Memorial Stadium (Indiana)

Memorial Stadium, also known as The Rock, is a stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Indiana Hoosiers. The stadium opened in 1960 as part of a new athletics area at the university and currently has a capacity of 52,929. It replaced the original Memorial Stadium, built in 1925, a 20,000-seat stadium located on 10th Street where the arboretum now stands.HistoryThe stadium has been renovated or updated multiple times since the original construction, including the replacement of the original wooden seats with aluminum bleachers, installation of sound and lighting systems, and major structural overhauls.On June 1, 2003, a $3.5 million renovation of the Memorial Stadium press box was completed, which also added 300 indoor club seats and 9 suites. In the summer of 2003, the Hoosier locker room in Memorial Stadium underwent a $250,000 renovation. The facelift to the original 1986 facility included renovating and modernizing the existing space with new carpeting, lighting, and a new bulkhead ceiling along with the installation of custom-built oak wood lockers for 105 football players. The renovation was funded in large part by former Hoosier quarterback Trent Green his wife Julie and philanthropist Ted Derheimer.A 36 x 91ft HD scoreboard from Daktronics was added to the South End Zone for the 2010 season (which is the 29th largest collegiate scoreboard in the country), along with a state-of-the-art sound system.FeaturesPlaying surfaceThe field at the stadium was originally natural grass, but this was replaced in 1970 with artificial turf, which was updated to AstroTurf in 1986. The AstroTurf was replaced with grass in 1998, but the field soon reverted to an artificial surface (AstroPlay) in 2003. Heavy rains in June 2008 severely damaged the field, washing away the gravel substrate, and creating a large sinkhole in the south endzone, which led to the installation of a FieldTurf surface. A new FieldTurf Revolution 360 playing surface was installed prior to the 2016 season.