Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium

History

The original Mountaineer Field was located on the school's main campus, but it could not be expanded or modernized due to the proximity of campus buildings and roads near the stadium. It seated 38,000 when it was last used in 1979. The new stadium was originally to be called Mountaineer Stadium, but the fans ignored this and called it New Mountaineer Field, with the "new" eventually falling into disuse. Mountaineer Field was constructed in 1980 on the former site of a golf course between the Law School and Medical School buildings. The stadium's original cost was $22 million. Upon completion it had a seating capacity of 50,000. The stadium was expanded in 1985 with 7,500 seats added to the south end zone for $6.5 million. In 1986, 4,000 seats were added to the north end zone for $650,000. In 2004 the existing north end zone seats were removed, and luxury suites were added at a cost of $13 million. The most recent expansion actually reduced the seating capacity by 3,500, so the official current capacity is 60,000. In summer of 2007 approximately 500 seats were added in the corners of the north end zone and above the weight room in the south end zone and the field received new turf. There are five banks of lights located on the perimeter of the stadium and one long bank along the top of the press box. There are 12 luxury seats on the first level of the press box, 18 in the north end zone, and 648 club seats in the north end zone called "Touchdown Terrace". The field surface was once again replaced in 2016, to remove the crown on the field, which was used for water drainage, but is not needed anymore due to the type of turf that is being used.

Attendance

Mountaineer Field has occasionally hosted larger crowds than its listed capacity; the current attendance record was set on November 20, 1993 when 70,222 fans packed the stadium to watch the #9 ranked Mountaineers defeat #4 Miami.

Football

Mountaineer Field has also hosted non-university football games in the past. One notable game was a National Football League pre-season game on August 22, 1998 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons. Old Mountaineer Field had also hosted an exhibition game in 1968 between the Steelers and the expansion Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League.

Morgantown's two public high schools, Morgantown and University, used to share a stadium and play their annual rivalry game at Mountaineer Field. With the opening of University's new field in 2008 the game has been moved to rotating a series between the two schools. The stadium also hosted the 1988 WV high school football championships.

Concerts

When Mountaineer Field was dedicated on September 6, 1980, which also marked the first game for head coach Don Nehlen, fans were surprised when singer John Denver made an appearance and led the fans in the singing of his hit song "Take Me Home, Country Roads". The song has been played at every Mountaineers home game since 1972. In recent years, the song has been the subject of a new tradition; after a Mountaineers win, the players lead the crowd in singing the song.

The Stadium has also played host to regional Drum Corps International and Bands of America events, as well as many local high school band festivals.

Renovations

Going into the 2007 football season, the stadium turf was changed from the AstroPlay surface installed in 2002 to the more popular FieldTurf surface. The cost was estimated to be near $1 million. The turf was ready in time for the fall 2007 season, even after the endzone sections had to be replaced because they were the incorrect shade of blue (too light).

Along with the new turf, additions to the touchdown terrace on the north end zone are being made. Constructions to completely enclose the terrace and add 180 more seats was finished before the start of the season.

During the summer of 2008, the WVU Foundation partnered with Panasonic to install a new video scoreboard at the stadium. The scoreboard has a screen three times wider than the previous one and features a higher resolution. Additionally, a 306 ft fascia LED panel runs the length of each sideline.

Locker room renovations were done prior to the 2013 season. Additional improvements were announced in the spring of 2014, including a new team meeting room, improved stadium concourse, and renovated concessions.

Thanks in part to the university's media agreement with IMG, prior to the 2014 season four new LED boards were installed in each corner of the stadium at field level as well as updated auxiliary scoreboards in both the North and South end zones. To round out the most recent set of updates, graphic banners now adorn the stadium's old grey walls both at field level and along the upper deck.

In late Spring of 2015 work began on approximately $50 million in renovations to Milan Puskar Stadium and Mountaineer Field. The old turf and goalposts will not only be replaced, but the crown under the field will be removed and a modern base and drainage system installed that is more in keeping with today's infilled artificial turf systems. The field will be completed for the 2016 season. Also, work on the east and north side gates and concourses to include renovations to concessions, restrooms, and additional space for EMS and police operations had begun and will be finished in time for the 2016 season while the west and south sides of the stadium will be done by 2017.