The historic Yale Bowl, with its Class of 1954 Field, is one of the true treasures in American sports. It was the first stadium with seating that completely surrounded the field when it opened on Nov. 21, 1914, for the Yale-Harvard game. The world famous Bowl has been a college football landmark ever since, but it has also hosted National Football League Games, international soccer, lacrosse, tennis, concerts, TV advertisements, movies and the 1995 Special Olympic World Games. The Bowl is 930 feet long and 750 feet wide and covers 12.5 acres. More than 320,000 cubic feet of earth was moved to form the bowl, while the stadium contains 22,000 cubic yards of concrete and 470 tons of steel. Its current seating capacity is 61,446, and every seat has an unobstructed view of the playing field. The NFL's New York Giants and Detroit Lions brought professional football to the Bowl for the first time in the summer of 1960. The Giants, who played the New York Jets in a number of memorable exhibition contests during the 70's, used the Bowl as their home field in 1973 and 1974 while Yankee Stadium was renovated. The Kenney Center is a three-story building attached to the Bowl that houses team rooms and a reception area that opens up to the inside of the venerable venue. Jensen Plaza, includes the names of every Yale foot ball letter winner since 1872 and serves as the grand entrance. Recent national media accounts have honored the Bowl. The Sporting News selected the Bowl as one of the 40 best college football stadiums in its book, “Saturday Shrines.” ESPN.com’s list of America’s 100 most important sports venues also included the home of Yale Football. The original “bowl” has never lost its allure or mythical status.
