Commitment to Athletic Excellence

Ross-Ade Stadium

World War I had just ended. An energetic alumnus and accomplished inventor named David Ross was out raising money to help build the Purdue Memorial Union. Although most alumni he contacted would see him, most declined to support the project, even though they knew from their college days that the university lacked a place to hold dances and for students to gather informally.

Why the disdain for helping alma mater? According to the book David Ross: Modern Pioneer, Ross was told repeatedly by successful alumni: " Give us a winning football team, for a change, and then we'll think about contributing money to Purdue. We're tired of being made fun of by alumni of other big colleges during the football season."

Since 1892, the Purdue eleven had played on Stuart Field, a modest athletic complex located just east of the current Armory on campus. Purdue had reached the pinnacle of football glory in the mid-1890s by capturing four consecutive Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association crowns. Since the advent of the Western Conference - later the Big Nine and Big Ten - Boilermaker football fortunes had leveled off and were in a state of decline.

Ross, a member of the Class of 1893, came away from his fund-raising forays convinced that a new stadium would attract better talent, both in terms of coaches and players. Success on the field would follow. So he turned his attention to the state of Purdue athletics facilities. He teamed with George Ade of the Class of 1887, and the pair bought a 65-acre farm north of campus. With the help of dozens of alumni and others, Ross-Ade Stadium was completed in time for Homecoming 1924. In the dedication game, Purdue prevailed 26-7 over Indiana.

On the matter of whether superior facilities would fuel success on the field, Ross was right. Five years after the stadium that bears his name was dedicated, the Boilermakers were celebrating their first outright Big Ten championship.

Although a football renaissance has been under way since Joe Tiller's first season as head coach in 1997, that rebirth received a $70 million boost in the form of a renovation of the stadium inside and out. It is the first comprehensive upgrade since ground was broken nearly 80 years ago.

The stadium started out with a capacity of 13,500 on the east and west sides and space for another 5,000 to stand in the north bend. For six decades, Ross-Ade gradually grew in capacity to 69,000. The first addition was the completion of standing-room space in the north bend of the stadium in 1930. Originally a tiered hillside, the closed end of the stadium was finished with concrete to add 5,000 seats.

In the 1940s and 1950s, permanent grandstands went in on the east and west sides. Among the last expansions was in 1963, when the field was excavated to make room for 13 more rows below the original seats.

Although the capacity of the stadium increased over the decades, the footprint remained the same. Fans became accustomed to a cramped concourse, to getting to the stadium early to avoid the crowds and inevitable bottlenecks. Those who waited until close to kickoff would be fortunate to see a few minutes of the first quarter.

All of that has changed with the remade Ross-Ade. Work on the three-year project began in 2001 with the relocation of Beering Drive, the road that flanked the stadium to the west.   After the conclusion of the 2001 home season, delayed two weeks by the postponement of the September 15th Notre Dame game to December 1st as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks, work began in earnest. The 1950s-era press box was demolished, and by early 2002, steel framework was being erected for the Pavilion on the west side of the stadium, an enduring architectural exclamation point.

In the old Woodworth Memorial Press Box, reporters and announcers who covered the Boilermakers were spread over three of the four levels of the structure. Network announcers occupied the second level, and print reporters watched the game from the third floor. Atop the press box, in structures that served their purpose but resembled ice-fishing shanties, radio play-by-play announcers and color commentators chronicled the exploits of the Boilermakers.

In the new four-story Pavilion, all media occupy the Shively Media Center on the fourth level. A photo deck above the fourth level affords a sweeping view of campus and a bird's-eye view of the action on the field.

On the lower levels of the Pavilion, fans who purchase seat licenses and suite licenses enjoy a unique experience unimagined by Ross. In 2002, 34 suites and a 200-seat indoor club were unveiled. Outdoor club seating was completed in the summer of 2003.   Fans in those seats enjoy an elevated view of the field, as well as access to the Shively Stadium Club.

A grand staircase at the southeast corner of Ross-Ade is sure to become an architectural signature for the venerable home of the Boilermakers. Beneath the stairs, a tunnel dedicated to the victims of the 1903 "football special" train wreck will welcome the football team into the stadium.

Less striking but every bit as integral to the renovation was the replacement of concrete throughout the stadium, as well as all new bench seating throughout. A new sound system was added in 2002. The crowning touch is the red-brick exterior on the new concourse buildings, a unifying element with Cary Quadrangle to the south and the rest of the red-brick West Lafayette campus.

Expanded seat widths and other changes in the stadium reduced seating capacity to 62,500 beginning with the 2003 season. It was 67,332 prior to the renovation and was 66,295 for 2002.