Nippert Stadium
Nippert Stadium
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May 6, 2000
By Andy Hemmer
Street & Smith's SportsBusiness JournalThe University of Cincinnati's notably low-tech Nippert Stadium will soon have a new $1 million high-tech scoreboard, thanks to a deal with sports marketing firm ISP Sports, as well as 10,000 new seats.
The renovation work, scheduled to begin in May and conclude by August, marks the biggest improvements at the facility since capacity was boosted to 35,000 in 1992.
ISP Sports, the exclusive marketer of UC sports, recently concluded several months of negotiations with scoreboard maker Daktronics Inc. and the school.
According to terms of its deal with the school, ISP will buy three scoreboards, including units for the baseball and soccer fields. In return, the firm's original contract with UC - signed in 1999 - has been extended four years to 2016, and the firm will be able to reap the benefits of new sponsorship deals, such as one recently signed by PepsiCo that calls for Pepsi to hang its corporate logo on the Nippert and baseball scoreboards.
The 10,000 new seats will be affixed to the aluminum bleacher seats in the lower bowl section of Nippert Stadium at a cost to the university of $400,000, said Paul Klaczak, UC associate athletic director.
Nippert Stadium is one of the oldest -- and newest -- college football playing sites in the country.
The rich history and tradition of the Bearcats' football home was preserved and enshrined when the structure underwent a $10.1 million renovation. When it was completed for the start of the 1992 season, it sparkled with a totally new seating configuration, a modern press box complete with a luxury VIP entertaining area, contemporary scoreboard and message center and new and improved lighting.
The Astroturf 8 playing surface, the latest hybrid in artificial turf, provides for instantaneous draining of any moisture to give participants the best footing in any weather conditions.
The stadium's early-century brickwork was preserved in the design of the renovation, and with the combination of wrought iron gates and trim, Nippert projects the comfortable old-time stadium charm and appeal which have made new facilities such as Camden Yards attractive sports facilities.
Cincinnati teams have been playing on this site since the turn of the century, making Nippert the fourth-oldest playing site and sixth-oldest stadium in college football.
The stadium's founder was Arch Carson, who played a significant role in starting football on the UC campus in 1885 as captain and principle organizer of Cincinnati's first football teams. In 1901 as physical director of the university, Carson guided the construction of the playing field which was later named for him -- the playing surface of the stadium today is still called Carson Field.
The Bearcats began playing and practicing on the site in 1902. In 1916, construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete stadium structure, which was completed, section-by-section, as funds were raised.
During the season-ending clash with rival Miami (Ohio) in 1923, Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury and died a month later from blood poisoning. His grandfather, James N. Gamble of Procter and Gamble, provided the funds needed to complete the horseshoe-shaped structure, and the James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium was dedicated on Nov. 8, 1924.
Nippert stadium has undergone a series of expansions. In 1936, the playing field was lowered 12 feet to allow spectator seating to increase to 24,000. The Reed Shank Pavilion was added in 1954 to bring the capacity to 28,000. Synthetic turf was introduced in 1970.
The most recent expansion has upped the capacity to 35,000 through extending the upper deck, now called the Herschede-Shank Pavilion.
This renovation has enabled Nippert Stadium to remain a classy showplace for college football.
Nippert Stadium History
1895 Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium on a site in Burnet Woods.
1902 Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field. Wooden bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside.
1909 Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night.
1916 Funds to build a permanent brick and concrete structure were made available by a city bond issue.
1923 Cincinnati defeated Hanover College, 20-6, in the first night collegiate football game in the Midwest. James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson, Jimmy Nippert, to complete the stadium.
1924 The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated. Capacity is 12,000.
1936 Carson Field was lowered 12 feet to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000.
1954 Reed Shank Pavilion completed to boost the capacity to 28,000.
1970 Surface changed from natural grass to Astro Turf.
1989 Nippert Stadium was closed following the football season for renovation. UC played its 1990 home games at Riverfront Stadium.
1991 Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for Bearcat home games to be played. The structure is fortified and a three-tiered press box is added.
1992 Phase II of the renovation was completed, upping the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the Herschede-Shank Pavilion, and adding new lighting and a scoreboard.
Source: University of Cincinnati Sports Information Office
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