First Football Stadium

November 14, 2008

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Profile America — Friday, November 14th. With the college football season in full swing, many fans may not realize that the first stadium built expressly for football hosted its initial game on this date in 1903 — Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In that first game, Dartmouth defeated Harvard 11 to nothing. At the time, the stadium — which is still in use — was the world’s largest reinforced concrete structure. The distinctive colonnade was added in 1910. Now across the U.S., there are 615 college football teams. Their games draw a total audience of almost 48 million fans each year. In comparison, NFL games are seen in person by just over 22 million annually. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Famous First Facts, 7505
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 1217
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html