Jack Trice Stadium Jack Trice Stadium ( originally Cyclone Stadium and formerly Jack Trice Field ) is a stadium , in Ames , Iowa , United States . It is primarily used for college football , and is the home field of the Iowa State Cyclones . It opened on September 20 , 1975 , with a 17 - 12 win over Air Force . It is the second - newest stadium in the Big 12 Conference behind only Milan Puskar Stadium of West Virginia ( which had its design based on Jack Trice Stadium ) , and is the sixth - largest by capacity in the conference . Including hillside seats in the corners of the stadium , the facility ' s official stated capacity is 55 , 000 , although attendance has been higher than this mark on a number of occasions since 2006 . The current record for single - game attendance , 56 , 800 , was set on October 13 , 2012 , when the Cyclones lost to Kansas State by a score of 27 - 21 . This was the first game that Iowa State played as a member of the USA Today Coaches ' Poll Top 25 since October 1 , 2005 when the Cyclones lost to Nebraska 27 - 20 in double overtime , and the first time that two ranked teams played at Jack Trice Stadium since September 28 , 2002 , a 36 - 14 win over Nebraska . Description . The stadium consists of double - decked grandstands running the length of either sideline , as well as a set of bleachers in the south end zone . The Richard O . Jacobson Athletic Building , an athletic center built in 1996 , is located in the north end zone . The field itself is slightly lower than the surrounding ground . There is a single main concourse for each of the grandstands . A three - level press box on the west side of the stadium was added to the stadium in 1997 for a cost of $ 6 . 2 million . Permanent lighting and a large video / scoreboard behind the bleachers in the south end zone were added in 2002 . Later in the summer of 2011 a second video / scoreboard was added on the north side . At triple the size of the previous scoreboard , it stands over the Jacobson Athletic Building . The new scoreboard consists of three levels on the inside , with a camera perch on top . The stadium is part of the Iowa State Center , a sports , entertainment and continuing education complex located to the southeast of the university ' s main campus . North of the stadium is Hilton Coliseum , home to Iowa State Cyclones basketball , wrestling , volleyball and gymnastics teams , as well as other events such as musical festivals , rock concerts and university commencement ceremonies . Jack Trice . In 1975 , the stadium ' s playing field was named in honor of Jack Trice , Iowa State ' s first African American athlete and the school ' s first athlete to die of injuries sustained during a Cyclone athletic competition . Until 1997 , the facility itself was known as Cyclone Stadium . Because of persistent requests by the students , the facility was renamed Jack Trice Stadium , making it the only one in Division I - A named for an African American individual . Construction . Initial construction . Jack Trice Stadium was completed in less than two years , from its ground breaking on Oct . 26 , 1973 , to the first game , a victory over Air Force on Sept . 20 , 1975 . In late 1973 and spring of 1974 , heavy earth - moving equipment shaped the embankments . A huge , movable form shaped the lower decks with thousands of cubic yards of concrete . Originally , the stadium had a capacity of 42 , 500 . Previous expansions and renovations . 1976 < br > In 1976 , bleachers were constructed in the end zone s to increase the stadium ' s capacity to more than 46 , 000 ( 50 , 000 with standing room tickets ) . Before then , all the seating was in the grandstands on the sidelines . 1995 - 1997 < br > The stadium complex was transformed in 1995 - 96 with the construction of the state - of - the - art 10 . 6 million Richard O . Jacobson Athletic Building , in the north end - zone of Jack Trice Stadium . The Jacobson Building is the home of Cyclone athletics containing all sport and administrative offices except men ' s and women ' s basketball and volleyball . The Ralph A . Olsen Building was also renovated at that time and it sits attached to the north end of the Jacobson Athletic Building . The Olsen Building , named in honor of prominent Ellsworth , Iowa farmer and ISU alumnus , houses the strength and conditioning facilities , the team meeting rooms , and the locker rooms . In 1996 , a natural grass field and new drainage system made its debut , the field had been AstroTurf since 1975 . In 1997 , the $ 6 . 2 million , three - level press tower located on the west side was added to Jack Trice Stadium . The new press tower includes press and radio - television levels and nine sky box suites . 2002 < br > The football atmosphere at Jack Trice Stadium was enhanced with the installation of a new million dollar videoboard and scoreboard which replace its black and white predecessor . Permanent lighting was also added to the side of the stadium for the 2002 season at a cost of $ 500 , 000 . Since then , ISU has played twice as many home night games as they did the previous 30 years . 2007 - 2009 < br > Between the 2007 and 2009 football seasons , Jack Trice received its largest renovation project to date . With the completion of $ 30 million in renovations , the stadium has 22 new suites , a new wider concourses with new concessions and bathrooms on the east and west side , a new club section , improved disability seating , new fencing and gates , a new plaza near the main entrance , and many preservative renovations throughout the stadium . The changes to suites also includes the expansion of two existing suites on the west side of the stadium and the installation of operable windows in all of the current suites . Funding for these renovations came completely from the sale of stadium suites , club seats , increased ticket revenues and fund raising . Richard O . " Dick " Jacobson donated $ 5 million to ISU athletics in 2008 , for the purpose of continuing renovations to Jack Trice Stadium . There will be a Jacobson Plaza constructed near the stadiums main entrance in his honor . This donation was the largest donation ever made to ISU athletics . 2011 < br > A new video / scoreboard was installed on the north end of Jack Trice Stadium . The new video board is one of the top 15 largest used in a college football stadium . The screen measures 36 feet high and 79 . 5 feet wide and has a resolution of 720 x 1 , 584 . The new video board was completed for the 2011 football season . Future expansion . On May 1 , 2008 , ISU Athletic Department was given permission from the Iowa Board of Regents to continue planning and fund raising for the Jack Trice Expansion . Iowa State Athletics will once more have to get permission from the Iowa Board of Regents before the construction of the final phase can be completed , the south end - zone . This final addition will include enclosing the south end zone , which will include an upper deck , and connecting the east side concourse to the west side concourse . Originally , the south end - zone project was scheduled to be completed at the same time as the east concourse ; however , funding has not yet been secured for the south end - zone expansion which is estimated at $ 55 million , so the two projects are now being completed separately . On a call in show , ISU athletic director stated that more facility improvements will be continuing over the next few years . Iowa State ' s head football coach Paul Rhoads has also made similar comments although there has been no official release . It is believed that the university will be building a new training facility and office building next to the current one starting next year ( 2012 ) and that work on the South end zone expansion will begin in 2013 . Largest Crowds . Listed are the top ten largest crowds in the stadium ' s history :