Hughes Stadium
Showcase in the Rockies
First Game: September 28, 1968, Colorado State 12, North Texas 17.
First Victory: The Rams beat Wichita State 50-21 in their first game during their 1969 campaign.
Night Moves at Hughes Stadium: The Rams have played two night games in Hughes stadium history. Colorado State lost the first night contest, October 31, 1991 ro Brigham Young, 40-17. The game was carried nationally on ESPN as a special Thursday night game. Last season, Colorado State played host to Wyoming in another ESPN telecast in Nov. 5. With the third largest crowd in school history looking on, the Rams continued their march to the WAC title with a 35-24 win, scoring 28 unanswered points after trailing 24-7.
Attendance: Since the opening of Hughes Stadium, more than three million people have come to the stadium and watched Ram Football.
Consecutive Home Wins: 8 starting on October 21, 1989 with a victory over Hawaii and lasting through August 31, 1991 when Colorado State beat Arkansas State at Hughes Stadium.
TV Coverage: Three times in the past two seasons, national networks originated games from Hughes Stadium. A year ago, "The Deuce" - ESPN2, provided live coverage of the Rams' WAC battle with Brigham Young. In 1994, the Rams' game with Utah was televised by ABC-TV. Plans call for additional telecast in 1995, as well. Selected Colorado State home games are also shown live by Prime Sports, providing the entire Rams' program with unmatched local, regional, and national coverage.
Winning Seasons at Hughes Stadium: The Colorado State Rams have had 15 winning seasons in their 28 years at Hughes Stadium. The Rams' best year at home was 1990 when the team went 6-0 in Hughes.
In perhaps the most critical development regarding athletics at Colorado State in the last three decades, the school is in the midst of a facility renovation that assures quality and competitiveness as the university moves into the 21st century
Upon his arrival in Fort Collins two years ago, director of Athletics Tom Jurich quickly realized the importance of a major facelift for the Rams' facilities. With tremendous support from the university administration including Dr. Albert Yates, the school's president, Jurich engineered a fund drive to support the much-needed renovation.
Yates and Jurich formally announced the campaign to generate financial support for the facilities upgrade in December of 1994 as Colorado State prepared for the team;s first-ever visit to the Holiday Bowl. Just 18 months later, with the cooperative efforts of campus leaders and booster support stretching nationwide, the facility renovation is now in full motion.
The renovation began last spring, and at the conclusion, will provide Colorado State student-athletes, coaches and staff, booster and fans with state of the art facilities.
Jurich also said the facilities plan includes renovation plans for Hughes Stadium. The Rams' 30,000-seat football facility opened in 1968. Jurich said plans call for upgraded service areas and seating upgrades.
Source: Colorado State University Sports Information Office
Hughes Stadium is the off-campus football stadium serving Colorado State University. The expansion and renovation of Hughes Stadium was a multi-phased project to expand and upgrade the stadium's seating areas, provide a new video board and sound system, as well as replace the natural grass field with new state-of-the-art synthetic turf.
Initial construction enclosed the north bowl of the stadium with 4,300 new bleacher seats and provided a new video scoreboard and renovated sound system in the south end zone. Phase two included installing new concrete pier foundations and precast concrete structure. Phase-three work demolished the existing club and press structure, leaving only the original floor, steel frame and elevator shaft. The steel structure was then expanded by 20,000 sq ft for enlarged club seating, 12 suites, two lounges and eight restrooms. The increased space provides club seating for 420 spectators and the 12 luxury suites seat 230. Phase four consisted of interior finish work, including new central heating and air conditioning. Each construction phase intricately was sequenced during the off-season, maintaining all football schedules and providing full access to game-day activities for more than 30,000 fans. Design elements and improvements to the stadium also included two new two-story lounges constructed on the west side with views of the foothills; two new elevators for spectators; and renovation of the existing elevator for use by the press, coaches and stadium service personnel.
Improvements include a complete fire sprinkler and alarm system; fiber-optic and wireless connections for spectators, the press and coaches; and a broadcast cabling system for television and replay.
The design creates a modern, high-tech aesthetic, with materials and colors providing a strong architectural counterpoint to the concrete structural expression of the original stadium. Exterior faŤade treatments included smooth metal panels with corrugated metal and fiberglass accents. The windows, storefront and curtain wall are reflective with dark glazing and low-e coating to reduce heat gain and glare. Lobbies have tile and stained concrete floor coverings with engraved slate accent walls. The suite seating has partial glass divider walls for improved sight lines, while suite lounge areas have full walls for privacy.
Other finish items include pecan cabinets and woodwork with solid surface countertops; a sound and video system throughout the club level, including 72 new television monitors; and new furniture for the suites, lounges and press areas.
