CU Stadium History, Part II: From Colorado Stadium To Folsom Field

This is the second installment of a three-part series, written by CU student David Collins, on the history of football stadiums on the CU campus, from Gamble Field to the current version of Folsom Field. Part One was published in September.

BOULDER — "It was a most fitting tribute to this man, alumni of this University will join with me in the satisfaction that the name of Fred G. Folsom and the things he stood for will be perpetuated as a tradition in the University of Colorado."

With that statement by Professor Walter B. Franklin, on Nov. 24, 1944, Colorado Stadium was renamed Folsom Field after legendary CU football figure Frederick Folsom.

Folsom coached the team from 1895-99, 1901-02 and 1908-15. In the 15 years, Folsom coached in 102 games and CU went a historic 77-23-2.

Folsom died on Nov. 11, 1944, after CU had already played its final home game of the 1944 season. Thus, the newly named stadium would have to wait till the 1945 season to host its first game.

Although the Buffs lost their home opener in 1945 to Ft. Warren by a score of 6-0, they returned two weeks later to get the first win at Folsom Field, beating Utah 18-13 on Homecoming weekend.

Over the next decade Folsom Field didn't see much change. But as the 1950s rolled along, the football program began to grow and the product on the field improved to the point that in 1956 CU participated in and won its first bowl game.

On Jan. 1, 1957, CU capped an 8-2-1 season by beating Clemson, 27-21, in the Orange Bowl, a successful end to a season that had begun Sept. 22, 1956, in a much bigger Folsom Field.

As soon as the 1955 season had concluded, construction began on the Folsom Field upper deck, expanding the original single-level bowl that Folsom Field had been to that point. At its completion, the expansion project was four stories high on the eastern side of the stadium and two stories high on the south side.

The additional seating raised the capacity of Folsom Field from its original capacity of 26,000 to a whopping 45,000 seats. That gave Folsom Field the second-largest capacity in the Big Seven entering the 1956 season.

Within the newly created space would also sit offices for CU's ROTC programs, as well as new classroom space for the general student body. The classroom space truly integrated a gem on the CU campus into everyday student life, making it a special part of what the Boulder campus had to offer.

Over the next 10 years, construction at Folsom Field was minimal. The track around the perimeter of the field still hosted all of CU's home track meets, and baseball was still occasionally played on the field during the spring.

But even with the addition of the second deck to the original bowl, Folsom Field still lacked a proper fieldhouse for both CU and opposing teams, and the stands were disconnected from the field, since the track meant that the fans couldn't truly be on top of the action. Locker rooms for teams were still in Carlson Gymnasium, and players would then troop through the stands to the field.

That all changed at the start of the 1967 season. During the offseason it was decided that the track team and baseball team needed their own fields. During the offseason a project was launched that began to transform Folsom Field into a modern-day college football facility.

Working hard through the winter months, workers removed the track from around the field. In the process they moved the field slightly south, creating even more space for expansion. And workers used that space, filling it up with an additional 5,850 seats. This also moved the stands closer to the playing field.

It created a truly hostile environment for visiting teams. In the clear mountain air, fans cheering for the Buffs were now going to be able to fill Folsom Field with a level of noise that is hard to replicate across the country.

Along with the removal of the track, the north side of the stadium, which had previously been left open and empty, was now home to a new fieldhouse. It was a one-story building that stretched across the open space on the north side of the stadium.

Inside the one-story building were the dressing rooms for both the Buffs and their guests. It also housed a training room, with easy access for the teams.

Another thing the new fieldhouse changed was the entry by the players onto the field.

The previous season had seen the beginning of the tradition of running onto the field behind mascot Ralphie. The fieldhouse, built on a small hill, allowed for a tunnel to be built underneath the building, which could now act as the entry point for CU's football heroes and Boulder's new favorite girl, Ralphie.

Folsom wasn't done with its new dressings. Without missing a beat the next step in the stadium's growth was built and finished in time for the 1968 season. That new addition was a brand new five-story press box that sprung out of Balch Fieldhouse on the west side of the stadium.

The new structure replaced the previous press box that had been built into the western side of the stadium in 1954. The old press box had been a three-story complex that had an open-air covered top floor for photographers and television cameras. The second floor housed six radio booths, a television room, coaching booths for both CU and opposing coaches, and a room for the public announcer. Below that level was writers row and the entrance to the press box.

It was a capable facility, earning awards from the Football Writers Association of America. But at the start of the 1968 season, that all changed, and the new press box grew out of its predecessor's shadow.

The new press box was designed by Boulder Architect Elwood Grabow, and was built by the Petry Construction Company of Denver. When it was finished it stretched more than 170 feet across the western side of Folsom Field and rose five stories into the Colorado sky,

On the top floor sits a photography deck, where the television gameday cameras are placed, along with radio booths for both teams and coaching booths for both teams' assistant coaches.

On the next floor sits the television broadcast booth. Along with administrative booths, such as the instant replay booth and stadium security, there are also special boxes for guests of the university.

The fourth floor houses a bi-level writers row. This press box writers row allows for many more journalists, professional scouts and other guests to enjoy the action on the field. It's two levels are broken up by a small staircase, with two desk-like tables stretching across each level.

The bottom two floors are home to the Flatirons Club. A group of university boosters earned the special location by raising and funding all $500,000 that it cost to build the new press box. Folsom Field's new gem opened Sept. 21, 1968, in front of 44,723 screaming fans and the Buffs delivered a 28-7 win over Oregon to christen the new structure.

With the Flatirons Club's contributions, Folsom Field had a press box it deserved, as the new structure fit perfectly with the University's unique Tuscan Vernacular Revival architectural style.

The new additions to Folsom Field made it a beautiful stadium to visit, and promoters outside of the world of sports took notice.

On July 20, 1969, Folsom Field made its musical debut, hosting a full day of music. The Byrds, Steve Miller Band, Sons of Champlin and Buddy Guy all played center stage at Folsom Field, as people filled the stands to enjoy music in a setting that couldn't be easily replicated in any other venue.

Folsom's bowl shape created an old-school amphitheater type atmosphere, with the stage located on the north end in front of the fieldhouse. It created a place where there wasn't a bad seat in the house, and when the music was right it seemed to carry across the campus and throughout Boulder.

Time began to move, and Folsom Field entered the 1970s ready to modernize and keep up with the ever-changing culture of college football and collegiate athletics. That meant changing the field from natural grass to the new flavor of the time, Astroturf.

During the 1971 offseason Folsom Field went through another transformation. An eight-inch asphalt under-paving was put in place, replacing the grass that had been a part of Folsom Field since it was built. On top of that asphalt went 8,600 square feet of Astroturf, which was ready to go for the 1971 season.

CU won 56-13 against Wyoming on Sep. 18, 1971, to open play on Astroturf, a surface that CU would keep for another 28 seasons. In 1978 a "new rug" was placed on the field, replacing the original Astroturf, and in 1989 the newest addition to the Astroturf family, Astroturf-8, was installed.

That would be the final version of artificial turf used at Folsom Field.

With its new turf in place, Folsom Field began to take shape into one of the more modern football fields west of the Mississippi. The new surface also meant that Folsom could hold more concerts, since It was easier to maintain the surface after a concert.

On May 1, 1977, more than 61,000 people made the pilgrimage to the Folsom Music Festival. And while it rained throughout the performances, people still danced to the music of Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Firefall, and John Sebastian. The concert was such a success, as the previous ones had been, that Folsom Field \ quickly became a top venue to host concerts.

Except for 1970 and 1976, Folsom Field hosted at least one concert a year from 1969-83. The final two concerts of the 1980s included Van Halen in 1986 and The Who in 1989.

There were a few more adjustments made to Folsom during the second half of the 1970s. In 1976 all of the previous wooden bleachers were replaced with brand new silver and gold aluminum bleachers. It increased the capacity of Folsom to 52,005 and solved a problem that had developed with the old and rotting wooden bleachers. Three years later, in 1979, the fieldhouse was renovated, with its contents being improved with more modern technology and facilities for the coaches and players.

When the 1980s began, CU had a genuine football experience for its fans and students, but the product on the field had suffered for several years.

Enter coach Bill McCartney. The arrival of McCartney changed the culture of Colorado football, returning it to the glory days of its past. In 1990 McCartney's Buffs brought a national championship team to Folsom Field and the University of Colorado.

While McCartney and the football team were ushering in a late golden age of CU football, then-athletic director Bill Marolt was beginning to envision a new addition to Folsom Field and CU's athletic department.

That vision would become a reality in the form of the Dal Ward Center.

"At the time we really needed to upgrade the facility we had in the north end of the stadium," Marolt said. "We really wanted to have a better weight training area, and a better training room to take care of rehabbing injuries."

With those goals in mind, the process of planning and building the Dal Ward Center began.

"We had to do a couple things when we started planning," said Marolt. "We had to raise the money to build it, which we did, and it was all privately funded. The project was somewhere in the neighborhood of about $15 million, which by today's standards is a pretty small budget. But in those days that was a big project for us."

Once the national championship season of 1990 finished, the Dal Ward Center project began to take shape. Construction began immediately after the season and work continued throughout the entire offseason.

The plan was for it to be ready when the 1991 season began, and that goal was met with ease.

"They basically built that building in seven months," said Marolt.

When it was completed, a new beautiful site awaited both CU's football players and the fans of CU's national championship program.

The building had two floors and a basement floor. On the top floor sat a study area for student-athletes, academic support and administrative offices for the athletic department. The ground floor held the training room and what was the crowning achievement of the Dal Ward Center, the weight room.

"One of the best things we did with the Dal Ward Center was that we put the weight room right there overlooking the stadium," said Marolt.

That spot is now where the Touchdown Club is located, but at first it was one of the more unique locations in the entire athletic department.

"I thought it would be a special place to put it because when the kids would be in there working out and lifting weights they'd be looking right out onto the field," said Marolt. "From a psychological and mental point of view it was a way for us to build up a culture of excellence at CU."

The basement floor housed the locker rooms for CU's football team and opposing squads. Along with meeting rooms for coaches and players, it was quite the improvement to the previous fieldhouse.

Dal Ward Center, when finished, was 85,000 square feet, and at the time was cutting edge — one of the top facilities in the country. It was a fitting home for not only CU's football team, but for much of the entire athletic department.

By 1991, Folsom Field had a national championship team to call its own and one of the more beautiful facilities in the country.

"Even today when you sit in the stadium and you look over at Dal Ward, it's a beautiful building," Marolt said.

The stadium had gone through many transformations during the latter part of the century. It saw a second deck added to its original bowl, a five-story press box, and a crowning achievement in the Dal Ward Center.

Folsom Field had successfully transformed from a small stadium built at the foot of the Rockies into a field that not only could hold major concerts, but a field that was considered to be one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country.

CU Stadium History, Part II: From Colorado Stadium To Folsom Field

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