Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium

Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (formerly War Memorial Stadium, Memorial Stadium, and Texas Memorial Stadium), located in Austin, Texas, has been home to the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns football team since 1924. The stadium has delivered a great home field advantage with the team's home record through the 2012 season being 352-100-10 (77.2%). The current official stadium seating capacity of 100,119 makes the stadium the largest football-only venue by seating capacity in the state of Texas, the largest in the Big 12 Conference, the sixth largest stadium in the NCAA and the United States, and the ninth largest non-racing stadium in the world.

While DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium has the largest seating capacity in the U.S. state of Texas, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys' new stadium, Cowboys Stadium, has an overall capacity of approximately 111,000 when combining a seating capacity of 80,000 plus outdoor party plazas capable of accommodating up to 31,000 standing fans.

The DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium attendance record of 101,851 spectators was set on October 6, 2012, when Texas played new conference mate West Virginia.

The stadium has been expanded several times since its original opening. The University's most recent completed project was a $27 million expansion and renovation project to the south end zone facilities in August 2009. For the 2009 season, 4,525 permanent bleacher seats were constructed, which allowed the stadium to become the first football stadium in Texas capable of seating in excess of 100,000 persons and brought the stadium to its current seating capacity. In May 2013, Regents for the University of Texas system approved a $62 million stadium improvement project. This project will improve and add athletic and academic facilities within the existing stadium structure, but it will not expand the current seating capacity. The timeline for this project's completion has not yet been revealed.

Memorial Dedication
In 1923, former UT athletics director L. Theo Bellmont (the west side of the stadium is named in his honor), along with thirty student leaders, presented the idea of building a concrete stadium to replace the wooden bleachers of Clark Field to the Board of Regents. Heralded as "the largest sports facility of its kind in the Southwest" upon its completion in 1924, the first unit of the stadium consisted of the east and west stands with a seating capacity of 27,000. It was designed as a dual-purpose facility with a 440 yd track surrounding the football field. The stadium was financed through donations from both students and alumni. The estimated cost of the structure was $275,000.

The student body dedicated the stadium in honor of the 198,520 Texans &mdash; 5,280 of whom lost their lives &mdash; who fought in World War I. A statue, representing the figure of democracy, was later placed atop the north end zone seats of the stadium. In World War II, the University lost many former players, including former coach Jack Chevigny. The Athletics Council rededicated the newly enlarged stadium on September 18, 1948 prior to the Texas-LSU game, honoring the men and women who had died in the war. On November 12, 1977, a small granite monument was unveiled and placed at the base of the statue, during the TCU-Texas game. The ceremony rededicated Texas Memorial Stadium to the memory of all alumni in all American wars.

The University of Texas honored legendary football coach Darrell K Royal, who enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1943, and who lead Texas to three national championships and eleven Southwest Conference titles, by officially naming the stadium after him in 1996. Additionally, the University established the Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee, composed of alumni who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam or the Gulf Wars. The committee is charged to forever dedicate the stadium in the memory of, and in honor of, UT students and alumni who gave their lives for their country. Each year, one home football game is designated as Veterans Recognition Day, commemorating the memorial aspect of the stadium and to honor the memory of war soldiers.

Renovations/Expansions



 * 1926 - "Horseshoe" built on the north end for $125,000 raising capacity to 40,500.
 * 1948 - Two L-shaped sections added to the east and west stands, raising seating capacity to 60,136. General contractor for this work was Farnsworth & Chambers Inc. of Houston, Texas.
 * 1955 - Lights added.
 * 1964 - Minor seating expansion added 780 seats, bringing capacity to 60,916.
 * 1968 - Seating expansion added 5,481 seats, bringing capacity to 66,397.
 * 1971 - Upper deck added to the west side raising seating capacity to 77,809; artificial turf applied to field. General contractor for this work was a joint venture of two companies: Darragh & Lyda Inc. of San Antonio, Texas and H. A. Lott, Inc. of Houston, Texas.
 * 1977 - Track converted from 440 yards to 400 meters (437.4 yds.).
 * 1986 - The Vernon F. "Doc" Neuhaus–Darrell K Royal Athletic Center completed at the south end of the stadium at a cost of $7 million; the Center was later renamed the W. A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr.–V. F. "Doc" Neuhaus Athletic Center in 1997 after Royal's name was added to the stadium.
 * 1996 - Replacement of the stadium's artificial turf with natural grass (Prescription Athletic Turf); installation of a Jumbotron video system; scoreboards retrofitted;
 * 1997 - Fourteen stadium suites added to west side; underside of the stands remodeled, adding a concession plaza and visitors' locker room. In recognition of UT law school alumnus and benefactor Joe Jamail, the University named the football playing field Joe Jamail Field. Stadium capacity reduced by 2,297 seats, brining capacity to 75,512.
 * 1998 - 5,000-seat upper deck added on east side including fifty-two new stadium suites and a 13000 sqft private club room. A total of 3,959 seats were added, brining capacity to 79,471.
 * 1999 - Track removed; new seats added to the west grandstand and the field was lowered seven feet to accommodate new front-row and field-level seats on the east and west grandstands, bringing capacity to 80,082.
 * 2002 - TifSport Certified Bermuda grass replaced Prescription Athletic Turf.
 * 2005 - Bellmont Hall, located in the west side of the stadium, was upgraded to meet newer safety codes set by the Austin Fire Department, the upper deck structure received new water sealing, and the Centennial Room and eighth-floor press box were expanded at a cost of $15 million.
 * 2006 - A 7370 sqft high-definition Daktronics LED scoreboard, nicknamed "Godzillatron", located in the south end zone, was installed as the centerpiece of $8 million worth of audio/visual improvements. The six large flag poles that previously displayed the Six Flags Over Texas were replaced by smaller flags located atop the new screen. The sound system was also updated and smaller video boards were installed on the east and west sides of the stadium. 432 club seats were added to the west side and approximately 4,000 bleacher seats were added behind the south end zone expanding official seating capacity to 85,123.
 * 2007-2008 - see below
 * 2009 - A $27 million project brought a new Football Academic Center, a new Hall of Fame, FieldTurf replaced the TifSport Certified Bermuda grass, and replaced the 4,000 south end temporary bleachers with the addition of 4,525 permanent bleacher seats bringing capacity to 100,119.
 * 2011 - Player locker room renovated with 135 new wide-space lockers connected to a state-of-the-art exhaust system, nutrition bar, lounge area with gaming stations, six large LED screens, and a new sound system and speakers.
 * 2013 - FieldTurf installed in 2009 replaced in April 2013 to improve drainage and change the orange in the end zones to more of a "burnt orange".
 * 201? - A $62 million project that will add a practice facility for the women's volleyball team in the basement of the north end zone as well as additional athletic offices. Bellmont Hall will receive facility improvements and become an academic center for kinesiology, health education and fine arts.

2007–2008 Expansion Projects
In 2006, regents approved a $149.9 million expansion plan (later increased to $179 million; including the $15 million 2006 renovations) to include a new memorial plaza and new north end zone structure that was scheduled for completion in August 2008. The new outdoor plaza at the northwest corner is a memorial to veterans, with (the original 1924) bronze tablet honoring Texas World War I deaths, a monument, landscaping, and new stadium entry gates between two 115 ft towers, like those in the east grandstand. The expansion also consisted of replacing the north end zone structure with a multi-level complex that includes additional seats with an upper deck, club space, suites, athletic offices, academic-advising areas and a basement with gym space. Demolition of the old north end zone began on December 8, 2006. This was necessary to move the north end seating closer to the field. Extremely unpredictable weather patterns, which included historic amounts of rainfall for much of the year and sleet and snow in January and April, delayed construction several times. However, construction crews worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and much of the new lower deck was ready in time for the first game of the 2007 season. The south end bleacher seating was expanded for the 2007 season to seat approximately 6,400 fans.

An upper deck was added to the north end zone in time for the 2008 season and the temporary south end seating was reduced back to 4,000 since the north end zone expansion was complete. The south end zone also became the new seating location of the Longhorn Band beginning in 2008. Overall, the stadium's official seating capacity increased from 85,123 to 94,113. With a current capacity of 100,119, this is the only 100k+ capacity stadium in the U.S. that is not a fully enclosed bowl, with room for continued expansion in the south end zone area.

Future South End Zone Expansion
The final planned phase of the stadium's expansion includes the construction of permanent seating and an upper deck in the south end zone, completely enclosing the playing field. This plan has been part of the University's master plan since at least 2005 as renderings and models of a fully enclosed stadium have existed since then. If the expanded south end zone seating is like the current north end zone seating, which seats approximately 28,500 fans, the expansion could add approximately 25,000 seats to the existing 4,525 south end zone seats. The stadium's seating capacity is expected to be between 115,000 and 125,000 fans once the south end zone is fully enclosed, supplanting The University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium as the largest football stadium in North America. However, the date of the final construction phase to fully enclose the south end zone has not been set nor have any funds been raised. A possible hint at the timeline for construction was released by the University in their plans for the Dell Medical School. Phase 3 of the medical school project includes a campus map showing all of the new buildings in the project highlighted in burnt orange. Among the highlighted areas is a new structure enclosing the south end zone of the stadium.