“It’s a beautiful day for football,” announced at every Spartan football game, no matter the weather, is just one of the many traditions found at Spartan Stadium. In the early 1920s, university officials decided to construct a new stadium for the football team to replace Old College Field. Completed before the 1923 season, the new stadium had a seating capacity of 14,000. As the team grew in popularity, so did the stadium. In 1935, the seating capacity was increased to 26,000, and the facility was named Macklin Field after former football coach John Macklin. Thirteen years later, the stadium’s capacity had nearly doubled, and by 1956, it had reached 60,000.
Prior to the 1957 season, upper decks were constructed on both sides of the playing field, increasing the capacity to 76,000. At the same time, the stadium was renamed Spartan Stadium. Astroturf replaced the natural grass field before the 1969 season, and a new modern scoreboard was added in 1973. The Spartans installed another modern video scoreboard before the 1991 season.
Before the start of the 2005 season, a new press box, 24 luxury suites and 862 club seats were constructed on the west side of Spartan Stadium. With the completion of this renovation, the stadium had a seating capacity of approximately 75,000. A new HD video scoreboard was installed before the 2012 season.
Prior to the start of the 2014 season, a new locker room and football operations complex was completed at Spartan Stadium. The $24 million facility is located in the north end zone and provides additional space for the Spartans football program. In June 2016, the university announced plans to add permanent lights to the stadium. The project was completed before the start of the 2017 season, giving Spartan Stadium a modern LED lighting system.
