Ownby Stadium was a stadium in the University Park suburb of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. It was the home of the Southern Methodist University Mustang football team. In late 1998, the stadium was demolished to build

Gerald J. Ford Stadium Gerald J. Ford Stadium is a stadium in Dallas, Texas. The stadium is owned by Southern Methodist University (SMU) and is used primarily for games played by the SMU Mustangs football team. About Gerald J. Ford Stadium The stadium is named after ...

at the site.

Background

Named for Jordon Ownby, the stadium was built at the south end of the campus. There was controversy at the time of the stadium's inception, as the school had spent the gift from Ownby on a stadium (per his wishes) rather than a full-sized library, which the school did not have at the time. As the Mustangs rose to prominence in the 1930s, they began scheduling an increasing number of games at the much larger Cotton Bowl, and finally moved there on a permanent basis in 1948, while later moving to

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof. Th ...

. However, after massive rules violations resulted in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

handing down the "death penalty" in 1987, SMU officials decided to move football games back to a heavily renovated Ownby Stadium. From 1976 to 1979 the chief tenant at Ownby was the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. T ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. The 23,783-seat stadium consisted of four grandstands, one on each side, with the west (home) side being larger than the rest. In late 1998, the stadium was demolished to make way for

, which stands on the same site.

References

{{NRHP in Texas o American football venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Buildings and structures demolished in 1998 Defunct college football venues Defunct soccer venues in the United States SMU Mustangs football venues Soccer venues in Texas Sports venues in Dallas North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums Former National Register of Historic Places in Texas

Background

See also

References