Amon G. Carter Stadium

Last updated
Amon G. Carter Stadium
"Hell's Half Acre"; "The Carter"
Southern Methodist vs. Texas Christian football 2019 01 (opening kickoff).jpg
Stadium interior as seen in 2019
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
Location in Texas
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
Location in the United States
Location2850 Stadium Drive
Fort Worth, Texas 76129
Coordinates 32°42′35″N97°22′5″W / 32.70972°N 97.36806°W / 32.70972; -97.36806
Owner Texas Christian University
OperatorTexas Christian University
Capacity 47,000 (2020–present)

Former capacity:

List
    • 22,000 (1930–1947)
    • 30,500 (1948–1950)
    • 33,000 (1950–1952)
    • 37,000 (1953–1955)
    • 46,083 (1956–1990)
    • 44,008 (1991–2007)
    • 44,358 (2008–2010)
    • 32,000 (2011)
    • 45,000 (2012–2019)
Record attendance53,294 (TCU vs. Colorado, 2023)
SurfaceGrass: 1930–1972
Astro turf: 1973–1991
Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass: 1992–present
Construction
Broke ground1929
OpenedOctober 11, 1930;93 years ago (October 11, 1930)
Construction cost$164 million (2010–12 reconstruction)
$100 million (2020 East side expansion)
ArchitectWilliam Jasdon
HKS, Inc. (2010–12 reconstruction)
Tenants
TCU Horned Frogs (NCAA) (1930–present)
Armed Forces Bowl (NCAA) (2003–2009; 2012–present)
Website
gofrogs.com/stadium

Amon G. Carter Stadium is an open-air football stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the home stadium of the TCU Horned Frogs football team. It is named after Amon G. Carter, a prominent Fort Worth businessman, newspaper publisher, and city booster. Amon G. Carter stadium has several popular nicknames, the most popular being "The Carter" and "Hell's Half Acre" (a reference to the site in Fort Worth's Wild West past, which was located near the stadium).

Contents

Between 2010 and 2012, the stadium underwent a $164 million reconstruction project. In 2019, the stadium underwent an additional $118 million east-side expansion.

History

Planning and construction

Postcard of Texas Christian University Stadium, undated Texas Christian University Stadium (20106230).jpg
Postcard of Texas Christian University Stadium, undated

In 1923, TCU received a private donation from Mary Couts Burnett, the widow of a wealthy and well known Texas rancher. The Burnett donation constituted the egg for TCU's endowment. One condition of the Burnett donation was that a portion of it would be used for the construction of a new library, and it was decided to build the Mary Couts Burnett Library where the school's athletic field, Clark Field, was then located.

The removal of Clark Field necessitated the construction of a new field for athletic competition, especially in the sport of football. TCU played its first season of football in 1896, and since then had built a reputation of excellence garnering national attention, and joined the Southwest Conference in 1923.

In 1928, the school received a private financial donation from Amon G. Carter, publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a fervent civic booster of Fort Worth in general. Carter asked Andrew Poyar, one of the designers of Shields-Watkins Field (now Neyland Stadium) at the University of Tennessee, to create the blueprints for the structure.

Amon Carter stadium was constructed from 1929 to 1930 with an original seating capacity of 22,000. The stadium hosted its first football game on October 11, 1930, when TCU defeated the University of Arkansas.

In the 1930s under head coach Dutch Meyer, the Horned Frogs won national championships in 1935 and 1938.

Expansion

Amon Carter Stadium in 2008, prior to its demolition and reconstruction Amon Carter Stadium Grandstand.jpg
Amon Carter Stadium in 2008, prior to its demolition and reconstruction

The first expansion of the stadium took place in 1948, with construction raising the capacity by 8,500 to a total of 30,500. In 1951 and 1953, 2,500 and 4,000 more seats were added which raised capacity to 37,000 seats. An upper deck, topped by a two-story press box and highlighted with a large stylized "TCU", was added in 1956. This brought the stadium's capacity to 46,083.

In 1985 and 1991, improvements were made to the seating. This involved replacing the old seats in the lower bowl with aluminum bleachers. The upper-deck seats were later replaced in the same way. This reduced the stadium capacity to 44,008 spectators.

In 1992, the artificial turf, which had been in place since 1973, was replaced with natural grass. In 2002, the David E. Bloxom, Sr. Foundation helped install a new scoreboard and videoboard.

New club seats and luxury suites were added prior to the 2008 season, increasing capacity to 44,358, and again in 2020.

Renovation/Reconstruction

Amon Carter Construction Grandstand.jpg
Amon Carter Construction Endzone.jpg
Construction on the West grandstand and enzone in May 2011

In August 2010, TCU announced a $105 million renovation of the west side and north end zone of Amon G. Carter Stadium to better enhance football fans' experience, upgrade amenities, and transform the historic Fort Worth icon into the "Camden Yards" of collegiate football stadiums.

The planned renovation quickly expanded into a rebuild of the entire stadium above ground level, and partially below. Only the below-ground-level playing field and lower seating bowl were retained. Everything else, including much of the subterranean infrastructure, was rebuilt. The West-side stands were imploded on December 5, 2010, and the East-side stands were demolished during the early winter 2011. The stadium reconstruction was funded completely by donor support (no bonds or debt). The project was fully completed in 2012 at a total cost of $164 million.

In 2019 the stadium underwent an additional $118 million East side expansion.

Features

Attendance

The highest ever recorded attendance at Amon G. Carter was 53,294, which occurred in the 2023 season opener against Colorado. [1]

The 2012 home season was the first time an entire season was sold out at Amon G. Carter Stadium. [2]

Largest Crowds

RankDateAttendanceResult
1Sept. 2, 202353,294TCU 42, Colorado 45
2Sept. 23, 202351,243TCU 34, SMU 17
3Nov. 11, 202350,812TCU 26, Texas 29
4Nov. 14, 200950,307TCU 55, Utah 28
5Oct. 15, 202249,594TCU 43, Oklahoma State 40 2OT
6Oct. 1, 202249,095TCU 55, Oklahoma 24
7Oct. 3, 201548,694TCU 50, Texas 7
8Oct. 26, 201348,212TCU 7, Texas 30
9Sept. 16, 201548,127TCU 56, SMU 37
10Sept. 10, 201648,091TCU 38, Arkansas 41 2OT

Playing surface

Since 2003, the stadium's playing surface has been named W.A. "Monty & Tex" Moncrief Field, usually shortened to Moncrief Field, after W. A. "Tex" Moncrief Jr. and his father W. A. "Monty" Moncrief Sr. The naming came following a $3 million donation by Tex to the football program. [3]

Usage

Armed Forces Bowl

Panorama of the stadium, taken during the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium AFB 071231-F-7061J-012.JPEG
Panorama of the stadium, taken during the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl

The Armed Forces Bowl, previously the Fort Worth Bowl, has been played annually at Amon Carter Stadium since 2003. The bowl game was temporarily moved, however, to SMU's Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas for the 2010 and 2011 bowl seasons due to the reconstruction.

An earlier bowl game, the Fort Worth Classic, was played in Fort Worth at the predecessor to Amon Carter Stadium in 1921.

TCU Horned Frogs

Located on the TCU campus, Amon Carter Stadium is the home field of the TCU Horned Frogs football team and marching band.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

In February 2021, the parking lots of the stadium were used to stage a drive-through COVID-19 vaccination site. [4] The operation is a collaboration between TCU, Baylor Scott & White Health and Tarrant County Public Health, with doses being administered in part by faculty and students from both the TCU/UNT Health Science Center and TCU's Harris College of Nursing. [5] Over the course of twelve weeks, more than 19,000 vaccine doses were administered at the site. [6]

See also

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The 2016 Texas Christian Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 121st TCU football team played as a member of the Big 12 Conference and played their home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium, on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs were led by 16th-year head coach Gary Patterson, the winningest coach in TCU football history. They finished the season 6–7, 4–5 in Big 12 play to finish in fifth place. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they lost to Georgia.

The 1944 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1944 college football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 7–3–1 overall and 3–1–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Dutch Meyer in his eleventh year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where they lost to Oklahoma A&M by a score of 34–0.

The 1958 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1958 NCAA University Division football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 8–2–1 overall and 5–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Abe Martin in his sixth year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they played Air Force, with the game ending in a 0–0 tie.

The 1955 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1955 college football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 9–2 overall and 5–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Abe Martin in his third year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they lost to Ole Miss by a score of 13–14.

The 1959 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 8–3 overall and 5–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Abe Martin in his seventh year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Bluebonnet Bowl, where they lost to Clemson by a score of 23–7.

The 1933 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1933 college football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 9–2–1 overall and 4–2 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Francis Schmidt in his fifth and final year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 1956 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 8–3 overall and 5–1 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Abe Martin in his fourth year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they won against Syracuse by a score of 28–27.

The 1994 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 7–5 overall and 4–3 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Pat Sullivan, in his third year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they lost to Virginia by a score of 20–10.

The 1991 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 7–4 overall and 4–4 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Jim Wacker, in his ninth and final year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 1984 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 8–4 overall and 5–3 in the Southwest Conference for their first winning season since 1971. The team was coached by Jim Wacker, in his second year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl where they lost to West Virginia by a score of 14–31.

The 1965 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The Horned Frogs finished the season 6–5 overall and 5–2 in the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Abe Martin in his 13th year as head coach. The Frogs played their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, Texas. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they lost to Texas Western by a score of 13–12.

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Clark Field was a stadium located on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It served the as the home venue for the TCU Horned Frogs football team from 1924 until October 1930, when Amon G. Carter Stadium opened. Prior to 1924, TCU hosted its football games at Panther Park. TCU played its first game at Clark Field on September 26, 1924, beating East Texas State. The field was dedicated two weeks later, on October 11, when TCU defeated Oklahoma A&M. Clark Field was initially referred to as "University Stadium", "Frogland Stadium", and "the new playing field'. It was constructed at a cost of $40,000 and opened with a seating capacity of 7,500. Seating was later added, expanding the capacity to 25,000 by 1929. TCU also hosted track and field events at Clark Field beginning in the spring of 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 TCU Horned Frogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2022 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Horned Frogs played their home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Sonny Dykes. TCU compiled a perfect 12–0 regular season record; its first undefeated regular season since 2010. After an overtime loss in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game against Kansas State by a score of 31–28, TCU was selected as the third seed in the four-team College Football Playoff. In the semifinal round, TCU beat #2 Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. They defeated Michigan by a score of 51–45, becoming the first Big 12 team to win a College Football Playoff game as well as make the CFP National Championship game. TCU lost the National Championship game to the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 65–7 and finished the season ranked #2 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 TCU Horned Frogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2023 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University (TCU) in the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Horned Frogs were led by Sonny Dykes in his second season as their head coach.

References

  1. ↑ "Horned Frogs Drop Season Opener". TCU Athletics. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "TCU sells out season football tickets for first time" . Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "W.A. Monty & Tex Moncrief Field Dedication Set - TCU Horned Frogs Official Athletic Site". gofrogs.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Drive-Thru Vaccination Sites Open in Tarrant County". NBCDFW.com. February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Drive-through vaccine at TCU". Fort Worth Business Press. February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Fort Worth medical school receives provisional accreditation". Fort Worth Business Press. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
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