War Memorial Stadium (Wyoming)

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Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium
"The War"
Location	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071
Broke ground	Aug. 15, 1949 (grounds) March 1, 1950 (building)
Opened	September 16, 1950
Owner	University of Wyoming
Operator	University of Wyoming
Surface	Artificial Turf
Construction cost	$1,533,333 (combined with Fieldhouse)
Tenants
University of Wyoming Cowboys
Capacity
32,580

For other stadiums known as War Memorial Stadium, see War Memorial Stadium.

Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Laramie, Wyoming. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of Wyoming Cowboys. It is the highest Division I-A football stadium in the nation at 7,220 feet above sea level.

War Memorial Stadium was built along with the War Memorial Fieldhouse in the spring and summer of 1950. The stadium, which replaced tiny Corbett Field, originally sat 20,000 in grandstands on the east & west sides of the field. In 1970, the western upper deck, containing 5,500 seats and a new press box, was added, and in 1978 the eastern press box and northern bleachers were added, bringing capacity up to 33,500.

In 2001 a new video scoreboard was added and the bleachers in the north endzone were moved to the south endzone. In 2004, the western stands were refurbished and the press box expanded, bringing the stadium to its current capacity. In 2005, the natural grass at War Memorial Stadium was replaced by artificial turf. The field itself was renamed Jonah Field in honor of the Wyoming gas fields owned by the primary benefactors of the turf project, the Martin and McMurry families.

Below the new north endzone scoreboard is a 62" statue named "Cowboy Tough" by Chris Navarro, the original (called "Fanning a Twister") being located to the north of the stadium at the main entrance to the athletic complex. It is modeled after a picture of Guy Holt riding "Steamboat," the 1909 winner of "Worst Horse" at Frontier Park in Cheyenne. In the 1920s, an equipment manager named Deane Hunton had found the picture. Thinking it embodied the spirit of the athletics program and the cowboy life, he stenciled an outline of it, which has become the familiar logo of the University (which is also found on state license plates and many other places around the state).^[1][2]

[edit] References

1. ^ MacCambridge, Michael, ed. ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. New York: Hyperion Books, 2005. Pg. 1026.
2. ^ 2006 Wyoming Cowboys Football Media Guide, pgs. 6-18.

Current Football Stadiums in the Mountain West Conference
Amon G. Carter Stadium (TCU) • Falcon Stadium (Air Force) • Hughes Stadium (Colorado State) • LaVell Edwards Stadium (BYU) • Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego State) • Rice-Eccles Stadium (Utah) • Sam Boyd Stadium (UNLV) • University Stadium (New Mexico) • War Memorial Stadium (Wyoming)