Aggie Memorial Stadium
New Mexico stadium From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is the home field of the New Mexico State Aggies of Conference USA.
The Joe | |
 View from southeast corner in 2015 | |
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  Las Cruces Location in the United States  Las Cruces Location in New Mexico | |
| Address | Stewart St & Payne St |
|---|---|
| Location | New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°16′47″N 106°44′28″W |
| Owner | New Mexico State University |
| Operator | New Mexico State University |
| Capacity | 28,853 (2015–present) 30,343 (1978–2014) |
| Record attendance | 32,993 (vs. UTEP, 1998) |
| Surface | Artificial turf (2014–present) Hybrid Bermuda grass (1978–2013) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 1977 |
| Opened | September 16, 1978 |
| Construction cost | $4 million ($18.7 million in 2023[1]) |
| Architect | Craig Protz of Bohening-Protz Associates; Caudill Rowlett Scott of Houston, Consultants |
| Tenants | |
| New Mexico State Aggies football (NCAA) (1978–present) New Mexico State Aggies women's soccer (NCAA) (2009–2011) Las Cruces High School vs. Mayfied High School (1978-present) Organ Mountain High School vs. Centennial High School (2017–present) | |
Opened 46 years ago in 1978, the current seating capacity is 28,853. Its artificial turf playing field is aligned north-northwest to south-southeast at an elevation of 3,980 feet (1,215 m) above sea level. It is the former home of Aggies women's soccer.[2]
The original football field for New Mexico A&M was located just northwest of the Horseshoe at Espina Street and College Drive, on the site now occupied by Skeen Hall. Known as Miller Field, its entrance gates, constructed in 1924, still stand on a traffic island in front of Skeen Hall's main entrance.[3] In 1933. Aggie football moved to a new field located just to the northeast of Hadley Hall (the university's Administration building), originally known as Quesenberry Field. The original Memorial Stadium was built at the same site in 1950. It was dedicated as a memorial to New Mexico A&M students who had died in World War II, World War I, and the Spanish–American War, among whom was Henry C. Gilbert Jr., whose parents were instrumental in the 10-year-long fundraising drive.
Memorial Stadium, which served for 28 seasons, was replaced both due to its small size (maximum seating capacity of 12,155) and the want of an expanded athletics plant with more infrastructure and parking. (Currently Memorial Tower, which was originally part of the press box of the stadium, is the only remaining reminder of the stadium. It is now structurally incorporated into the university's Health and Social Services building and houses a memorial lounge and computer lab.)
The "new" Aggie Memorial Stadium, dedicated to alumni who had served in the Korean War and Vietnam War, was built for $4 million over a period of 18 months. It was funded by the state legislature as part of a capital project on the campus.
Its inaugural game in 1978 saw the Aggies defeat nearby rival Texas–El Paso (UTEP) 35–32 on September 16. Twenty years (and ten days) later, the Aggies and UTEP Miners played to the largest attendance (32,993) in stadium history, as the Aggies won again, 33–24.
For its first 36 seasons, the playing field was natural grass; UBU Sports Speed S5-M synthetic turf was installed prior to the 2014 season.
Designed by alumnus Craig Protz of Bohering-Protz Associates, the stadium was built just to the south of the Pan American Center, the home of Aggie basketball. It boasts a unique design in which earth that was excavated to construct the lower bowl and field level was moved to the sides of the stadium to support the upper level, with a street level concourse dividing the lower and upper bowls.
The first level of seating wraps around the field, except for two 100-foot-wide (30 m) gaps behind each end zone. The southern end is a grass berm, with the Fulton Athletics Center, a $6 million structure constructed in 2004 housing athletics offices, an athletic training and education center, and club facilities, behind it. The northern end leads to the locker room facilities and main entrance to the stadium.
Because of these gaps it was previously impossible to access the east side of the stadium from the west, and vice versa, without exiting the stadium and re-entering on the other side. A bridge over the north ramp constructed prior to the 2006 season now allows fans to cross from one side of the stadium to the other. The seating extends to a rounded second level on either side of the field, which extends the length of the playing field. The curved, undulating design of the upper level is reminiscent of similarly designed structures such as Memphis' Liberty Bowl Stadium and the now-demolished Tampa Stadium, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale.
The original four pole sodium vapor lighting system is now augmented by four additional smaller poles added prior to the 2005 season to increase the stadium's lighting capacity for televised night games. A $1.5 million scoreboard, including a 38-by-23-foot (11.6 m × 7.0 m) video screen, was added in 2007, as well as a new team meeting and video room complex adjacent to the field house on the stadium's north end. A club level area called Club 27 was added in 2015, which reduced the stadium's total capacity to 28,853, but added 92 club level seats at the cost of $1.1 million.[4]
| Rank | Attendance | Date | Game Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32,993 | September 26, 1998 | New Mexico State 33, UTEP 24 |
| 2 | 32,904 | September 13, 1986 | UTEP 47, New Mexico State 33 |
| 3 | 31,839 | September 18, 1993 | New Mexico State 31, UTEP 14 |
| 4 | 31,214 | September 24, 2004 | New Mexico 38, New Mexico State 3 |
| 5 | 30,605 | October 5, 2002 | New Mexico State 49, UTEP 14 |
| 6 | 30,343 | September 27, 2009 | New Mexico 35, New Mexico State 24 |
| September 15, 2007 | New Mexico State 29, UTEP 24 | ||
| September 3, 2005 | UTEP 34, New Mexico State 17 | ||
| 9 | 30,341 | September 14, 1991 | UTEP 22, New Mexico State 21 |
| 10 | 30,193 | September 16, 1978 | New Mexico State 35, UTEP 32 |
| 11 | 30,061 | October 29, 1988 | UTEP 42, New Mexico State 9 |
| 12 | 29,921 | September 2, 1995 | New Mexico State 45, UTEP 17 |
| 13 | 29,095 | September 9, 2006 | New Mexico 34, New Mexico State 28 |
| 14 | 28,587 | November 21, 2002 | New Mexico State 24, New Mexico 13 |
| 15 | 27,646 | September 12, 1992 | New Mexico State 42, New Mexico 39 |
| 16 | 27,306 | September 4, 1982 | UTEP 20, New Mexico State 17 |
| 17 | 27,238 | September 8, 2001 | Oregon State 27, New Mexico State 22 |
| 18 | 27,201 | September 12, 2015 | Georgia State 34, New Mexico State 32 |
| 19 | 26,528 | October 22, 1994 | New Mexico 56, New Mexico State 31 |
| 20 | 26,271 | September 29, 1979 | New Mexico 30, New Mexico State 16 |
In addition to football, the stadium occasionally hosts major concerts and other large outdoor gatherings on campus.
Concerts
Artists that have performed at the stadium include Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Faith No More, The Eagles, Vans Warped Tour & Paul McCartney, among others.
| Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour / Concert name | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 27, 1992 | Guns N' Roses Metallica | Faith No More | Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour | 35,373 / 35,373 | $972,758 | |
| April 20, 1993 | Paul McCartney | — | The New World Tour | 30,058 / 30,058 | $1,002,625 | [5] |
| May 3, 1995 | The Eagles | — | Hell Freezes Over Tour | — | — | [6] |
Other events
During the 2005–06 renovation of the nearby Pan American Center, the stadium hosted the university's commencement ceremonies, although they returned to the Pan Am following completion of the renovations. Also, Mayfield High School and Las Cruces High School play against each other in the stadium every year in November. (Varsity only). Since November 2017, Onate High School (renamed Organ Mountain High School in 2021) and Centennial High School also play each other in the stadium.
Views around the stadium
South side end zone & press box
North side video board
East side stands and Skybox construction
Closer view of east stand Skybox
Fulton Center Skybox
Fulton Athletics Center (Front entrance)
ROTC cannon and bell
Fulton Center and east embankment
Stadium map
NMSU Aggies vs Cal Bears
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