Ratcliffe Stadium is a collegiate athletic venue in the

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, located on the campus of Fresno City College in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. Opened in 1926, it was renamed in 1941 after their first football coach, Emory Ratcliffe. The stadium hosted the Raisin Bowl and was home to the

Fresno State Bulldogs football The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno, in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symb ...

team through

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

; they moved to their on-campus Bulldog Stadium in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. Ratcliffe also hosted the West Coast Relays, a major

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

competition. Today, local

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

games and various track and field events are still held there. The stadium has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 13,000, and it is located at 1101 E. University Avenue, along Blackstone Avenue. The football field has a conventional north-south alignment, at an

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of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

Historical events

On June 2, 1964, Fresno Mayor Wallace D. Henderson marched with

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

and 1,000 persons from Fresno High School march Ratcliffe Stadium, where about 3,000 persons attended a rally that he spoke at regarding fair housing, desegregation and the Rumford Housing Act and in protest of California Proposition 14 (1964). It was organized as the Witness of Faith for Freedom Rally.

References

* {{Fresno State Bulldogs football navbox College football venues in California Athletics (track and field) venues in California Fresno State Bulldogs football Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States NCAA bowl game venues Sports venues completed in 1926 Sports venues in Fresno, California

Historical events

See also

References