Opening in 1929, fans flock from all
over Iowa to Kinnick Stadium to see the Hawkeyes each Fall. Football
became a varsity sport at Iowa in 1889 and in 1900 the Hawkeyes joined what became
the Big Ten Conference. By the early 1920s the Hawkeyes became one of
the best teams in the country winning back to back Big Ten titles
under Hall of Fame Coach Howard Jones. As the team's success on the
field increased, the need for a new larger football stadium was
apparent. In March 1929 construction on a new football stadium began. Completed in just seven months, the Hawkeyes played their
first game at Iowa Stadium on October 5, 1929 against Monmouth
College. The original capacity was 53,000, very large for a stadium at
this time.
The stadium was originally known as Iowa
Stadium, but
received its current name, Kinnick Stadium, in 1972 after
sportswriter Gus Schrader lobbied to name the stadium after
former Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick.
Several expansions have
occurred at Kinnick Stadium since its construction, including the addition
of seats in the south end zone in 1956 and the enclosure of the north end zone
in 1983 increasing the capacity to 66,000. In 1997
a video/scoreboard was added to Kinnick Stadium.
Today,
the stadium has a capacity of just over 70,000. The last
renovation project completed at Kinnick Stadium was in 2006. Over
$86 million was spent constructing a new pressbox, installing a
new video/scoreboard, replacing the temporary south endzone
bleachers with permanent seats, and adding additional restrooms
and concession areas. While most college football stadiums are
intimidating to opposing teams because of their gameday
atmosphere, Kinnick Stadium is intimidating because of one thing,
its pink visitors locker room.
Famous Players:
Duke Slater, Hayden Fry, Chuck Long,
Paul Krause, Emlen Tunnell, Eddie Anderson, Cal Jones, Brad Banks School Traditions: School Songs, "On Iowa", "Roll Along Iowa",
"Alma Matter"
PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO IOWA STATE AND KINNICK STADIUM
Kinnick
Stadium
Today,
the stadium has a capacity of just over 70,000. The last
renovation project completed at Kinnick Stadium was in 2006. Over
$86 million was spent constructing a new pressbox, installing a
new video/scoreboard, replacing the temporary south endzone
bleachers with permanent seats, and adding additional restrooms
and concession areas. While most college football stadiums are
intimidating to opposing teams because of their gameday
atmosphere, Kinnick Stadium is intimidating because of one thing,
its pink visitors locker room. 
