Rice-Eccles Stadium

With its striking design, stunning mountain backdrop and panoramic views, Rice-Eccles Stadium is recognized as one of the most beautiful college stadiums in the country. While the exterior scenery is captivating, the charged atmosphere inside Rice-Eccles Stadium makes it one of the 25 “toughest stadiums in the country” for opposing teams according to Bleacher Report.

That game day experience was greatly enhanced in the fall of 2021 with the completion of the Ken Garff Red Zone at RiceEccles Stadium, which added premium seating and increased capacity to 51,444. The $80 million south end zone project was funded in part by a lead gift of $17.5 million from the Ken Garff family, which is the largest donation in Utah Athletics history.

“The success of our student-athletes and our department relies on the extraordinary generosity of our supporters, and the Garff family has been instrumental in elevating Utah Athletics to unimaginable heights,” said Director of Athletics Mark Harlan. “This transformational commitment from the Garffs will impact thousands of student-athletes, staff, coaches and fans for years to come, and we are forever grateful for their kindness and support of our University.”

No state or taxpayer dollars were used for the project. The former south end zone structure, built in 1982, was the only piece of old Rice Stadium retained when the current structure opened on the same grounds in 1998. The project enclosed the stadium bowl by connecting the east and west concourses on the south end.

The official seating capacity was increased by 5,637 with the addition of several premium seating options and over 1,000 bleacher seats. The fan experience was greatly enhanced by the addition of luxury suites, loge boxes, ledge and rooftop areas. A field-level club and outdoor patio, recruiting lounge, and restaurant were also included in the new structure, as were additional points of sale for concessions and restrooms.

Addressing the need for improved game day operations, the Ken Garff Red Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium included new team locker rooms and meeting rooms, as well as dedicated areas for coaches, officials, athletic training, equipment, press operations and the band. The 7,800-square foot south end zone videoboard remained in its current place.

Utah’s tremendous fan support in recent years fueled the expansion. Entering the 2022 season, the Utes have played in front of 70-straight home sellouts (66 which exceeded the seating capacity) when fans were allowed to attend extending back to the 2010 opener. In its first 24 years, there have been 89 total standing-room-only crowds.

The top six crowds in the stadium’s history were recorded during the 2021 season, when Utah averaged a record season attendance mark of 51,817. The highestattended game was Utah’s battle vs. No. 3 Oregon, when 52,724 celebrated a 38-7 victory that sent the Utes on their way to the school’s first Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl appearance. The venue’s seating capacity was previously increased in 2014 from 45,017 to 45,807. As a result, the top seven season attendance averages and 17 of the top 20 single-game crowds in Rice-Eccles Stadium history have been recorded over the last seven seasons fans have been allowed to attend, which excludes 2020. Dating back to its 13-0 Sugar Bowl campaign of 2008, Utah’s average attendance has exceeded the stadium’s capacity for 13 consecutive home campaigns.

Opened in 1998 on the grounds of the old Ute (1927-71) and Rice (1972-97) stadiums, Rice-Eccles Stadium has continued to receive upgrades in ensuing years. The latest was a state-of-the-art video scoreboard completed in the summer of 2016. Measuring 122 x 64 feet and rising 137 feet above ground, it is one of the largest college football video boards in the country. It features a high definition

display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The enhanced software to run the board delivers some of the best special effects in the sports industry and synchronizes with the LED boards in the north end zone.

Another improvement in 2016 was a distributed sound system that enhances the sound quality in every section of Rice-Eccles Stadium while also reducing noise to the surrounding community.

Rice-Eccles Stadium has also hosted a number of other major sporting events, the most prominent being the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. Garth Brooks sold out the venue in 2021 and then returned to fill the place twice more in 2022. U2 and the Rolling Stones are two more of the other prominent acts to play in RES.

The initial groundwork for Rice-Eccles Stadium began in 1996, when a fundraising campaign was initiated to replace an aging 32,500-seat structure. A lead gift of $10 million soon came in from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, steered by former Ute All-America skier Spence Eccles. The total construction costs ran $50 million.

Preliminary construction work began in the summer of 1997. Two days after the final home game that fall, wrecking crews moved in and demolished Rice Stadium. Only the south end zone bleachers and the Rice name (Robert L. Rice contributed $1 million in the 1972 renovation) would carry over to the new venue. Rising from the rubble less than 10 months later was Rice-Eccles Stadium, an imposing concrete, steel and glass edifice that dominates the Salt Lake skyline.

Visible for miles is the stadium box, located 14 stories above ground and encased in a 400-square-foot expanse of tempered glass. The box is supported by twin towers containing four high-speed elevators. Occupants of the stadium box are treated to sweeping views of the Wasatch Mountains to the east and downtown Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

The Cleone and Spence Eccles Scholarship Box on Level 4 seats 450 and has indoor-outdoor seating, along with eight suites. The Mezzanine on Level 5 provides another 17 suites.

Level 6 contains the John Mooney Working Press Area, named in honor of the late Ute football writer and Salt Lake Tribune sports editor, and booths for television and radio (among them the Bill Marcroft Radio Booth, named for the former longtime “Voice of the Utes”). The press, TV and radio sections open into the Varsity Reception area, which seats 400 for dining.

The stadium floor has also changed with the times. A Vertex CORE FieldTurf surface was installed in July of 2021, marking the fourth version of FieldTurf laid down in Rice-Eccles since 2002. Previous surfaces (dating back to Ute Field) were natural grass from 1927-71 and again in 2000-01, AstroTurf from 1972-95 and SportGrass from 1995-99. FAST FACTS

First Game: Sept. 12, 1998 Largest Crowd: 52,724 (Oregon, 2021) Seating Capacity: 51,444 Suites: 39 Premium Seats: 2,391 Totals Chair Seats: 17,691 Surface: FieldTurf

LARGEST CROWDS

1. 52,724 2021 Oregon 2. 51,922 2021 UCLA 3. 51,724 2021 Arizona State 4. 51,538 2021 Colorado 5. 51,511 2021 Weber State 6. 51,483 2021 Washington State 7. 47,825 2015 Michigan 8. 47,801 2016 Washington 9. 47,798 2015 California 10. 47,619 2014 USC 11. 47,528 2014 Oregon 12. 47,445 2018 Washington 13. 47,307 2019 UCLA 14. 46,915 2016 BYU 15. 46,879 2019 Colorado 16. 46,768 2003 California 17. 46,626 2019 California 18. 46,522 2010 TCU 19. 46,488 2008 Brigham Young 20. 46,405 2018 USC

Capacity: 45,017 from 1998-2013; 45,807 2014-20

SEASON ATTENDANCE AVERAGES

1. 51,817 2021 2. 46,533 2015 3. 46,506 2016 4. 46,462 2019 5. 46,436 2014 6. 46,332 2018 7. 45,913 2017 8. 45,585 2008 9. 45,459 2010 10. 45,347 2012