University of Detroit Stadium

University of Detroit Stadium

Location	Detroit, Michigan
Owner	University of Detroit
Capacity	25,000
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1922
Demolished	1971
Tenants
Detroit Titans (NCAA) (1922-1964) Detroit Wolverines (NFL) (1928) Detroit Lions (NFL) (1934-1937) Detroit Cougars (USA) (1967-1968) Michigan Arrows (CFL) (1968)

University of Detroit Stadium, also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, or Dinan Field, was a stadium in Detroit, Michigan on the campus of the University of Detroit. The stadium opened in 1922, on land that had been acquired for the university's proposed new McNichols campus (the university would move its main campus there in 1927). The stadium's main tenant was the University of Detroit Titans football team, who played their home games there from the time it opened until the university dropped its football program following the 1964 season.

Location

The stadium stood on 6-Mile Road (later also known as McNichols Road) just west of Fairfield St. in the northeast corner of the campus. It was built with the field on a north-south axis, with stands on the east and west sides of the field, which was encircled by a running track It had a capacity of 25,000 people at its peak. In addition to football, it was also used for track meets, concerts, and other university-related and public events. One rather unusual aspect of the stadium were its lighting towers, which stood between the stands and the field.

Tenants

University of Detroit Stadium was the home field for the NFL's Detroit Lions from 1934 to 1937, and again in 1940. It also was home to the Detroit Wolverines for their only NFL season in 1928. The stadium was the site of the 1935 NFL Championship Game, won by the Lions over the New York Giants, 26–7.

The Detroit Cougars professional soccer club played several games here in the summers of 1967 and 1968 whenever their regular home field, Tiger Stadium had a scheduling conflict. One such match on June 14, 1967 against the Houston Stars ended in an infamous player riot.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The Michigan Arrows of the fledgling Continental Football League used the stadium (which then had a capacity of 20,000) for the 1968 season. Unfortunately, the Arrows drew just 4,240 fans per game en route to a 1-11 season. The Arrows moved to Midland, Michigan to become the Tri-City Apollos in 1969, then folded with the rest of the league.

Demolition

The stadium was demolished in 1971 and was replaced by a parking lot. For many years thereafter the stadium's lighting towers remained standing in order to provide lighting for the lot. The location is currently occupied by a multi-purpose turf field north of Calihan Hall.

Gallery

• 

  English Blitz Scouts at the stadium in 1942

• 

  The University of Detroit's athletic field in 2008

References

1. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2205&dat=19680420&id=BywmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ff4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3123,2879707
2. http://thesoccerobserver.com/2013/06/14/the-infamous-1967-detroit-riot-on-the-soccer-field/
3. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19670615&id=dD9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L1cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1358,2644572
4. http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2014/2/16/summer-with-the-cougars
5. http://home.comcast.net/~dulyjs/strikers/nasl/det1.html

Coordinates: 42°24′57″N 83°08′12″W / 42.415766°N 83.136613°W