November 24, 1923; 100 years ago (1923-11-24) September 1, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-09-01) (renovation)
Construction cost
$1,437,982 (1923) $321 million (2011)
Architect
John Galen Howard[5] Baker & Carpenter[5] George E. Cunningham[5]
General contractor
Clinton Construction Company[5]
Tenants
California Golden Bears (NCAA) (1923–present)
Website
calbears.com/california-memorial-stadium
California Memorial Stadium
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Berkeley Landmark No. 287
Location
Bet. Piedmont Ave., Stadium Rim Way, Canyon Rd., Bancroft Way and Prospect St., Berkeley, California
Built
1922
Architectural style
Neoclassicism, Modernism
NRHP reference No.
06001086[6]
BERKL No.
287
Significant dates
Added to NRHP
November 27, 2006
Designated BERKL
June 1, 2006
California Memorial Stadium, also known simply and commonly as Memorial Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It is the home field for the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference (beginning in the fall of 2024).
Opened in 1923, the venue currently seats around 63,000 for football;[7] its playing field runs northwest to southeast at an approximate elevation of 410 feet (125 m) above sea level.[8] It has been named one of the top college football stadiums by various publications,[9][10] and it was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 27, 2006.[6][11]
Memorial Stadium was funded from public contributions, as a memorial to Californians who lost their lives in World War I (1917–18). The chair of the architectural committee was John Galen Howard, the university's chief architect, and his influence is evident in the stadium's neoclassical motif. In addition to its unique architecture, the stadium's position at the foot of the Berkeley Hills provides top row spectators with panoramic views of San Francisco Bay and west side viewers with views of the Berkeley Hills and Strawberry Canyon. This has earned it a reputation as one of the most scenic venues in college football.
Traditionally, during all football games and especially during the Big Game against Stanford, the hill overlooking the eastern side of Memorial Stadium attracts spectators hoping to watch a game for free, earning the nickname "Tightwad Hill".
^"FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium". University of California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
^"California Memorial Stadium". www.visitberkeley.com. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
^"Cal Meets No. 22 Northwestern in 2013 Opener". University of California, Berkeley Athletics. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
^"New Playing Surfaces at Memorial, Haas". University of California, Berkeley Athletics. 8 June 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
^ abcde"California Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, California) Historic Landscape Report" (PDF). University of California. March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-17. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
^ ab"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^"Memorial Stadium". University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
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of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating...
25 December 2014. CottonBowlStadium.com "MemorialStadium". huskers.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015. "MemorialStadium: By the numbers". 15 September...
Global Information
Bear Transit from
Downtown Berkeley