Donald W . Reynolds Razorback Stadium Donald W . Reynolds Razorback Stadium is an American football stadium in Fayetteville , Arkansas and serves as the home field of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team since its opening in 1938 . The stadium was formerly known as Razorback Stadium since 1941 before being renamed in 2001 in honor of Donald W . Reynolds , an American businessman and philanthropist . The playing field in the stadium is named the Frank Broyles Field , honoring former Arkansas head football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles . Razorback Stadium increased the seating capacity from 50 , 019 to 72 , 000 ( with an option to expand capacity to 80 , 000 with temporary bleacher seating ) during the 2000 - 2001 renovations . History . Before 1938 , the Razorbacks played in a 300 - seat stadium built in 1901 on land on top of " The Hill " , which is now occupied by Mullins Library and the Fine Arts Center ( in the " center " of campus ) . The new stadium cost approximately $ 492 , 000 and was funded by the Works Progress Administration , with the University of Arkansas only paying 22 percent of the contact . The stadium opened for the 1938 football season as University Stadium , holding a capacity of 13 , 500 spectators . In the home opener for the Razorbacks , the Razorbacks defeated Oklahoma A & M by a score of 27 – 7 on September 24 , 1938 . The following week , Arkansas dedicated the stadium to then sitting Arkansas Governor Carl E . Bailey on October 3 , 1938 , changing the name of the stadium to Bailey Stadium . Following Governor Bailey ' s defeat in the 1940 gubernatorial election to Homer Martin Adkins , the stadium ' s name was changed in 1941 to Razorback Stadium . Athletic director Frank Broyles began searching for architects for the proposed $ 65 million stadium expansion and renovation in 1998 , believing that the renovation was needed in order for the Razorbacks to compete in the Southeastern Conference at a consistent level . Broyles hoped for a completion date of 2000 or 2001 and narrowed the search down to three architecture firms : Eisenman Architects of New York , Heery International of Atlanta and Rosser International of Atlanta . Broyles awarded the renovation contract to Heery International with local support from the Wittenberg , DeLoney and Davidson architecture firm of Fayetteville . The renovation was partly funded by the Donald W . Reynolds Foundation , when the foundation donated $ 21 million in 1999 to help renovate the stadium . What was then the largest LED display in a sports venue , the 30 by 107 foot screen produced by SmartVision was installed along with a new scoreboard at the northern end zone in 2000 . The expansion was completed before the beginning of the 2001 football season , increasing the permanent seating capacity to 72 , 000 from its previous capacity of 51 , 000 seats . The Razorback Stadium was renamed Donald W . Reynolds Razorback Stadium in honor of the generosity by the Reynolds Foundation on September 8 , 2001 , where Arkansas lost to Tennessee by a score of 13 – 3 . On November 3 , 2007 , the date of the last Fayetteville home game of the 2007 football season , the playing field was dedicated and named in honor of outgoing athletic director Frank Broyles . A major renovation to the stadium was proposed in 2011 by Athletic Director Jeff Long , unveiling the plans to enclose the north end zone . The proposed renovation is estimated at $ 78 million to $ 95 million , which would feature at least 5 , 000 new seats , including field - level suites and indoor and outdoor club areas . A new upgrade to the stadium for the 2012 season will double the size , 38 by 167 feet , of the previous LED screen , 30 by 107 feet . The upgrade is contracted through LSI Industries . Controversy . Since 1948 , home games were divided between two venues : Razorback Stadium and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock , Arkansas . Athletic director Frank Broyles wanted to move all home games to Razorback Stadium to help pay off the $ 30 million bond that was to be used for expanding and renovating the stadium in 1999 . Broyles pointed out that the expanded Razorback Stadium would increase revenue to $ 3 million per game compared to the $ 2 million per game for playing at War Memorial Stadium . However , Little Rock investors did not like the idea of moving all home games to Fayetteville and countered with an offer to renovate and expand War Memorial Stadium to increase revenue . Also , Little Rock investor Warren Stephens threatened to discontinue his family ' s support ( $ 150 , 000 in annual donations with an additional $ 1 million in annual support from his family ' s company Stephens Inc . ) for the program if games were pulled from Little Rock . After listening to both Chuck Neinas ( Broyles ' consultant on the issue ) and Stephens in January 2000 , the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted 9 to 1 to sign a compromised contract with the owners of War Memorial Stadium . The contract would keep at least two Razorbacks games , with one being a conference game , in Little Rock until the end of the 2014 season . In 2008 , the contract with War Memorial Stadium was extended through the 2016 football season by athletic director Jeff Long .