Notre Dame stadium - wikipedia Notre Dame stadium Notre Dame Stadium The House That Rockne Built Notre Dame Stadium in July 2009 Address 2010 Moose Krause Circle Location Notre Dame, Indiana Coordinates 41 ° 41 ′ 53 '' N 86 ° 14 ′ 02 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 41.698 ° N 86.234 ° W ﻿ / 41.698 ; - 86.234 Coordinates : 41 ° 41 ′ 53 '' N 86 ° 14 ′ 02 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 41.698 ° N 86.234 ° W ﻿ / 41.698 ; - 86.234 Owner University of Notre Dame Operator University of Notre Dame Capacity 54,000 ( 1930 -- 1965 ) 59,075 ( 1966 -- 1996 ) 80,225 ( 1997 ) 80,012 ( 1998 -- 1999 ) 80,232 ( 2000 ) 80,795 ( 2001 -- 2016 ) 77,622 ( 2017 -- present ) Surface Natural grass ( 1930 -- 2013 ) FieldTurf ( 2014 -- present ) Construction Broke ground 1929 ; 89 years ago ( 1929 ) Opened October 4, 1930 ; 88 years ago ( 1930 - 10 - 04 ) Construction cost $ 750,000 Architect Osborn Engineering General contractor Sollitt Construction Company Tenants Notre Dame Fighting Irish ( NCAA ) ( 1930 -- present ) Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It is located on the university 's campus and also hosts commencement. Opened 88 years ago on October 4, 1930, the stadium seating capacity was nearly 60,000 for decades. More than 21,000 seats were added for the 1997 season, which increased the capacity to over 80,000. After the Campus Crossroads renovation, the seat number decreased to 77,622. The playing surface was changed to FieldTurf in 2014, after 84 seasons on natural grass. Contents 1 History 2 Lighting 3 `` Touchdown Jesus '' 4 Campus Crossroads 5 Attendance 6 Other Events 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History The stadium opened its gates on October 4, 1930, replacing Cartier Field. The total cost of construction exceeded $ 750,000 and the original seating capacity was 54,000. Head coach Knute Rockne played a key role in its design, keeping the space between the playing field and the stands to a minimum. The stadium is patterned, on a smaller scale, after Michigan Stadium, the main difference being the tunnel location. In 1929, plans were started by Osborn Engineering of Cleveland, selected for their experience in designing Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. The original stadium held 59,075 people, measured a half - mile ( 800 m ) in circumference, stood 45 feet ( 14 m ) high, and featured a glass - enclosed press box rising 60 feet ( 18 m ) above ground level. Initial stands reached 55 rows. The building was built by the Sollitt Construction Company of South Bend. Earth preparation began in the fall of 1929, but due to an unusually cold fall and winter, above ground construction did not begin until April 2, 1930. This building was effectively built in six months. Over two million bricks were used in the construction of the walls and the concrete was placed in a monolithic continuous placement by section. There were over 300 workers on the site at most times and they worked five 10 - hour days and one six - hour day on Saturdays. The average worker was paid one dollar a day plus lunch with the more skilled workers earning up to five dollars a day. Notre Dame stadium between circa 1930 and 1945 The construction of the stadium project was brought to a head by the actions of Knute Rockne. The 1928 season had not been a stellar one for the football team, but the net profits from football for that season approached $500,000. Rockne was frustrated with the slow and cautious Holy Cross priests and their decision making process about spending money on the new stadium. Rockne could not believe that a decision could not be made when there was such a large amount of money in the bank. Because of this and a number of other issues, Rockne submitted his resignation to Father O'Donnell, the president of the university. O'Donnell knew of Rockne 's history of submitting his resignations and he also knew that nothing would ever completely satisfy Rockne. O'Donnell was willing to find a compromise but was also unwilling to put the university in debt to finance the stadium. He knew that the excess receipts from 1928 season and the projected receipts from playing all the away games in 1929 on neutral fields would bring adequate cash into the university to finance the construction of the stadium. O'Donnell also devised the scheme to finance 240 six - person `` reserved box seats ''. This precursor of the personal seat license would allow the buyer to purchase tickets at face value and guarantee the same prime location for 10 years for an investment of $3,000 between the 45 - yard lines, $2,500 between the 45 and 35 - yard line and $2,000 between the 35 and the 25 - yard line. The university raised over $150,000 on this idea alone. The Irish played their first game in the new stadium in 1930 on October 4, beating SMU 20 -- 14. The first Notre Dame touchdown in the stadium was scored by `` Jumping Joe '' Savoldi on a 98 - yard kickoff return. The official dedication was a week later on October 11 against Navy, and Savoldi scored three touchdowns and was cited as `` the first hero in the lore of Notre Dame Stadium. '' As originally built, the stadium seated 54,000 people. However, with temporary bleachers, it could hold as many as 61,000 people. By 1966, its capacity increased to 59,075, mainly by changing the average seat width from 18 to 17 inches ( 45.7 to 43.2 cm ). In 1997, 21,000 new seats were added to the stadium, bringing the seating capacity to the present 80,795. The playing surface had always been natural grass through 2013, but it was announced on April 12, 2014, that after the commencement weekend, the playing field would be replaced with FieldTurf, an infilled artificial turf. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, in making the announcement, cited recent difficulties with maintaining an acceptable grass surface, and added that the change would allow the stadium to be used for football practices and non-football events. During 2013, the university replaced the grass surface four times, including twice during the football season. Notre Dame Stadium Panorama On January 29, 2014, the university announced plans to attach three new buildings to the stadium, totaling more than 750,000 square feet in expansions and costing about $400 million, with a timetable of 33 months for completion. According to a published statement by university president John I. Jenkins, `` the integrated nature of this project will maintain the compact walkability of campus, facilitate deeper connection and collaboration across the various units of the university, and offer an exciting addition '' to the campus. The FieldTurf installation, as scheduled, began after Commencement Weekend on May 16 -- 18, and the university sold 2 - by - 5 - foot ( 61 by 152 cm ) sections of the old turf to the public for $150 each. Lighting Prior to the 1997 expansion, Notre Dame Stadium lacked permanent field lights. In 1982, portable lighting by Musco Lighting was used for the first night game in the stadium 's history on September 18 versus Michigan. Permanent lights were installed as part of the expansion. The lights were paid for by NBC, which has held the exclusive television rights to all home games since 1991. The permanent lights were added primarily to ensure sufficient lighting for mid-afternoon games in November ; the university 's agreements with NBC from 1991 to 2010 stipulated that there be no home night games. However, the stadium hosted its first night game in 21 years on October 22, 2011 when the Irish hosted USC. It was announced in 2015 that Musco would be installing a LED field lighting system as part of the 2014 -- 2017 stadium renovation and expansion project. `` Touchdown Jesus '' `` Touchdown Jesus '' is visible from inside the stadium The stadium is known for its view of `` Touchdown Jesus '', a nickname given to the large mural entitled The Word of Life by Millard Sheets of the resurrected Jesus. Installed in 1964 on the Hesburgh Library, the mosaic wall looms over the stadium. The mural 's nickname is derived from Jesus ' upraised arms, which are similar in appearance to the raised arms of a referee signifying a touchdown. The expansion of the stadium in the late 1990s partially obscured the view of the mural from the playing field. The Word of Life mural was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard V. Phalin of Winnetka, Illinois. Campus Crossroads The Duncan Student Center, part of Campus Crossroads In January 2014, the University announced a $ 400 million dollar enhancement of the stadium, the Campus Crossroads project. This expansion will feature 3, 8 - story high buildings, on the south, west and east sides of the stadium. The expansion will add more than 750,000 square feet of teaching, research, and performance space. The enhancement will also add new premium stadium seats. The three buildings are called the Duncan Student Center on the west, O'Neill Hall on the south, and Corbett Family Hall on the east. Attendance Prior to 1966, attendance figures were based on an actual count of patrons through the gates. The largest crowd to attend a home game prior to expansion was 61,296 in 1962, against Purdue on October 6. Since 1966, attendance figures have been based on paid admissions with a fixed number of tickets available, accounting for the familiar 59,075 figure through the 1996 season. Until Ara Parseghian arrived as coach at Notre Dame in 1964, sellouts were not the norm. Since then, tickets for Notre Dame football have been notoriously hard to come by. As of the end of the 2015 season, there have been 249 consecutive sellouts at Notre Dame Stadium, and 294 sellouts in the past 295 games dating back to 1964. The lone exception was a 1973 game against Air Force which had been moved midseason by ABC to Thanksgiving Day and was played with the students absent. The announced attendance was 57,235. Attendance at all five home games in 1965 exceeded 59,000 as well. A view from the east side of the Notre Dame Stadium showing ( from left to right ) the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Golden Dome atop the Administration Building and the Hesburgh Library with the mural of `` Touchdown Jesus '' The official capacity was listed at 80,225 when the stadium was first expanded. A subsequent computer revision put it at 80,012 in 1998 and 80,232 in 2000. Sideline bleachers, which had been removed during expansion, were put back in after a few years, bringing the figure to its present 80,795 in 2001. In January 2014 the University of Notre Dame announced the campus crossroads project. A $400 million renovation would add luxury boxes and increase the stadium 's capacity to around 85,000, but after the project was completed the seats were made wider and the number decreased to 77,622. The project began after the conclusion of the 2014 football season and finished in time for the 2017 season. Other events The stadium is scheduled to host the 2019 NHL Winter Classic on New Years ' Day between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. On October 20, 2018, the stadium hosted Garth Brooks as the very first concert in the stadium. It is the first stop on his stadium tour, and it was also announced during the concert that he would also end his tour at Notre Dame Stadium. See also List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums References Jump up ^ `` The Fighting Irish ''. Twitter. 2 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2017. @ NDFootball opens the enhanced Notre Dame Stadium to a packed crowd of 77,622. Jump up ^ `` New stadiums : Old Gray Lady and others -- StadiumDB.com ''. stadiumdb.com. Archived from the original on 2015 - 09 - 25. Jump up ^ Notre Dame archives Jump up ^ Being Catholic, Being American The Notre Dame Story, 1842 -- 1934, Robert E Burns, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame Indiana, 1999 ^ Jump up to : `` Synthetic Turf to be Installed in Notre Dame Stadium by 2014 Football Season '' ( Press release ). Notre Dame Athletics. April 12, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Notre Dame sells turf for $150 ''. ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Notre Dame Spending $400 Million on Football Stadium Renovation ''. Article. Newsmax. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Notre Dame, NBC agree to deal through 2015 ''. www.azcentral.com. Jump up ^ `` Notre Dame Football Official Schedule : : Notre Dame Football : : UND.COM : : The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics ''. www.und.com. Archived from the original on 2015 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Musco Press Release University of Notre Dame - Musco Sports Lighting - ''. www.musco.com. Archived from the original on 2016 - 01 - 08. Jump up ^ University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries, Hesburgh ( Main ) Library Word of Life Mural Archived 2006 - 08 - 07 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Columnist, Bill Moor Tribune. `` Seats are two inches wider at new Notre Dame Stadium. Yes, it 's a big difference ''. South Bend Tribune. External links Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Venues Cartier Field ( 1889 -- 1928 ) Soldier Field ( 1929 ) Notre Dame Stadium ( 1930 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College : Holy War Michigan Michigan State Navy Northwestern Pittsburgh Purdue Stanford USC Culture & lore All - time series results History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun `` Notre Dame, Our Mother '' `` Notre Dame Victory March '' Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 `` Game of the Century '' 1966 `` Game of the Century '' Catholics vs. Convicts 1993 `` Game of the Century '' Bush Push Navy ends the drought Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy People Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees Statistical leaders Seasons 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 National championship seasons in bold University of Notre Dame Located in : Notre Dame, Indiana Topics Alumni History Campus Congregation of Holy Cross Notre Dame, Indiana Commencement Schools and Colleges College of Arts and Letters College of Engineering College of Science Law School Mendoza College of Business School of Architecture Academics Center for the Study of Religion and Society Environmental Research Center History of Science Society Journal of Legislation Medieval Institute Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy Notre Dame OpenCourseWare ESTEEM Program Driehaus Architecture Prize American Midland Naturalist Campus buildings Basilica of the Sacred Heart Bond Hall Cartier Field Compton Family Ice Arena Edmund P. 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Sorin ( statue ) Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg Christ and the Samaritan Woman Notre Dame Old Fieldhouse Key people Fr. Edward Sorin Fr. Theodore Hesburgh Knute Rockne Fr. John Zahm Fr. Edward Malloy Fr. Julius Nieuwland Dan Devine Frank Leahy Ara Parseghian Lou Holtz John I. Jenkins Muffet McGraw Football stadiums of NCAA Division I FBS independent schools Michie Stadium ( Army ) LaVell Edwards Stadium ( BYU ) Williams Stadium ( Liberty ) Aggie Memorial Stadium ( New Mexico State ) Notre Dame Stadium ( Notre Dame ) Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium ( UMass ) College football venues in Indiana Division I FBS Big Ten Memorial Stadium ( Indiana ) Ross -- Ade Stadium ( Purdue ) MAC Scheumann Stadium ( Ball State ) Independent Notre Dame Stadium ( Notre Dame ) Division I FCS Missouri Valley Memorial Stadium ( Indiana State ) Pioneer Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl ( Butler ) Brown Field ( Valparaiso ) Division II GLVC Alumni Stadium ( Saint Joseph 's ) Key Stadium ( Indianapolis ) Division III Heartland Carl W. Burt Memorial Stadium ( Manchester ) Cook Stadium ( Rose -- Hulman ) Faught Stadium ( Franklin ) L.S. Ayres Field ( Hanover ) Macholtz Stadium ( Anderson ) Darrell M. Beane Memorial Stadium ( Earlham ) MIAA Shive Field ( Trine ) North Coast Blackstock Stadium ( DePauw ) Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium ( Wabash ) NAIA Mid-States Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium ( Saint Francis ) George C. Grosskopf Stadium ( Marian ) Jim Wheeler Stadium ( Taylor ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Notre_Dame_Stadium&oldid=865079802 '' Categories : 1930 establishments in Indiana American football venues in Indiana College football venues Notre Dame Fighting Irish football venues Sports venues completed in 1930 Sports venues in South Bend, Indiana University of Notre Dame buildings and structures Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Article Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Polski Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 21 October 2018, at 16 : 08 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did notre dame go to artificial turf
Answer: in 2014