University Stadium ( Albuquerque ) University Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the south campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque , New Mexico . It is the home field of the New Mexico Lobos football team of the Mountain West Conference . The stadium opened in September 1960 and currently has a seating capacity of 39 , 224 . The newly installed synthetic turf surface field runs in the traditional north - south configuration and sits at an elevation of 5100 feet ( 1554 m ) above sea level . History . Replacement of Zimmerman . The stadium replaced Zimmerman Field , a 16 , 000 - seat stadium which was located just south of the current Zimmerman Library . The main campus would expand with removing the old field , room for campus facilities , and a new humanities building now stand in the space . The university purchased land south of campus , near the corner of Avenida Cesar Chavez and University Boulevard for the current stadium . This land became the " south campus " , which , includes The Pit and Isotopes Park , the Lobo Tennis Club , Lobo Field , Lobo Softball field , the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center and buildings housing the athletics department as well as the football stadium . When it opened in 1960 , University Stadium consisted of the east and west stands and press box . The stadium was built in an existing arroyo with the grandstands built up from moved earth for an earthen fill that was then cemented over . This " berm " style construction placed the field below ground level with seats above and below the natural ground level . Initial costs for the stadium were just over $ 4 million . University Stadium opened on September 17 , 1960 with UNM defeating an overmatched National University of Mexico by a score of 77 - 6 . A new press box with private suites was built in 1976 at a cost of $ 1 . 8 million . Because the stadium had been built on earthen fill , the press box had to be supported on large concrete cylinders that went down to the pre - existing ground level . In 1995 the next major addition to University Stadium came when UNM built the L . F . " Tow " Diehm Athletic Facility , a field house and athletic training facility located in the southern end zone . Recent Events . The athletics department announced in late 2011 the football field would be stripped of natural grass and would be replaced by synthetic turf . FieldTurf was awarded the bid for the school . The new field was announced to be ready in time for the 2012 season . Naming rights for the new field were purchased by local attorneys Turner and Margaret Branch , who are alumni of the university . Expansion . The Stadium ' s current expansion began in 2001 with stands , new bathroom and concessions facilities in the north end zone . UNM also added a large , then state - of - the - art scoreboard that included the " LoboVision " video screen . In 2004 , portable bleachers were donated to UNM by the city of Albuquerque in 2004 to take the stadium ' s capacity beyond 39 , 000 . Expansion is currently continuing . The next phase of expansion includes renovations of the stadium ' s southwest and southeast corners as well as adding an additional 5 , 000 seats to the south end of the stadium as well as a tunnel leadning into the Tow Diehm facility . By the time renovations are completed , the stadium will seat over 43 , 000 . New Mexico Bowl . Since December 2006 , it has hosted the New Mexico Bowl . The game was funded by a $ 2 million line of credit from ESPN and featured the San Jose State Spartans of the Western Athletic Conference and the University of New Mexico of the Mountain West Conference . SJSU defeated UNM 20 - 12 . The game was the first Division I bowl game played in the state of New Mexico . University Stadium had hosted the Division II national championship , named the Zia Bowl , in early December 1979 and 1980 . In Zia Bowl I , Delaware defeated Youngstown State 38 - 21 . In Zia Bowl II , Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo ( now simply Cal Poly ) beat Eastern Illinois 21 - 13 . Attendance was 4 , 000 or less for both Zia Bowls , and in 1981 the Division II championship was moved to McAllen , Texas . University Stadium hosted a U . S . women ' s national soccer team FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Mexico in May 2004 and a friendly match between the U . S . men ' s national soccer team and Honduras in March 2005 . The stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists , including Led Zeppelin , Metallica & The Rolling Stones , among others .