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Cardinal Stadium | |
Former names | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (1998–2018) Cardinal Stadium (2018–2023) |
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Location | 2800 South Floyd Street Louisville, KY 40209 |
Coordinates | 38°12′21″N85°45′32″W / 38.20583°N 85.75889°W |
Owner | University of Louisville |
Operator | University of Louisville |
Capacity | 60,800 |
Record attendance | 59,225 (November 25, 2023) |
Surface | FieldTurf Revolution |
Construction | |
Broke ground | June 19, 1996 [1] |
Opened | September 5, 1998 [2] |
Expanded | 2018 |
Construction cost | $135 million ($252 million in 2023 dollars [3] ) |
Architect | Rosser International Luckett & Farley |
General contractor | Huber, Hunt & Nichols [4] |
Tenants | |
Louisville Cardinals (NCAA) (1998–present) | |
Website | |
gocards.com/l-n-federal-credit-union-stadium |
L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, also known as L&N Stadium and formerly known as Cardinal Stadium and Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, is a football stadium located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the southern end of the campus of the University of Louisville. Debuting in 1998, it serves as the home of the Louisville Cardinals football program. The official seating capacity in the quasi-horseshoe-shaped facility was 42,000 through the 2008 season. An expansion project that started after the 2008 season was completed in time for the 2010 season has brought the official capacity to 55,000. [5] An additional expansion project aiming to close the open end of the horseshoe to add 6,000 additional seats was announced on August 28, 2015, and was completed in 2019. [6]
Due to the Kentucky General Assembly being unable to provide any public funding, construction of the stadium began with private funds, which included the reclamation of the land upon which the South Louisville Rail Yard was situated. The soils of the 92-acre (37 ha) brownfield site contained 47 different contaminants of concern before the project began. The rail yard's shift horn was saved and installed in the stadium's north end zone scoreboard and is sounded whenever the Cardinals score.
The new parking at the stadium allowed many commuting students more parking access. This ultimately led to more redevelopment of on-campus parking lots, turning them into various athletic facilities.
In 2000, Central Avenue was widened and extended from Taylor Boulevard to Crittenden Drive, a major redevelopment project. Because the road connected Churchill Downs, an entrance to the Kentucky Exposition Center (which is home to Freedom Hall) and the university's new baseball venue, Jim Patterson Stadium, all located within a mile of each other, the road has now been dubbed as "Louisville's Sports Corridor".
The stadium was named for old Cardinal Stadium, which was located at the Kentucky Exposition Center, but with corporate naming rights formerly providing a prefix to the main name. John Schnatter, a native of nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana, donated $5 million for the naming rights to the stadium, which he used to christen the venue for his Papa John's Pizza chain. [7] Schnatter made a further $10 million donation for the stadium's expansion, [7] and extended the naming rights to the year 2040. [8]
The stadium was christened on September 5, 1998; the Cardinals lost the opening game to the Kentucky Wildcats 68–34 [9] but won all other home games that year. [9]
On July 13, 2018, the stadium was renamed Cardinal Stadium by University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi. The change was a reaction to Schnatter using a racial slur on a Papa John's conference call. [10]
On January 30, 2023, the stadium was renamed L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. A 20-year, $41.3 million naming rights agreement between the university and financial institution was officially announced during a U of L board of trustees meeting. [11] The stadium site of the former South Louisville Rail Yard is also the original site of the credit union, founded in 1954 to serve L&N Railroad workers but now serving the Louisville metropolitan area, as well as the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky area and several counties in southeast Kentucky. [12]
At the north end of the stadium is the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex, which houses the football offices and the conditioning center for the football team. Also at the north end is a bronze statue of Johnny Unitas, NFL great and the most famous football alumnus of the university. The seating expansion in the North end zone is loosely based on the North end zone seating structure of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks Lumen Field. As part of game day tradition, each Cardinal player touches the base of the statue before entering the field prior to kickoff. In 2006 the $10 million Trager Center, an indoor practice facility opened just north of the Schnellenberger Complex, providing a dry and warm area to allow undisrupted practices in Louisville's highly variable weather.
An interesting feature is the Brown and Williamson Club located at the rear of the stadium's press box. It contains several large ball rooms and is rented out for receptions to bring in additional revenue. It is also often used by the school to host prominent visiting speakers. The venue overlooks the school's new Jim Patterson Stadium and Jewish Hospital Sports Medicine complex, which was completed in 2005.
At the start of the 2006 football season, a new state-of-the-art HD scoreboard was installed in the north end zone. It is three times as large as the previous scoreboard. A new red LED scoreboard was also installed in the south end zone, as was a lighted "University of Louisville" sign around the upper rim of the exterior of the east stands, which increases the stadium's visibility from Interstate 65.
The stadium has hosted many events apart from U of L football, among them soccer matches, including fixtures for the US women's national team; concerts; auto shows; and the annual DCI Louisville drum & bugle corps competition, hosting several corps from the midwest.
In high school football, it has hosted a local event known as the Ray Adams Charger Classic, plus various other games. Most notably, Cardinal Stadium is the regular host of two major city rivalries—the Catholic rivalry between St. Xavier and Trinity, which regularly draws crowds in the 35,000 range; and the Male-Manual game, a public-school battle which is the longest running, continuously played high school football rivalry in America. It was also the annual site of the Kentucky state high school football championship games until the 2009 season, when the games were moved to Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Eventually, they were moved to Kroger Field at the University of Kentucky.
Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour / Concert name | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 10, 2001 | NSYNC | – | PopOdyssey | – | – | |
May 30, 2009 | Kenny Chesney | Lady Antebellum Miranda Lambert Sugarland Montgomery Gentry | Sun City Carnival Tour | 40,144 / 40,144 | $2,881,832 | |
May 28, 2016 | Kenny Chesney | Miranda Lambert Sam Hunt Old Dominion | Spread the Love Tour | 42,448 / 45,500 | $2,475,354 | |
June 16, 2017 | U2 | OneRepublic | The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 | 45,491 / 45,491 | $4,810,535 | |
June 30, 2018 | Taylor Swift | Camila Cabello Charli XCX | Reputation Stadium Tour | 52,138 / 52,138 | $4,928,219 | Highest attended concert at the stadium. Last event under the "Papa John's Cardinal Stadium" name. |
July 17, 2023 | Beyoncé | — | Renaissance World Tour | 41,818 / 41,818 | $6,450,896 | Highest-grossing boxscore report in the stadium's history. |
The Stadium has hosted multiple US Women's National Soccer Team fixtures.
The venue has also seen use for large religious events. Evangelist Billy Graham held one of his crusades at the stadium. The Bands of America Louisville Regional Championships, have also been held at the stadium numerous times, since 2004, hosting bands from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and other states around the region.
The stadium hosted Nitro Circus Live on July 9, 2016.
In October 2006, an official rendering and details were released of what an expanded stadium would look like and cost. The ambitious original plan called for an additional 21,600 seats and 70 suites added via a new upper deck on the side opposite the main press box area, all for an estimated price tag of $63 million, which is almost identical to the cost to build the original stadium.
On August 27, 2007, John Schnatter donated $10 million in support of the expansion, and extended naming rights through 2040. The Kentucky General Assembly, the state legislature, provided the balance of funding for the project. The stadium is therefore about 46% state-funded in total.
On December 1, 2008, construction started on the east side of the stadium, and the expansion was finished in Fall 2010. The expansion was scaled down from the original plans with about 13,000 additional seats (1,725 of which are higher-priced club seats) and 33 suites instead of the originally planned 70. There is also a 100-yard-long luxury room called the PNC Club, which is similar to the west-side Brown & Williamson Club but has a glassed-in view of the field. There is also standing space for 2,500 people on the new Norton Healthcare Terrace located on the south end (closed end) of the horseshoe-shaped stadium. The expansion, which eventually cost $72 million, also included 20 new rest rooms, two new 345' x 3' LED ribbon boards located on the fascia of the east and west sides of the stadium, a new 60' x 20' LED video board on the south end of the stadium, matching in size the existing board on the north end, and a new 13 x 9 LED board facing outside the stadium to the south.
As of November 2013, The University of Louisville is looking into future stadium expansion as the university announced it is accepting bids from organizations looking to study the possibility of adding seats to the North end zone of Cardinal Stadium. Former head coach Charlie Strong stated in September 2013 that he would like to see the stadium enclosed at the North end zone. The Stadium was originally designed with the ability to expand up to 80,000 seats.
The University of Louisville announced on December 1, 2014, that supporters have matched a $3 million gift given by Thorntons Inc. to construct a new academic center underneath the Norton Terrace. It will house all academic functions for the university's athletic department and place classes for student-athletes under one roof. The 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) facility will have tutorial space, laboratories, and offices and classrooms to serve more than 750 student-athletes across the university's 23 sports. Construction of the facility is expected to begin by the spring, and officials project work will be completed by fall 2016. [13]
The University of Louisville announced on August 28, 2015, that a new planned expansion would add 10,000 additional seats to the stadium at the north end zone, which would have brought the total number of seats in the stadium to 65,000; however, the university later decided to allocate seating space to other amenities so that only about 6,000 seats would be added in this project. [14] The football team continued playing in the stadium during construction, and the project was completed in 2019. The expansion added 10 field-level suites, 65 box seats at the club level, and 1,000 club seats with a VIP gathering area. [6]
Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in the Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan areas.
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was one of the first city-owned public colleges in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly to be a "Preeminent Metropolitan Research University". It enrolls students from 118 of 120 Kentucky counties, all 50 U.S. states, and 116 countries around the world.
SHI Stadium is the football stadium at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers Scarlet Knights football, Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse use the venue for home games. It is located on the Busch Campus at Rutgers, and overlooks the Raritan River to the South. The stadium was opened as Rutgers Stadium on September 3, 1994, when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights hosted the Kent State Golden Flashes. It currently seats 52,454 spectators after a 2009 expansion in the south end zone student section.
Tiger Stadium is an outdoor stadium located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on the campus of Louisiana State University. It is the home stadium of the LSU Tigers football team. Prior to 1924, LSU played its home games at State Field, which was located on the old LSU campus in Downtown Baton Rouge.
Howard Leslie Schnellenberger was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Colts and in college for the University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of Louisville, and Florida Atlantic University. He won a national championship with Miami in 1983.
The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry refers to the rivalry between the University of Kentucky Wildcats (Kentucky) and the University of Louisville Cardinals (Louisville). The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry is one of the most passionate rivalries, especially in men's college basketball. It is considered one of the most intense rivalries in the NCAA. The intensity of the rivalry is captivated by the proximity of the two schools and the commonwealth of Kentucky's interest in college sports.
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in the sport of American football. The Cardinals compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 1991 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, part of the 1990 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1991, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Louisville Cardinals, competing as a football independent. In what was the 20th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, Louisville won the game 34–7.
The 2009 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Rich Brooks, in his seventh and ultimately final season at Kentucky, and played its home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The Wildcats competed in the Southeastern Conference in its eastern division. They finished the season with a record of 7–6 and 3–5 in conference play, and were defeated by Clemson 21–13 in the Music City Bowl.
The 1993 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville as an independent during the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by ninth -year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Cardinals compiled a record of 9–3. Louisville was invited to the Liberty Bowl, where they beat Michigan State. The team played their home games in Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Governor's Cup is a trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football game between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in the commonwealth of Kentucky; it is also used as a reference to the rivalry itself.
The 2010 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats, led by first-year head coach Joker Phillips, competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. They finished the season 6–7, 2–6 in SEC play and were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl where they were defeated by Pittsburgh 10–27.
The 2009 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were coached by Steve Kragthorpe, who was in his third season at Louisville. The Cardinals played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals finished the season with a record 4–8 and 1–6 in Big East play. Kragthorpe was fired at the end of the season.
The 1991 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Cardinals compiled a record of 2–9. The team played their home games in Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 2010 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by head coach Charlie Strong, who was in his first season. They played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 3–4 in Big East play and were invited to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, where they defeated Southern Miss, 31–28.
The University of Louisville Cardinal Marching Band is the official marching band of the University of Louisville (UofL) in Louisville, Kentucky. It is considered a Music Ambassador for UofL. The CMB performs at all home football games at Cardinal Stadium, all postseason bowl games, and select away football games. It also plays at the annual Spring Scrimmage Game which pits the Cardinal Offense against the Cardinal Defense.
The 2011 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Charlie Strong and played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. They were a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference championship with Cincinnati and West Virginia. Due to tie-break rules, the Cardinals did not receive the Big East's automatic bid into a BCS bowl; West Virginia received the bid. The Cardinals were instead invited to the Belk Bowl, where they were defeated by North Carolina State, 31–24.
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The 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 150th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 24, 2019, and ended on December 14, 2019. The postseason concluded on January 13, 2020, with the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The LSU Tigers defeated the defending champion Clemson Tigers by a score of 42–25 to claim their first national championship in the College Football Playoff (CFP) era, and fourth overall. It was the sixth season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system.