Alumni Stadium Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill , Massachusetts , approximately six miles west of downtown Boston . The stadium lies within the city limits of Boston , although its postal address is Chestnut Hill . It is the home of the Boston College Eagles . Its present seating capacity is 44 , 500 . History . Opened in 1915 as " Alumni Field , " Boston College ' s first stadium was located just south of Gasson Quadrangle , on the site of the present " Campus Green " , better known as the " Dustbowl . " While today that area of BC ' s campus is grass - covered and landscaped , the Dustbowl nickname originated as a description of Alumni Field in the years when it was intensely - used as a practice field , a baseball diamond , and a running track . Formally dedicated " as a memorial to the boys that were " on October 30 , 1915 , Alumni Field and its distinctive " maroon goal - posts on a field of green " were hailed in that evening ' s edition of the " Boston Saturday Evening Transcript " as " one of the sights in Boston . " The original grandstands , which could accommodate 2 , 200 spectators in 1915 , were enlarged over the subsequent years to 25 , 000 . Nonetheless Alumni Field often proved too small for BC football games which were frequently held at Fenway Park , and later Braves Field , beginning in the 1930s . On September 21 , 1957 , Alumni Stadium opened on Boston College ' s lower campus . The new stadium incorporated a football field encircled by a regulation track with a seating capacity of 26 , 000 . The dedication game , a match - up with the Midshipmen of the U . S . Naval Academy , was orchestrated with the help of BC benefactor and then - Massachusetts Senator John F . Kennedy . Kennedy , who had received his honorary degree at Commencement Exercises in Alumni Field the previous year , would return to Alumni Stadium on a number of occasions over the course of his political career , including a 1963 Convocation Address , one of his last public appearances . Alumni Stadium has hosted numerous intellectual and cultural luminaries , religious leaders and heads of state as the venue for Boston College ' s annual Commencement Exercises since 1957 . In addition to being the permanent home of the Boston College football team , Alumni Stadium hosted the Boston Patriots of the American Football League during the 1969 season . The stadium underwent a major renovation before the 1994 season which eliminated the track and increased capacity to 44 , 500 . Since 1998 , a - high bubble of inflatable vinyl has covered the stadium from December to March and allowed the field to be used as a winter practice facility . The field surface itself was converted to FieldTurf before the 2004 season . In the summer before the 2005 football season , the $ 27 million Yawkey Athletics Center opened at Alumni Stadium ' s north end zone , and the logo of the Atlantic Coast Conference was added to the FieldTurf . As the home of the Boston College Eagles , Alumni Stadium has been the site of numerous notable moments in Boston College football history . On September 17 , 2005 , Alumni Stadium hosted BC ' s inaugural game as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference .