Cameron Stadium

This article is about the college football stadium. For the college basketball arena, see Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Cameron Stadium

Entrance to Cameron Stadium
Former names Old Fairgrounds (1885-1920)
College Park (1920-2001)
Cameron Stadium (2001-present)
Location 60 Park Avenue
Washington, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°09′52″N 80°14′45″W / 40.1645°N 80.2457°W / 40.1645; -80.2457Coordinates: 40°09′52″N 80°14′45″W / 40.1645°N 80.2457°W / 40.1645; -80.2457
Owner Washington & Jefferson College
Capacity 5,000[1]
Surface Grass (pre-1999)
FieldTurf (installed in 1999)
Construction
Opened 1885
Renovated 2001
Architect Kimball Design-Build Group[2](2001 renovations)
General contractor Landau Building Company[3](2001 renovations)

Cameron Stadium is an outdoor football stadium adjacent to the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Facilities and amenities

Located one mile from campus.[4] It is the host of W&J's home football games, men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey, and intramural activities.[1]

The main playing surface is Matrix turf, installed by Hellas Construction in 2009.[4] The eight-lane, all-weather track was resurfaced in 2003.[4]

The stadium is home to the Towler Hall, located next to the field house, which is the home to the W&J Athletic Hall of Fame.[4] Plaques featuring the names of each individual that has been inducted into the Hall of Fame hang on the wall.[4] Towler Hall also has a large banquet room with capacity for 135-150 people.[4] The adjacent Eaton/Gentile Room contains athletic memorability from the college's past.[4]

Athletic training rooms are located under the home bleachers.[4] The training rooms are equipped with electric stimulation machines, ultrasound unit, a paraffin wax machine, and a large whirlpool.[4]

History

Map of Washington, showing the Old Fairgrounds in 1897. Note the oil wells.

In 1885, the college purchased the old Washington Fairgrounds, an 8-acre field in the south side of town, for athletic purposes.[5][6] In order to finance the purchase of the property the college erected an oil well on the grounds.[5] Students exercised in a makeshift facility under the grandstand in the years before the Old Gym was constructed in 1893.[7] In 1920, the field was renamed College Field.[6]

The college's 1968 campus master plan called for the construction of a new football stadium on Wade Avenue, which would have been within the East Washington Historic District.[8]

An early view of College Park

In 1990, the locker facilities received $500,000 worth of renovations and improvements.[8]

In 1999, the stadium was renovated and expanded through a $2.5 million donation from the Cameron family, best known as the owners of Cameron Coca-Cola.[6] The renovations included the installation of a new FieldTurf playing surface, the construction of an eight-lane outdoor track, the construction of improved visitor bleachers, and the installation of a new scoreboard.[6] The next year, the college completed phase two of the renovation in 2000 saw the construction of expanded locker rooms, a new women's locker room, luxury suites, two new concession stands, three new ticket booths, and additional seating for 1,000 spectators.[6] A state-of-the-art press box was constructed, along with hardware necessary for television and radio broadcasts.[6] That same year, the college completed the Washington & Jefferson Athletic Hall of Fame, contained in the Eaton/Gentile Hall of Fame Room at Towler Hall.[6] In 2001, the stadium was renamed Cameron Stadium.[4]

Three years later, the locker room and training facilities located under the bleachers were renovated and the track was resurfaced and repainted.[6] In 2008, the playing surface was replaced with RealGrass artificial turf, including multi-colored end zones and a new W&J College logo at the 50-yard line.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Washington & Jefferson College Student Handbook 2008 – 2009" (PDF). Washington & Jefferson College. 2008.
  2. ↑ "Cameron Stadium – Washington & Jefferson College". L. Robert Kimball & Associates. 2009.
  3. ↑ "Cameron Stadium – Washington & Jefferson College". Landau Building Company. 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Cameron Stadium". Washington & Jefferson College.
  5. 1 2 E. Lee, North (1991). "Chapter 2: A New College Football Team". Battling the Indians, Panthers, and Nittany Lions: The Story of Washington & Jefferson College's First Century of Football, 1890-1990. Daring Books. pp. 25–36. ISBN 978-1-878302-03-8. OCLC 24174022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Presidents Football 2009" (PDF). 2009 Football Guide. Washington & Jefferson College. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  7. ↑ "Old Gym". U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives. Washington & Jefferson College.
  8. 1 2 Taylor, Davison; Patti Murphy (March 31, 1991). "W&J'S Building Plans Putting Residents on Guard". The Pittsburgh Press.

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