WSU fans watch the Cougs play Stanford at Martin Stadium on the Pullman campus Saturday October 15, 2011. GARY GRAHAM garyg@spokesman.com
Martin Stadium Then and Now
It was called Soldier Field in 1892, then renamed Rogers Field in 1902. Seats at Washington State University's football venue have always been in demand. In 1970, some of the 1930s-era wooden bleachers were destroyed by fire. Coincidentally, University of Idaho's Neale Stadium bleachers had burned in 1969 in another suspicious fire. It was a chaotic two years as the Cougars played home games at Joe Albi Stadium and the Idaho Vandals played in the still-damaged Rogers Field. The Vandals played most of their 1971 season in the new open-air Idaho Stadium while WSU was still raising money for theirs. Businessman and UW grade Dan Martin gave $250,000 to the effort and asked that it be named after his father, former Washington governor Clarence D. Martin. The first game in Martin Stadium was Sept. 30, 1972. The Cougars lost to Utah. Across the state line, construction executive William Kibbie donated $300,000 for a dome over the UI venue in 1975. Martin Stadium's additions and improvements over the years have brought the capacity up to almost 40,000. One of the biggest projects was to remove thousands of yards of dirt in 1979, lowering the playing surface 16 feet to improve the view for front row fans.
Gary Graham The Spokesman-Review
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