Sculpture of a sailor and his family, gazing eastward over Lake Michigan
On December 3, 1919, Chicago-based architectural firm Holabird & Roche was chosen to design the stadium,[11] which broke ground on August 11, 1922.[12] The stadium cost $13 million to construct (equivalent to $232 million in 2023), a large sum for a sporting venue at that time (in comparison, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum had cost less than US$1 million in 1923 dollars). On October 9, 1924, the 53rd anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the stadium was officially dedicated as "Grant Park Stadium",[13] although it had hosted a few events before then, including a field day for Chicago police officers on September 6, and the stadium's first football game, between Louisville Male High School and Austin Community Academy High School, on October 4.[11] On November 22, the stadium hosted its first college football game, in which Notre Dame defeated Northwestern University 13–6.[11]
On November 11, 1925, the stadium's name was changed to Soldier Field, in dedication to U.S. soldiers who had died in combat during World War I. Its formal rededication as Soldier Field was held during the 29th annual playing of the Army–Navy Game on November 27, 1926.[14][15] Several months earlier, in June 1926, the stadium hosted several events during the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, the first held in the United States. During the Century of Progress World's Fair in 1933, it served as the main stage.[16]
The stadium's design is in the Neoclassical style, with Doric columns rising above the East and West entrances.[17] In its earliest configuration, Soldier Field was capable of seating 74,280 spectators, and was in the shape of a U. Additional seating could be added along the interior field, upper promenades, and on the large, open field and terrace beyond the north endzone,[18] bringing the seating capacity to over 100,000.[19]
Chicago Bears move in
The 1961 Chicago Bears practicing for the Armed Forces exhibition game at Soldier Field. The team would later move into the stadium full-time in 1971.
Before they moved into the stadium, the Chicago Bears had played select charity games at Soldier Field as early as 1926, when they played their former crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cardinals.[11] The Cardinals also used the stadium as their home field for their final season in the city in 1959.
In 1971, the Bears moved into Soldier Field full-time, originally with a three-year commitment.[20][21] The team previously played home games at Wrigley Field, the home stadium of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB), but were forced to move to a larger venue due to post-AFL–NFL merger policies requiring that stadium capacities seat at least 50,000 spectators as well as lighting for potential night games. The Bears had initially intended to build a stadium in Arlington Heights, but the property did not fit the league's specifications.[22]
On September 19, 1971, the Bears played their first home game at Soldier Field, in which they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 17–15. In 1978, the Bears and the Chicago Park District agreed to a 20-year lease and renovation of the stadium; both parties pooled their resources for the renovation.[23] The playing surface was AstroTurf from 1971 until 1987, and was replaced with natural grass in 1988.[24] On February 27, 1987, Soldier Field was designated a National Historic Landmark.[25]
Replacement talks
In 1989, Soldier Field's future was in jeopardy after a proposal was created for a "McDome", which was intended to be a domed stadium for the Bears, but was rejected by the Illinois Legislature in 1990. Because of this, Bears president Michael McCaskey considered relocation as a possible factor for a new stadium. The Bears had also purchased options in Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village and Aurora. In 1995, McCaskey announced that he and Northwest Indiana developers agreed to construction of an entertainment complex called "Planet Park", which would also include a new stadium. However, the plan was rejected by the Lake County Council, and in 1998, then-Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley proposed that the Bears share Comiskey Park with the Chicago White Sox.[26]
Renovations
Beginning in 1978, the plank seating was replaced by individual seats with backs and armrests. In 1982, a new press box, as well as 60 skyboxes, were added to the stadium, boosting its capacity to 66,030. In 1988, 56 more skyboxes were added, increasing capacity to 66,946. Capacity was slightly increased to 66,950 in 1992. By 1994, however, capacity was slightly reduced to 66,944. During the renovation, seating capacity was reduced to 55,701 by building a grandstand in the open end of the U shape. This moved the field closer to both ends in order to move the fans closer to the field, at the expense of seating capacity.[14] The front row 50-yard line seats were only 55 feet (17 m) away from the sidelines, the shortest distance of all NFL stadiums until MetLife Stadium opened in 2010 with a distance of 46 feet (14 m).[citation needed]
2002–03 renovation and landmark delisting
Soldier Field aerial view (1988) before interior redesign
In 2001, the Chicago Park District, which owns the structure, faced substantial criticism when it announced plans to alter the stadium with a design by Benjamin T. Wood and Carlos Zapata of Wood + Zapata in Boston. The stadium grounds were reconfigured by local architecture firm Lohan Associate, led by architect Dirk Lohan, grandson of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The stadium's interior would be demolished and reconstructed while the exterior would be preserved in an example of facadism. A similar endeavor of constructing a new stadium within the confines of a historic stadium's exterior was done with Leipzig's Red Bull Arena, which similarly built a modern stadium while preserving the exterior of the original Zentralstadion. Fans and radio hosts, such as WSCR's Mike North, criticized the small seating capacity of the new venue, and others have criticized the Park District's lack of care to the field surface after the first seasonal freeze and a refusal to consider a new-generation artificial surface, leaving the Bears to play on dead grass.
Aerial view of Soldier Field during renovation, April 2002
On January 19, 2002, the night of the Bears' playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, demolition began as tailgate fires still burned in trash cans in the parking lots. The removal of 24,000 stadium seats in 36 hours by Archer Seating Clearinghouse, a speed record never exceeded since [citation needed], was the first step in building the new Soldier Field. Nostalgic Bears fans recalling the team's glory seasons (especially 1985), as well as some retired players, picked up their seats in the South parking lot. The foremen on the job were Grant Wedding, who installed the seats himself in 1979, and Mark Wretschko, an executive for the factory who made the new seats. As Soldier Field underwent renovation, the Bears spent the 2002 NFL season playing their home games at Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. On September 29, 2003, the Bears played their first game at the renovated Soldier Field, in which they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 38–23. The total funding for the renovation cost $632 million; taxpayers were responsible for $432 million while the Chicago Bears and the NFL contributed $200 million.[27][28]
Soldier Field after interior rebuild, with maintained exterior below.
Several writers and columnists attacked the Soldier Field renovation project as an aesthetic, political and financial nightmare. The project received mixed reviews within the architecture community, with criticism from civic and preservation groups.[29] Prominent architect and native Chicagoan Stanley Tigerman called it "a fiasco.[30]Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin dubbed it the "Eyesore on the Lake Shore,"[31][32][33] while others called it "Monstrosity on the Midway" or "Mistake by the Lake".[34] The renovation was described by some as if "a spaceship landed on the stadium".[35][36] Lohan responded:
I would never say that Soldier Field is an architectural landmark. Nobody has copied it; nobody has learned from it. People like it for nostalgic reasons. They remember the games and parades and tractor pulls and veterans' affairs they've seen there over the years. I wouldn't do this if it were the Parthenon. But this isn't the Parthenon.[30]
Proponents of the renovation argued it was direly needed because of aging and cramped facilities. The New York Times named the renovated Soldier Field one of the five best new buildings of 2003.[37] Soldier Field was given an award in design excellence by the American Institute of Architects in 2004.[38]
On September 23, 2004, as a result of the renovation, a 10-member federal advisory committee unanimously recommended that Soldier Field be delisted as a National Historic Landmark.[39][40] The recommendation to delist was prepared by Carol Ahlgren, an architectural historian at the National Park Service's Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska, who was quoted in Preservation Online stating, "if we had let this stand, I believe it would have lowered the standard of National Historic Landmarks throughout the country. ... If we want to keep the integrity of the program, let alone the landmarks, we really had no other recourse." The stadium lost the landmark designation on February 17, 2006.[41]
Subsequent developments
Soldier Field in 2022 from the east
In May 2012, Soldier Field became the first NFL stadium to achieve LEED status, a program intended to award environmentally sustainable buildings.[42]
On June 17, 2021, the Chicago Bears submitted a bid for the Arlington Park Racetrack property, making a move from Soldier Field to a new venue more possible.[44] On September 29, the Bears and Churchill Downs Incorporated announced that they had reached an agreement for the property.[45]
On September 5, 2022, the Kentucky bluegrass was replaced with Bermuda grass after poor field conditions were noted in an August 13 preseason game.[46]
The pouring rights of non-alcoholic beverages at Soldier Field were held by The Coca-Cola Company from at least 1992 until 2012, when the Bears signed a contract with Dr Pepper Snapple Group (later Keurig Dr Pepper), making it the only stadium in the NFL then (with Cleveland Browns Stadium striking a similar deal in 2018) to have such rights held by the company.[47][48] With the 2003 renovation, the Bears gained power in striking sponsorship deals at Soldier Field; the Miller Brewing Company was given the pouring rights of alcoholic beverages, while Delaware North Sportservice was named the food and beverage service provider.[49][50]Aramark took over service operations at the stadium when the latter contract expired in 2013.[51]
Events
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Over 100,000 spectators attended the 1926 Army–Navy Game. It would decide the national championship, as Navy entered undefeated and Army had lost only to Notre Dame. The game lived up to its hype, and even though it ended in a 21–21 tie, Navy was awarded the national championship.[52]
Austin defeated Leo to win the 1937 Chicago Prep Bowl; another contender for the highest attendance ever (estimated at over 120,000 spectators). The Chicago Prep Bowl games are held at Soldier Field yearly on the day after Thanksgiving. The bowl game is older than the IHSA state championship tournament held since the 1960s.
The stadium was host to 41 College All-Star Games, an exhibition between the previous year's NFL champion (or, in its final years, Super Bowl champion) and a team of collegiate all-star players prior to their reporting to their new professional teams training camps. This game was discontinued after the 1976 NFL season. The final game in 1976 was halted in the third quarter when a torrential thunderstorm broke out and play was never resumed.
On September 17, 2011, the Huskies returned to play the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that was called "Soldier Field Showdown II". The eventual Big Ten champion Badgers topped NIU 49–7.
On September 1, 2012, NIU hosted the Iowa Hawkeyes in a season opener that was called "Soldier Field Showdown III". The Hawkeyes narrowly defeated the Huskies 18–17.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football used the stadium as home field for the 1929 season while Notre Dame Stadium was being constructed. The school has used Soldier Field for single games on occasion both prior to and since the 1929 season, and boasts an undefeated 10–0–2 record there. At Soldier Field, Notre Dame has played Northwestern four times, USC and Wisconsin twice, and Army, Drake, Great Lakes Naval Base, Navy, and Miami once each.[55]
In the early-to-mid 1980s saw the US Hot Rod Association host Truck and Tractor Sled Pull Competitions and Monster Truck exhibitions here. The engines on some of the vehicles would echo through the skyscrapers in downtown Chicago as they made their pull. Damage to the stadium turf on a few of the event occasion's led USHRA to move events to the Rosemont Horizon (known today as Allstate Arena).[citation needed]
On February 7, 2015, Soldier Field hosted another edition of the Hockey City Classic. The event had been delayed due to unusually warm weather (42 °F (6 °C)) and complications with the quality of the ice. The 2015 edition of the Hockey City Classic featured a match between Miami University and Western Michigan, followed by a match between the Big Ten's Michigan and Michigan State[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70] On February 5, the organizers of the Hockey City Classic organized the Unite on the Ice event benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The event was centered upon a celebrity hockey game with former NHL and AHL players, as well as a public free skate at Soldier Field. Participants in the celebrity game included Éric Dazé, Jamal Mayers and Gino Cavallini. Denis Savard was in attendance, serving as an honorary coach during the game.[71] On February 15, 2015, Soldier Field hosted another Chicago Gay Hockey Association intra-league match in association with the Hockey City Classic.[60]
The first Special Olympics games were held at Soldier Field on July 20, 1968. The games involved over 1,000 people with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada competing in track and field and swimming. In 1970, the second international games occurred, when Special Olympics returned to Soldier Field.[73][74]
During the second show, "Summer" was added to the setlist. "Apeshit" was also performed for the first time in its entirety with choreography and background dancers.
October 28, 1944: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made an appearance at Soldier Field, which was the only Midwestern speaking appearance he made in his last re-election campaign. This appearance was attended by over 150,000 (with at least as many people attempting to attend who were unable to gain admission).[96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103]
April 25, 1951: Douglas MacArthur, US General during World War II, addressed a crowd of 50,000 at Soldier Field in his first visit to the United States in 14 years.
In the Marvel Comics event Siege, Soldier Field is inadvertently destroyed mid-game by Thor's friend Volstagg when he is tricked into fighting the U-Foes through Loki and Norman Osborn's manipulations of events.[112] The stadium is later seen being rebuilt by the heroes after Steve Rogers is appointed head of U.S. Security, following the aforementioned event.[113]
The 1977 documentary film Powers of Ten focuses on two people having a picnic on the east side of Soldier Field.[114]
The opening match of the 1994 World Cup at Soldier Field was one of the five events covered in the ESPN30 for 30 documentary June 17, 1994.
Soldier Field features (much changed) in August 4017a.d. in From The Highlands short story in David Weber's anthology collection Changer Of Worlds. It appears to have gone through multiple renovations, rebuilds and even having been built over, until nothing but the open space of the original remained.
In the 13th episode of Chicago Fire's fourth season, Soldier Field is featured on one of their calls for a terrorist hoax. The stadium appears again in the 21st episode of the fifth season as one of their calls for a high angle rescue. This stadium is featured again in the eighth season as members of firehouse 51 respond to help victims of a deadly infection. It is also featured and referenced in the fifteenth episode of season 9 as the preferred location for a medal ceremony for firefighter Randy McHolland (Mouch).
In both the book and TV series, Daisy Jones & the Six, the eponymous group plays their final concert at Soldier Field on July 11, 1977.
Gallery
Soldier Field nearing completion, 1924
The stadium mid-renovation in March 2003
Aerial view of the stadium in 2008
Soldier Field as seen from Lake Shore Drive in 2013
^Ford, Liam T. A. (2009). Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City (1st ed.). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. p. 91. In 1929 a new stadium was under construction at Notre Dame, and the team played its entire home season at Soldier Field
^Ford, Liam T.A. Ford (2009). Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City (1st ed.). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. p. 236. UIC started playing football at Soldier Field in 1966
^Ford, Liam T. A. Ford (2009). Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City (1st ed.). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. p. 236. their last home game at Soldier Field, on November 3, 1973
^Murray, Jeanne (October 20, 2006). "Leveling the Playing Field". Preservation Magazine. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
^"1926 Army-Navy Game". Library Archives. United States Naval Academy. November 26, 2001. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
^Scott, John W.; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. (1999). DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists. Cornish, New Hampshire: DeadBase. ISBN1-877657-22-0.
^"Powers of Ten". Film and description. Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN). June 14, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011. The zoom-out continues, to a view of 100 meters (10^2 m), then 1 kilometer (10^3 m), and so on, increasing the perspective. The picnic is revealed to be taking place near Soldier Field on Chicago's waterfront, and continuing to zoom out to a field of view of 10^24 meters, or the size of the observable universe.
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