Location in the United States Location in Colorado | |
Full name | Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium |
---|---|
Former names | Sonny Lubick Field at Colorado State Stadium (2017) |
Address | 751 West Pitkin Street |
Location | Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S. |
Coordinates | 40°34′12″N105°05′19″W / 40.5700°N 105.0885°W |
Owner | Colorado State University |
Operator | Colorado State University |
Capacity | 36,500, 41,000 standing |
Surface | Shaw Sports Artificial turf |
Construction | |
Broke ground | September 14, 2015 [1] |
Opened | August 5, 2017 [2] |
Construction cost | $220.1 million [3] ($263 million in 2022 [4] ) |
Architect | Populous ICON Venue Group |
General contractor | M. A. Mortenson Co. |
Tenants | |
Colorado State Rams (NCAA) (2017–present) | |
Website | |
csurams.com/canvas-stadium |
Canvas Stadium, officially Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The home field of the CSU Rams of the Mountain West Conference, it opened six years ago on August 5, 2017, and hosted its first game three weeks later. It replaced Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium, which had been the Rams' home since 1968. Canvas Stadium has a seating capacity of 36,500, but can hold as many as 41,000. [5]
The field has a conventional north–south alignment at an elevation of 5,003 feet (1,525 m) above sea level.
After a nearly two-year process including cost and financing changes, protests, community outreach, and an inter-governmental agreement with the city of Fort Collins, the $220 million, 41,000-capacity on-campus multi-purpose stadium began construction in May 2015.
In 2013, the university began raising funds for a ~40,000-seat on-campus facility to replace Hughes Stadium. The project was partially driven by major decreases in state funding for CSU in recent decades. As a result, CSU has been seeking to draw more out-of-state students, whose current tuition is three times that of Colorado residents. CSU president Anthony A. Frank included the new stadium as part of this goal saying "the new facility will help build a winning football team while advancing one of the school's highest priorities: attracting more out-of-state students". [6]
According to The Wall Street Journal ,
"Skeptics, including some alumni and faculty, see the project as a boondoggle—especially for a team that plays in a relatively low-profile athletic conference and doesn't sell out its current 32,500-seat stadium off campus. The debate has sparked dueling websites, animated letters to the editor and arguments about the role of sports at a university." [6]
Many community members expressed frustration that they did not feel they were being heard at the CSU Board of Governors meeting when final approval was given. After the vote Board chair, Dorothy Horrell, thanked those making comments for their input and reiterated her feeling that
"the decision to build an on-campus stadium was made after "thoughtful and thorough examination of this issue" that is reflected in the board's records. "As my parents used to tell me, just because I ask a question and didn't get the answer I wanted, it isn't that the question wasn't answered," Horrell said. "And I would just remind us all of that." [7]
The new stadium, initially estimated to cost $246 million, was originally only to be built if $125 million in private funds had been raised by October 2014. [6] Plans were put on hold after fundraising support for the project failed to materialize as expected, according to a September 26, 2014, story in the Denver Business Journal. On November 29, 2014, Frank sent a memo to the school's board of governors recommending that the new stadium be approved without raising the 50% cost in public funds as previously planned. The memo estimated that a 35,900-seat facility would cost $195 million; building with a capacity of 41,200 would cost $220 million. [8] Frank also estimated that renovating Hughes Stadium to last 30 to 40 years would cost a minimum of $149 million. [8]
The board of governors approved a new on campus multi-purpose stadium on December 5, 2014. At that time, NBCSports.com writer Brent Sobleski speculated that the hiring of Rams head coach Jim McElwain for the head coaching vacancy at Florida days earlier may have swayed the board, noting, "An improving program and a new stadium could help lure another top-level candidate like the school previously did when McElwain was initially hired." [9] CSU went on to hire Mike Bobo from the SEC like McElwain before him. University of Georgia's Coach Bobo was named the nation's Offensive Coordinator of the Year in 2013 by 247Sports.com. [10] Georgia also had the top scoring offense in the SEC in 2014, Bobo's last season before heading to CSU. [11]
Construction of the new stadium, tentatively known as Colorado State Stadium, began in May 2015; the official groundbreaking ceremony was held the weekend of CSU's September 12, 2015 home football game against Minnesota. The first game in the new stadium was August 26, 2017, when the Rams defeated Oregon State 58–27. [12]
In March 2016, the university announced that it had received an anonymous gift of $20 million over a 30-year period with the express purpose of naming the playing field at the new stadium after former Rams head coach Sonny Lubick, whose name was also attached to the playing field at Hughes Stadium. [13] This gift was roughly the amount that the university had hoped to make by selling the naming rights to both the stadium and the field. [14]
In August of that year, New Belgium Brewing Company, an iconic, local Fort Collins brewery, donated $4.3 million to put its name and its product on the party deck of the north end zone of the $220 million stadium. [15] This new bar area is called the New Belgium Porch.
On April 19, 2018, CSU announced it had sold the naming rights of the stadium itself to Public Service Credit Union for $37.7 million over 15 years. The actual name was not revealed at that time because PSCU was in the process of adopting a new name, [14] which was ultimately revealed on June 5 of that year as Canvas Credit Union. Accordingly, the stadium became Canvas Stadium. [16]
Canvas Stadium has a seating capacity of 36,500, but can hold as many as 41,000. [5]
Rank | Attendance | Date | Game Result |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 37,583 | August 26, 2017 | Colorado State 58, Oregon State 27 |
2 | 36,765 | October 14, 2017 | Colorado State 44, Nevada 42 |
3 | 36,514 | October 13, 2018 | Colorado State 20, New Mexico 18 |
4 | 35,009 | October 15, 2022 | Utah State 17, Colorado State 13 |
5 | 34,780 | October 9, 2021 | San Jose State 14, Colorado State 32 |
6 | 33,074 | October 28, 2017 | Colorado State 28, Air Force 45 |
7 | 32,327 | September 3, 2021 | Colorado State 23, South Dakota State 42 |
8 | 32,166 | November 11, 2017 | Colorado State 52, Boise State 59OT |
9 | 32,125 | October 26, 2018 | Wyoming 34, Colorado State 21 |
10 | 31,894 | September 8, 2018 | Arkansas 27, Colorado State 34 |
11 | 31,007 | August 25, 2018 | Colorado State 34, Hawaii 43 |
12 | 30,300 | November 12, 2022 | Wyoming 14, Colorado State 13 |
13 | 29,767 | October 5, 2019 | San Diego State 24, Colorado State 10 |
14 | 27,641 | September 10, 2022 | Middle Tennessee State 34, Colorado State 19 |
15 | 27,233 | September 11, 2021 | Vanderbilt 24, Colorado State 21 |
16 | 27,038 | September 9, 2017 | Colorado State 38, Abilene Christian 10 |
17 | 26,259 | September 22, 2018 | Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19 |
18 | 25,753 | November 19, 2017 | San Jose State 14, Colorado State 42 |
19 | 25,550 | November 13, 2021 | Air Force 38, Colorado State 21 |
20 | 25,445 | September 24, 2022 | Sacramento State 41, Colorado State 10 |
Colorado State University is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agricultural College, and in 1935 was renamed the Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1957, the Colorado General Assembly approved its current name, Colorado State University.
Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium was an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was the home field of the Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference from 1968 through 2016; the team moved in 2017 to the new on-campus Colorado State Stadium.
Louis Matthew "Sonny" Lubick is a retired American football coach. He was the 15th head football coach at Colorado State University from 1993 to 2007. Lubick won or shared six Western Athletic Conference or Mountain West Conference titles, guided the program to nine bowl games and was named National Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1994.
The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sponsors Division I FBS football. The Conference was formed in 1999, splitting from the former 16-member Western Athletic Conference. CSU has won nine MWC tournament championships and won or shared 11 regular season titles. Rams football teams won or shared the Mountain West title in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
The 2007 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the college football 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, CO and were led by head coach Sonny Lubick in his final season at CSU. The Rams finished the season 3–9 for eighth place in the Mountain West Conference.
Harry Walker Hughes was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track, and college athletics administrator. From 1911 to 1941, he served as the head football coach and athletic director at the Agricultural College of Colorado, renamed Colorado A&M in 1935 and now known as Colorado State University, compiling a record of 126–96–18.
Robert Michael Bobo is an American college football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was the head coach of the Colorado State Rams football team from 2015 to 2019.
The Colorado State Rams football program represents Colorado State University and is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference. Since joining the Mountain West, the Rams have been conference champions or co-champions in 1999, 2000 and 2002. The Rams have long-standing rivalries with Colorado, Wyoming, and Air Force. The team is currently led by first-year head coach Jay Norvell, who was hired in December 2021.
The 2012 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by first year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
The 2004 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, CO and were led by head coach Sonny Lubick.
The 2013 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by second-year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 8–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in third place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated Washington State.
The 2014 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by third-year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they lost to Utah 45–10.
The 1994 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the 98th year of football at CSU and the second under Sonny Lubick. The Rams played their home games at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. They finished the season 10–2, and 7–1 in the Western Athletic Conference. As champions of the WAC, they were invited to the 1994 Holiday Bowl, where they lost to the Michigan Wolverines.
The 2017 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by third-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at the newly built Sonny Lubick Field at Colorado State Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Marshall.
The 2018 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.
The 2019 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fifth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. The Rams finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.
The 2020 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Originally, there was a cancellation of the 2020 season for the Mountain West Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was reversed when the conference agreed to play a conference-only, eight game season. The Rams were to play their opening game at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado against New Mexico, but the game was canceled due to virus restrictions. The Rams were led by first-year head coach Steve Addazio.
The 2021 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by second–year head coach Steve Addazio and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.
The 2022 Colorado State Rams football team represents Colorado State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams are led by first-year head coach Jay Norvell and play their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.
The 2023 Colorado State Rams football team represents Colorado State University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams are led by second-year head coach Jay Norvell and play their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.