McCulloch Stadium is a 2,500-seat outdoor stadium in the northwest

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, located in Salem, Oregon. Built in 1950, the multi-use facility serves as home to

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

's football and track & field teams, and

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games. Located in

Bush's Pasture Park Bush's Pasture Park (90.5 acres) is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bush ...

south of Willamette's campus, the stadium includes a grandstand, football field, and track.

History

Charles E. McCulloch donated $50,000 to the school in June 1947 in order to build an athletic complex on at what is now Bush's Pasture Park. At the time, McCulloch was president of the university's board of trustees and an attorney in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

where he was a partner at what is now Stoel Rives. The proposed stadium was to have seating for 3,500 in a concrete grandstand, plus a baseball diamond, track, and practice field for the football team. Construction began in March 1950 with it planned to be completed in time for that year's football season. It was also announced the stadium would be named for Charles E. McCulloch and have a total capacity of 7,000. On October 14, 1950, a dedication ceremony was held with school president G. Herbert Smith and Oregon governor

Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...

on hand to welcome Hawaii Warriors football, Hawaii and honor the 1941 Willamette team that was stranded in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The New York Giants football team held their first scrimmage of the 1958 season at the stadium on July 31. Around 1970 the track surface was converted to an asphalt and rubber surface, which was resurfaced in the 1980s. McCulloch Stadium went through a major renovation in 1993.Salem Online History: Willamette University
/ref> After renovations, the field was named Ted Ogdahl Field in honor of the former coach while the locker rooms were dedicated in the honor of Jeff Knox. In October 1997, Liz Heaston became the first female to play in a college football game, kicking two extra points in the 1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game, game at McCulloch against Linfield College. A new $300,000 rekotan track surface was installed at the stadium in 2000. At that time university officials discovered the previous track was too long. In 2003 the grass field was removed and a new FieldTurf surface was installed at a cost of $500,000. Later that year lights were re-installed at McCulloch at a cost of $110,000. A new video scoreboard was added at the facility in 2007.

Sports

The stadium hosts a variety of sports. These include lacrosse, football, soccer, and track meets. McCulloch can seat 2,500 spectators. All seats at the stadium are in the covered grandstand on the west side of the playing surface. The grandstands include a press box, offices for the coaches, player locker rooms, and athletic training facilities. McCulloch includes the eight lane Charles Bowles Track for the school's track teams. The stadium also host high school football games, including OSAA playoff games.

References

External links

Information and photos at Willamette University
{{Premier Development League stadiums Sports venues in Oregon College football venues Willamette Bearcats football Athletics (track and field) venues in Oregon College track and field venues in the United States Soccer venues in Oregon Sports venues completed in 1950 Willamette University campus Tourist attractions in Salem, Oregon American football venues in Oregon 1950 establishments in Oregon