Jones AT&T Stadium

Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium opened in 1947. The original seating capacity was 27,000.

In 1959 the stadium's first expansion raised the seating to 41,500. The existing east stands were moved a few feet at a time via steel rollers upon Santa Fe Railroad rails and moved 150 feet (46 m) further east, and the playing surface was lowered 28 feet (8.5 m)[9] below street level, to accommodate the new lower bowl. It was expanded again in 1972 with new red, metal seats on the north side bringing capacity of 48,000.

View (looking south) at night in August 2010 with construction of the east side ongoing

The largest renovation project to date was the construction of a $51.9 million, 175,000-square-foot (16,300 m²) press box on the stadium's west side that included luxury suites, club seating and decks for television cameras and the press. The project added 2,000 seats and was completed during the 2003 season.

The stadium name was changed to Jones SBC Stadium in 2000 due to a naming rights agreement with SBC Communications, then being led by Texas Tech alumnus and CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr.. SBC Communications funded a large part of the stadium's West Stadium Club expansion. On April 6, 2006, the facility officially changed names again, this time to Jones AT&T Stadium as a result of SBC's purchase of AT&T Corporation and adoption of AT&T as its new corporate name.[10]

For 2006, the stadium was upgraded with a $2 million inner field wall that matches the traditional Texas Tech style brick façade. An inscribing of the Matador Song at the Double T in the north and south end zones was also added.

In February 2006, the university announced plans to add $60 million worth of upgrades including additional luxury suites, a 1,000-car parking garage, an upper deck, a facade on the east side of the stadium and more seating. The entire project was set to begin following the 2006 season but was cancelled before being re-initiated as a different project in 2008.[11]

The east side building post-completion

On August 7, 2008, the Texas Tech Board of Regents announced a $25 million expansion project.[12] The planned expansion added a Spanish Renaissance-themed façade to the east side of the stadium. In addition to the improvements to the exterior of the facility, the expansion added 1,000 general-admission seats, 550 club seats, and 26 suites.[13] Texas Tech allocated a total of $19 million to the expansion and added another $6 million through fund-raising initiatives.[14]

On November 20, 2008, university officials announced that the project's fundraising goal had been exceeded. Most of the money came from private donations, including a large contribution from AT&T and a $1 million matching gift from Texas Tech System Board of Regents member, Larry Anders. A small amount of the funds was delegated to come from future ticket sales.[15] Groundbreaking ceremonies for the expansion took place on November 29, 2008.[16] Construction began following the 2008 season, and was completed in 2010, bringing the total amount of suites to 89 and seating capacity to 60,454.[14][17][18]

In May 2009, it was announced an additional 6,100 seats would be added in the northeast and northwest end zones by mid-season.[19] The additional general admission seating was opened in the north end of the stadium on October 24, 2009, bringing capacity at that time to 58,930.[20]

In January 2013, construction began adding another 368 seats in the north end zone, in addition to an observation decks that holds 40. The $16 million project also included a significantly upgraded jumbotron with a new sound system, a Spanish Renaissance-themed colonnade, and a new north end zone concourse connecting the two stadium halves. Along with the other additions, 157 feet of ribbon board were added on the north end zone; more than 160 linear feet in the northeast and northwest corners of the stadium, and 94 lineal feet in the south end zone over the athletic offices. The construction was completed in November 2013.[21]

As part of these renovations, the Double T scoreboard was also updated with new white LED panels and many seats in the stadium were repainted red. Additionally, AT&T completed an upgrade to its distributed antenna system in the stadium, increasing data capacity and call reliability.[22]

Prior to the 2016 season, the north end zone was further renovated. What was the ticket office was converted into a club area and premium loge seating was added outside. A remnant of the grass berm that originally encircled the north bowl was converted from grass to artificial turf as well.

On August 29, 2014, a $185 million fundraising campaign was announced for multiple athletic projects. It is the first solely athletic focused campaign started by the university. The headlining project of the campaign is a renovation of the south end zone athletic offices into a premium seating area with luxury suites. Replacing of stadium seatbacks and FieldTurf is also included in the project's budget.[23]

Double T scoreboard

The unique Double T scoreboard modeled in the fashion of Texas Tech's logo is emplaced on the roof of the athletic department offices in the south end zone and was installed prior to the beginning of the 1978 season. The scoreboard has remained in place through multiple stadium renovations due to its iconic and symbolic value, and received upgraded white LED panel installations in 2013.[24][25]

The playing field runs in the traditional north-south configuration and sits 30 feet below grade at an elevation of 3,215 feet (980 m) above sea level.[26]

When the stadium opened in 1947, the playing field featured a grass playing surface until it was replaced with AstroTurf in 1970. In 2006, FieldTurf replaced the AstroTurf playing field.

After numerous renovations and expansions, Jones AT&T Stadium currently seats 60,454. The capacity makes the stadium the 44th largest college football stadium in the United States. Officially, Jones AT&T Stadium has the third-highest seating capacity of any college-specific venue in Texas behind Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin and Kyle Field in College Station, but when referred to by actual seating capacity the stadium drops to fifth behind San Antonio's Alamodome and Houston's Rice Stadium.[27]

There are 13,750 seats designated for students between 14 sections.[28][29] An additional section was allotted to students following record demand during the 2013 season.

View of the video board and north end zone renovations at Jones AT&T Stadium completed in 2013

Due for completion prior to the commencement of the 2013 season, the $11 million jumbotron mounted in the north end zone of the stadium is one of the largest in the country.[30] The high-definition jumbotron measures 100 feet wide by 38 feet tall with 3,800 square feet (350 m²) of screen space, placing it at a ranking of 16th nationally by square footage in purely NCAA football stadiums, and 8th among HD screens. Additionally, the board ranks 4th in the Big 12 Conference in square footage behind Baylor University's McLane Stadium, the University of Texas at Austin's Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, and the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The entire support structure measures 190 feet wide and 57 feet tall, making it the largest overall in the Big 12. The entire project includes 275 tons of steel above ground and 54 tons below ground, embedded in about 400 cubic yards (310 m³) of concrete. Six piers on each side of the structure plunge to a depth of near 50 feet (15 m).[30] The video board, with a pixel pitch of 16mm and 4 megapixels, also includes sound banks 38 feet tall and 16 feet wide. The video board supports were covered with a decorative Spanish Renaissance architecture facade and feature wells for shooting pyrotechnics.[30]

The Coaches All-America Game, a postseason college football all-star game that served as the concluding game of the college football season, was hosted at Jones AT&T Stadium from 1970–1975. The all-star game was sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and profits from ticket sales and television rights went to fund AFCA scholarships. Prior to the Coaches All-America Game relocating to Lubbock, from 1961 to 1965, War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, served as host and prior to relocating to Lubbock due to attendance issues, Atlanta Stadium hosted the game from 1966 to 1969. Lubbock won the bid to host the game over newer stadiums in larger cities, Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee and San Diego Stadium in San Diego, after the AFCA was convinced that Lubbock's advantages as a college town without competing entertainment would fill the stands with existing college football fans from West Texas.[31]

The first game held at Jones Stadium took place only 47 days after downtown Lubbock was hit by a tornado in 1970. The stadium's newly installed AstroTurf was unharmed, but some of the light towers on the east side—which had recently been fitted with extra lights for the color telecast of the All-America Game—were bent or snapped off.[32] Even with the surrounding circumstances, the inaugural Jones Stadium game drew 42,150 in attendance, a record attendance that broke set in any prior Coaches All-America Game in Buffalo or Atlanta. The game finally found success by an attendance standard, drawing 285,786 attendees over 7 years. By the time of the final Coaches All-America Game in 1976, more players declined to participate in the all-star game as rookies and NFL owners had little to gain, and much to lose due to injury risks. The AFCA reluctantly dropped the Coaches All-America Game, but continued to bestow All-America honors.[31]

The Texas Tech Red Raiders played their first game in Jones AT&T Stadium on November 29, 1947—a 14–6 win against the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys.[2] The Red Raiders have a posted a 336-162-13 (.670) record at Jones AT&T Stadium record through the 2013 victory over Iowa State.[2] Dave Curtis, a writer for Sporting News listed the stadium as having the number one ranking amongst college stadiums in home field advantage.[33] The attendance record of 61,836 was set during the 2013 season against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.[34] The 2012 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team set a season average attendance record of 57,108, breaking the record set previously in 2010.[2][35] A 34-27 win over the Oklahoma Sooners on November 17, 2007, was the start of a 12-game winning streak, the longest Red Raider winning streak at Jones AT&T Stadium that lasted through October 24, 2009, with a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M. Texas Tech has gone undefeated at Jones AT&T Stadium in 14 seasons, with the most recent coming in 2005 and 2008.[2]