Memorial Stadium (Terre Haute, Indiana)
Memorial Stadium 1968-present
Memorial Stadium 1968\-present
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In 1967, [Indiana State University](/wiki/Indiana_State_University "Indiana State University") became the first university in the world to own and operate an outdoor artificial playing surface. The stadium, except for its outside wall and memorial arch, was razed in 1968–1969, and converted to a football stadium. The three\-part renovation project included: the reorientation of the playing field from a north–south direction to its present east–west configuration; the installation of Astroturf; and the construction of some 4,500 bleacher seats on the north side of the field as well as the rebuilding of seats on the south side. The original arch still remains from the original structure. However, the bleacher seats, installed in 1967, were removed in the summer of 1996 and replaced by a landscaped hill which serves as a general admission section and a site for pregame tailgating for Sycamore fans. As a result, it has little resemblance to the majestic amphitheater constructed in the early Twenties. The field was upgraded in 2009 with a new [FieldTurf](/wiki/FieldTurf "FieldTurf") playing surface, at a cost of $750,000\.

Memorial Stadium, which has a current capacity of 12,764, also hosts the annual High School football game (previously the homecoming game) between Terre Haute rivals North\-South as they play for the Victory Bell.

There are tentative plans to construct a new multi\-purpose stadium on the Indiana State campus, three miles to the west. Memorial Stadium would likely then be razed, with the exception of the last portion of the original Memorial Stadium, the Arch.

In June 2010, two practice fields were constructed to alleviate scheduling conflicts for practices and provide additional fields for Terre Haute\-area youth football and high school programs.


How many bleacher seats were removed from Memorial Stadium in 1996?