Martin
Stadium Pullman, WA
Home of the Washington State
University Cougars, Martin Stadium is the smallest stadium in the Pac
10 conference. Football
at Washington State dates back to 1892 when the team played at Soldier
Field. A new stadium, known as Rogers Field was built in 1936 and was
home to the Cougars. In April 1970, the south stands of the Cougars
home was destroyed by fire. In an effort to get a new stadium built, Dan Martin
gave $250,000 to help make a new stadium a reality for the Cougars.
He pledged the money in order for the new facility to be named after
his father Clarence D. Martin.
A new stadium was built and on
September 30, 1972 the Cougars played the first game at Martin
Stadium winning against the Utah Utes. The stadium had a capacity of 27,600 and had an Astroturf
field. By 1975, the north stands were built for the students and in
1979 Martin Stadium got its current look. The track around the field
was removed and the field was lowered 16 feet. This enabled 12,000
seats to be added around the stadium. The latest addition came prior
to the 2001 season when
Fieldturf replaced the Astroturf. In March
2006 Washington State announced plans to renovate and expand Martin
Stadium. Phases I and II were completed by the 2008 season and include
widen concourses on the north side, new concession and restrooms on
the east and south sides, and a new plaza on the east side of the
stadium that includes ticket offices. A new video/scoreboard was added
on the west side of Martin Stadium. Phase III will add luxury and club
seats atop the north side of the stadium by 2009 increasing the
seating capacity by 2,200. Completion for Phase IV has yet to be
determined but would add 5,500 seats atop the east stands.
Martin
Stadium
