LaVell Edwards Stadium LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Provo , Utah on the campus of Brigham Young University . Primarily used for college football , it is the home field of the BYU Cougars . The playing field is natural grass and is at an elevation of 4630 feet ( 1411 m ) above sea level . The field runs in the conventional north - south direction , with the press box along the west sideline . History and seating . The stadium opened on the north end of campus in 1964 as Cougar Stadium , replacing a smaller , 5 , 000 - seat stadium of the same name . The capacity of the facility was just under 30 , 000 with stands on both sides of the playing field . Seating was soon added to make room for 35 , 000 fans . Temporary bleachers placed at the back of the end zones raised the capacity to 45 , 000 . The stadium was expanded in 1982 to accommodate more than 65 , 000 ; permanent concrete stands in the end zones , separated by entryways from the east and west grandstands , were put in place of the temporary bleachers . The playing field was lowered eight feet ( 2 . 4 m ) , and the running track was removed . Following the retirement of legendary head coach LaVell Edwards after the 2000 football season , the stadium was renamed in his honor . To increase revenue , the stadium was renovated in 2003 to provide more luxury seating , which resulted in a slight reduction of seating capacity to 64 , 045 . The luxury seating was a noticeable addition because the arrangement of blue and white seats in this section spell out BYU in block letters . On August 30 , 2008 , BYU unveiled a new video board on the north endzone , allowing fans seated in the south endzone to see the instant replays and graphics which previously were shown only on the south board . During the summer of 2010 , the capacity of the stadium was further reduced due to some renovations that allowed for more wheelchair accessibility . Currently , a crowd of 64 , 108 ( or more ) is considered a sellout at LaVell Edwards Stadium . Track and field . Prior to the 1982 expansion , the stadium hosted events for BYU ' s outdoor track and field teams . In fact , the stadium hosted the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1967 and 1975 . With the removal of the track from Cougar Stadium ( as it was still known at that time ) , a new track facility was built just south of the stadium - it was later named the Clarence F . Robison Track to honor the team ' s legendary former coach . Jurassic fossils under the stadium . Part of the largest collection of Jurassic period fossil s in North America , housed at BYU , was stored underneath the east bleachers of the stadium until 2005 . The fossils have since been prepared and are on display in the BYU Earth Science Museum ' s collection room . Security . Due to installation of new features in the stadium , the grounds crew and BYU Police have installed a number of security features to prevent students from entering the stadium after hours , including security cameras and motion detectors . Anyone found entering the stadium after hours may be charged with trespassing and receive a fine . Renovations and seating reconfiguration . The stadium underwent some upgrades prior to the 2012 season : new HD LED videoboards face the north and south endzones , replacing the outdated and smaller video screens , and they are flanked by video ribbons that stretch along the top of the north and south stands . The twin towers have been freshly coated to reflect the new BYU " Blue " color scheme , and by 2013 the student section will be unified in one section instead of being scattered throughout the stadium .