Many college football stadiums are ancient venues, as much a part of their towns’ historic character as libraries, parks or other public spaces.
Now, a new congressional venture is working to support this fact with a preservation effort.
Representatives Garret Graves (R-La.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced on Friday the formation of a bipartisan caucus dedicated to supporting and upgrading the infrastructure of 18 stadiums around the country deemed to have historic value to their communities.
“When [LSU] fans walk into Death Valley on Saturday nights, they do more than watch a football game,” Graves said. “They walk into a 99-year-old local icon that supports our regional economy. Every bowl of jambalaya scooped and Tiger Dog served injects jobs and resources into our community.”
The caucus, formally called the Congressional Historic Stadium Caucus, aims to circulate a letter inviting members of both parties to join.
The 18 stadiums targeted for upgrades are:
- Beaver Stadium, home of Penn State, opened in 1960
- Camp Randall Stadium, home of Wisconsin, opened in 1917
- CEFCU Stadium, home of San Jose State, opened in 1933
- The Cotton Bowl, home of the Red River Showdown between Oklahoma and Texas, opened in 1930
- Davis Wade Stadium, home of Mississippi State, opened in 1914
- Franklin Field, home of Penn and the oldest active football stadium in the country, opened in 1895
- Husky Stadium, home of Washington, opened in 1920
- Jordan-Hare Stadium, home of Auburn, opened in 1939
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home of USC, opened in 1923
- Memorial Stadium, home of California, opened in 1923
- Memorial Stadium, home of Clemson, opened in 1942
- Memorial Stadium, home of Illinois, opened in 1923
- Nippert Stadium, home of Cincinnati, opened in 1915
- The Rose Bowl, home of UCLA, opened in 1922
- Tiger Stadium, home of LSU, opened in 1924
- Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, home of Ole Miss, opened in 1915
- Wallace Wade Stadium, home of Duke, opened in 1929
- The Yale Bowl, home of Yale, opened in 1914
