Location Grand Rapids, MI Opened 1923 Phone +1 616-234-4000 | Built 1923 Capacity 8,000 Renovated 2009 | |
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Address Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA Owner Grand Rapids Public Schools Similar Wisner Stadium, Fifth Third Ballpark, Fulton Street Farmers, La Grande Vitesse, Keyworth Stadium | ||
Julius houseman field
Houseman Field is an 8,000-seat multipurpose stadium located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is named for former mayor and Congressman Julius Houseman and is the home of the Aquinas College Saints track teams. It is also used for high school football, and is the home for the new minor league soccer team Grand Rapids FC. Grand Rapids Public Schools owns this stadium.
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The new houseman field is ready
History
Julius Houseman's daughter, Hattie, donated six acres (24,000 m2) of land to the school district in 1907 for use as an athletic field. While it would be used for the Grand Rapids Central High School football team's football practices in the next 15 years, it was not until 1923 that the current stadium was built on that site; its first event was Catholic Central High School's 42–0 victory over Sparta High School. The football field was expanded in 1926, lights were installed in 1940, and artificial turf replaced grass in 1973.
Grand Rapids Central became the longest serving tenant of Houseman Field, and over the years, other high schools, including Creston High School, Catholic Central High School and West Catholic High School have also played their home games at this stadium, owing to the growing number of high schools in Grand Rapids. Currently, it is the home of the Ottawa Hills and Union High School football teams; both teams in recent years have opened their seasons playing each other at Houseman.
2009 renovation
In October 2008, the Grand Rapids Public Schools' Board of Education announced plans to perform a $6 million renovation to Houseman Field using funds left over from a 2004 facilities improvement bond. The renovation included turf replacement, a new press box, concession and restroom facilities, as well as miscellaneous structural and technological improvements. The newly renovated facility was reopened on August 25, 2009.