93,374 was set on November 3, 2012 when #5 LSU lost to #1 Alabama 21-17.

On April 27, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a $80 million dollar south end-zone upper deck expansion that will add 6,900 seats and bring the total capacity of Tiger Stadium to approximately 100,000, making it the 7th-largest college football stadium in the country. Construction began on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2014.