Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U - shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston , Massachusetts , in the United States . Built in 1903 , the stadium seats 30 , 323 . The stadium seated up to 57 , 166 in the past , as permanent steel stands ( completing a straight - sided oval ) were installed in the north end of the stadium in 1929 . They were torn down after the 1951 season due to deterioration and reduced attendance . Afterwards , there were smaller temporary steel bleachers across the open end of the stadium until the building of the Murr Center ( which is topped by the new scoreboard ) in 1998 . History . Harvard ' s stadium was constructed on 31 acres of land known as Soldiers Field donated to Harvard University by Henry Lee Higginson in 1890 . The structure similar in shape to the Panathenaic Stadium , the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896 , was completed in just four and a half months costing $ 310 , 000 . Much of the funds raised came from a 25th Reunion gift by Harvard ' s Class of 1879 . It is the home of the football team of Harvard , whose all - time record ( at the end of the 2010 season ) at the stadium is 427 - 222 - 34 ( . 650 ) . The stadium also hosted the Crimson track and field teams until 1984 and was the home of the Boston Patriots during the 1970 season . It is also the host of music festival s like the Amandla Festival , where Jamaica n reggae legend Bob Marley performed a historic concert in 1979 . Janis Joplin performed her last show at the stadium in 1970 , shortly before her death . During the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles , the stadium hosted several football preliminaries . In 2007 , the Boston Cannons , a professional lacrosse team for Major League Lacrosse , moved their home site to the stadium . They previously played at Boston University ' s Nickerson Field . In 2006 , Harvard installed both FieldTurf and lights allowing it to become the home stadium of the Boston Cannons . On September 22 , 2007 , Harvard played its first night game at the stadium , against Brown University , winning 24 – 17 . Beginning on April 11 , 2009 , Harvard Stadium became the home field of the Boston Breakers of the Women ' s Professional Soccer ( WPS ) league when they beat Saint Louis Athletica 2 - 0 . Lewis Jerome Johnson , Prof . Civil Engineering , Harvard University , was a consultant to the design team for the Harvard Stadium . It is historically significant that this stadium represents the first vertical concrete structure to employ reinforced structural concrete . Prior to the erection of the stadium in 1902 , reinforced structural concrete was used in horizontal , that is flooring , sidewalks , etc . , design only . Prof . Johnson was the engineer of note responsible for incorporating the concept into the vertical structure of the stadium design . ( There is a plaque dedicating the stadium to his honor on the east end wall outside the stadium . ) Location . Although most of Harvard ' s campus is in Cambridge , Massachusetts , the stadium and most other intercollegiate athletic facilities , along with Harvard Business School , lie across the Charles River in the nearby Allston section of Boston . The stadium is the cornerstone of the Soldiers Field athletic complex , which also includes the baseball stadium , outdoor track , an artificial turf field hockey / lacrosse field , two soccer stadiums , pools , Beren Tennis Center ( outdoor ) , the Gordon Indoor Track , Dillon Fieldhouse , Lavietes Pavilion and Bright Hockey Center . Newell Boathouse , home of Harvard ' s men ' s crew , lies across Soldiers Field Road on the banks of the Charles .