University at Buffalo Stadium

UB Stadium
"The Bullpen"
Location Webster Road
Amherst, NY 14221
Coordinates 42°59′57″N 78°46′39″W / 42.99917°N 78.77750°W / 42.99917; -78.77750Coordinates: 42°59′57″N 78°46′39″W / 42.99917°N 78.77750°W / 42.99917; -78.77750
Owner University at Buffalo
Operator University at Buffalo
Capacity 31,000[1] (1999-present)
Surface A-Turf Titan (2014-pres)
Momentum Turf (2005-2013)
Natural grass (1993-2004)
Construction
Broke ground September 17, 1991
Opened September 4, 1993 (UB football)
Expanded 1999
Construction cost $23 million
($37.7 million in 2016 dollars)[2]
Architect HOK Sport
Tenants
Buffalo Bulls
(Football, track and field, men's and women's soccer) (NCAA) (1993-present)

UB Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York. It is primarily used for football and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. It opened on September 4, 1993, with a game against the University of Maine.[3]

The stadium was built from 1991 to 1993 as the final piece of the school's "Run to Division I" drive, meant to bring UB football back to Division I status and as the feature athletics venue for the 1993 Summer Universiade. The program had been dropped for seven years in the 1970s, but returned at a lower level. The team had played at a much smaller, 4,000-seat UB Stadium (now known as Walter Kunz Stadium) from the time of its move to the Town of Amherst north of Buffalo in 1985 until 1992. The current stadium opened in the summer of 1993, hosting the World University Games. The Bulls played their first six years in the stadium as a member of Division I-AA, finally making their return to Division I-A in 1999.

The stadium consists of a north-south field surrounded by an eight-lane track. There are the original double-decked grandstands on either sideline spanning the entire length of the football field, a large bleacher grandstand around the south end of the track, and two shorter bleacher sections on the north side with the free-standing scoreboard located between them. The stadium is lit by the four large light towers near the corners of the stadium.

The stadium hosted the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Empire State Games on July 21, 2010.

Location and Configuration

Exterior view of UB Stadium

The stadium is located at the east side of UB's North Campus. Students typically walk to the stadium from the Ellicott Complex, Greiner Hall, and the Governors Complex or take the UB Stampede buses directly to Alumni Arena, which is nearby.

UB Stadium consists of two main grandstands which hold 21,000. These two grandstands are flanked by large rounded grandstands to the northern and southern sides of the stadium.

The north grandstand consists of two sets of bleachers. However, barely anyone sits in this area during football games. The seating capacity of these bleachers is approximately 2,000. Meanwhile, the south grandstand has a seating capacity of approximately 8,000.

UB 2020

As part of the University at Buffalo's UB2020 plan, the stadium will be expanded and refurnished to match up with other large competing college football stadiums. The Northern bleachers are set to be demolished and replaced by a state-of-the-art indoor field house, alongside a running track and cardiovascular center.[4]

Home to Thunder of the East Marching Band

The Stadium is home to UB's Thunder of the East Marching Band.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "UB Stadium - Amherst, NY Tickets". eventticketscenter.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  3. ↑ "1993 Buffalo Football – A ‘new’ UB Stadium". University at Buffalo Digital Collections. 4 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "UB’s Physical Plan - UB 2020: University at Buffalo's strategic plan". Buffalo.edu. Retrieved 9 September 2012.

External links

Media related to University at Buffalo Stadium at Wikimedia Commons

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