Facilities

Rice-Eccles Stadium

First Game: Sept. 12, 1998
Seating Capacity: 45,807 (approx. 51,444 beginning 2021)
Largest Crowd: 47,825 (9/3/15 vs. Michigan)
Chair Seats: 15,015
Suites: 25
Surface: FieldTurf

With its striking design, stunning mountain backdrop and panoramic views of downtown Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake, Rice-Eccles Stadium is recognized as one of the most beautiful college stadiums in the country. While the exterior scenery is captivating, the charged atmosphere inside Rice-Eccles Stadium makes it one of the 25 “toughest stadiums in the country” for opposing teams according to Bleacher Report.

It is also a venue that is undergoing a significant expansion and upgrade. An $80 million project at Rice-Eccles Stadium is underway, scheduled to be completed for the 2021 season. The project has been funded in part by a lead gift of $17.5 million from the Ken Garff family, which is the largest donation in Utah Athletics history. The new south end zone structure will be named the Ken Garff Performance Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

No state or taxpayer dollars will be used. The current structure, built in 1982, was the only piece of old Rice Stadium retained when the current structure opened on the same grounds in 1998. The project will enclose the stadium bowl by connecting the east and west concourses on the south end.

Seating capacity will be increased from 45,807 to 51,444 with the addition various premium seating areas and more than 1,000 bleacher seats. Fans will be provided with several premium seating options with a large number of luxury suites, loge boxes, ledge and club seating, a premium terrace and club area. A field-level club with an outdoor patio, recruiting lounge, and full-service kitchen are also included in the new structure, as are additional points of sale for concessions and restrooms.

The dilapidated locker and meeting rooms below the previous south end zone stands are being replaced and modernized, along with new spaces created for coaches, officials, athletic training, equipment, press operations and the band. The 7,800-square foot south end zone videoboard will remain in its current place.

Fueling the expansion has been Utah's tremendous fan support in recent years. Entering the 2021 season, the Utes have played in front of 64-straight home sellouts (60 which exceeded the seating capacity) for games in which tickets were sold, extending back to the 2010 opener against Pittsburgh. In its first 22 seasons, there have been 83 total standing-room-only crowds.

The venue’s seating capacity was increased from 45,017 to 45,807 in 2014, and as a result, the top six season attendance averages and 12 of the top 15 single-game crowds in Rice-Eccles Stadium history were recorded in the last six years. The Utes averaged a school-record 46,533 fans per game in 2015, when they also recorded their two best single-game attendance marks (47,825 vs. Michigan and 47,798 vs. California). Dating back to its 13-0 Sugar Bowl campaign of 2008, Utah’s average attendance has exceeded the stadium’s capacity for 12 consecutive years.

Opened in 1998 on the grounds of the old Ute (1927-71) and Rice (1972-97) stadiums, Rice-Eccles Stadium has seen several upgrades in ensuing years. The latest was a state-of-the art 122 x 64-foot video scoreboard that rises 137 feet above ground and was completed in the summer of 2016. One of the largest college football video boards in the country, it features a high definition display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The enhanced software to run the board delivers some of the best special effects in the sports industry and synchronizes with the LED board in the north end zone. Another improvement in 2016 was a distributed sound system that enhances the sound quality in every section of Rice-Eccles Stadium while also reducing noise to the surrounding community.

Rice-Eccles Stadium has also hosted a number of other major sporting events, the most prominent being the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games.

The stadium floor has also changed with the times. A FieldTurf surface with CoolPlay cork infill was installed in September 2015, marking the third version of FieldTurf laid down in Rice-Eccles since 2002. Previous surfaces (dating back to Ute Field) were natural grass from 1927-71 and again in 2000-01, AstroTurf from 1972-95 and SportGrass from 1995-99.

The initial groundwork for Rice-Eccles Stadium began in 1996, when Utah Director of Athletics Chris Hill initiated a fundraising campaign to replace aging 32,500-seat Rice Stadium. A lead gift of $10 million soon came in from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, steered by former Ute All-America skier Spence Eccles.

The total construction costs ran $50 million, of which $20 million came from private gifts, $10 million from athletics department bonding, $12 million from the University of Utah and $8 million from the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee.

Preliminary construction work began in the summer of 1997. Two days after the final home game that fall, wrecking crews moved in and demolished Rice Stadium. Only the south end zone bleachers and the Rice name (Robert L. Rice contributed $1 million in the 1972 renovation) would carry over to the new venue. Rising from the rubble less than 10 months later was Rice-Eccles Stadium, an imposing concrete, steel and glass edifice that dominates the Salt Lake skyline.

Visible for miles is the stadium box, located 14 stories above ground and encased in a 400-square-foot expanse of tempered glass. The box is supported by twin towers containing four high-speed elevators. Occupants of the stadium box are treated to sweeping views of the Wasatch Mountains to the east and downtown Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

The Cleone and Spence Eccles Scholarship Box on Level 4 seats 450 and has indoor-outdoor seating, along with eight suites. The Mezzanine on Level 5 provides another 17 suites.

Level 6 contains the John Mooney Working Press Area, named in honor of the late Ute football writer and Salt Lake Tribune sports editor, and booths for television and radio (among them the Bill Marcroft Radio Booth, named for late former “Voice of the Utes”). The press, TV and radio sections open into the Varsity Reception area, which seats 400 for dining.

The 2016 stadium upgrades were not the first time the scoreboards were replaced since Rice-Eccles opened its gates. In 2003, the late Larry H. and Gail Miller donated $1.6 million for the venue’s first video scoreboard. In 2007, Utah Sports Properties financed an LED board stretching across the top of the north end zone stands and two LED scoreboards were added to the north side corners in 2014. In 2012, an LED board was placed at the bottom of the south end zone stands.

The south end zone bleachers, built in 1982, housed the locker rooms, the Gary L. Crocker Stadium Club suite and a band room until 2020 when the building was razed to make way for the Ken Garff Performance Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The plaza behind the south end zone was dedicated on Aug. 21, 2003 as the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games Cauldron Park, and the cauldron was removed and refurbished in 2020, returning on January 29, 2021 to a new location outside the stadium's southeast gates. It now sits atop a 32-foot-tall pedestal and will be surrounded by historcal displays in a location more accessible to the public. The Utah Athletics main ticket office is located on the southwest corner of the plaza.

Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center

Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center At a Glance

Capacity: Over 120,000-square feet of offices, meeting rooms, player and staff locker rooms, players' lounge and auditorium.
Amenities: All Utah student-athletes will utilize the building's cafeteria and technologically advanced sports medicine and rehabilitation center.
New Neighbors: Attached to the 19,000-sqare foot Alex Smith Strength & Conditioning Center and the 74,000-square foot Spence Eccles Field House.

In July 2013, Utah football moved into the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center, a new state-of-the-art facility that provides over 120,000-square feet of space designed for the sole purpose of helping the players, coaches and staff perform at their highest level. The $34 million facility, funded with more than $17 million in private contributions along with Pac-12 revenues, will ensure that players, coaches, and staff have the facilities needed to compete at the highest levels of excellence. The Spencer F. and Cleone P. Eccles Family Foundation led by former Utah All-America skier Spence Eccles supplied the lead gift for the facility, with additional major grants from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation.

The Spence and Cleone Eccles Center is equally beautiful as it is functional. The three-story structure features two courtyards and large sweeping glass windows, which provide picturesque views of the Wasatch Mountains to the south and east, and downtown Salt Lake City and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

The building isn't just for football. The training, rehabilitation and nutritional needs of every Utah student-athlete are enhanced greatly by the new facility. A technologically advanced 17,000-square-foot sports medicine complex, including a dedicated hydrotherapy center, allows the Utah sports medicine staff to utilize cutting edge rehabilitation and therapy techniques. The building also houses a 250-seat cafeteria, serving meals tailored to the specific diets of student-athletes.

For Utah football, the facility includes a 6,500-square-foot locker room. Each of the program's 125 players is allocated a custom-crafted locker with roomy and ventilated space, and secure storage for personal belongings. Charging stations for portable electronic devices are also included. A spacious 3,600-square-foot players' lounge, featuring numerous large flat screen HD televisions, billiard games, a hydration station and group study areas, spills out to a sprawling two-tiered observation deck overlooking the practice fields. Providing great views of the Salt Lake valley and Rice-Eccles Stadium, it promises to be a popular place for team get-togethers and alumni events for years to come.

The new facility houses over 47,000-square feet of offices, meeting rooms and an auditorium. Each member of the coaching staff is provided with a professional and comfortable office, equipped with the latest technology for maximum efficiency. The building also features the 6,500-square foot Sorenson Legacy Foundation Football Hall of Fame.

The Alex Smith Strength & Conditioning Center, which opened in the summer of 2009, is attached to new training center and was expanded to over 19,000-square feet as part of the project. The Spence Eccles Field House, a 74,000-square foot indoor training facility that opened in 2004, sits adjacent to the new building. In terms of both amenities and size, the Utah football program is assured of having one of the finest training complexes in the nation well into the heart of this century.

Spence Eccles Field House

When the weather isn’t conducive to practicing outdoors, the Utes are able to work out in one of the finest indoor facilities in the nation.

The Spence Eccles Field House, a $6 million training venue that opened in November of 2004, provides Utah athletes with 74,000-square feet of space and a regulation-size FieldTurf football field, all under a 60-foot roof. The facility includes netting and batting cages for softball and baseball, a training room and restrooms. The Spence Eccles Field House was privately funded, largely through a $2 million gift from former Ute All-American skier and long-time benefactor Spence Eccles.

The building is located adjacent to the newly-opened Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center, which includes a technologically advanced sports medicine and rehabilitation facility, a 19,000-square-foot weight room, and the Utah Athletics cafeteria.

McCarthey Family Track & Field Complex

The University of Utah officially dedicated the McCarthey Family Track & Field on Oct. 23, 2010.

Honored at the proceedings were philanthropists Tom, Phil, Sarah and Maureen McCarthey. Representing their late brother Shaun was his widow Ning. The McCartheys, longtime Utah athletics supporters, provided a generous lead gift of $2 million. The University of Utah's Campus Recreation Services and Administrative Services departments funded the remaining $600,000 of the $2.6 million project.

"The McCarthey family has always been very generous throughout our community and the country, for that matter," said Utah Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hill. "We are very excited that they were so charitable to our program and made this long-awaited track a reality. The addition of the McCarthey Family Track & Field comes at a great time for the University of Utah. It will not only serve our student-athletes, it will also benefit many other groups and individuals throughout the campus."

"We believe that students and people of all ages need to have a place to run and jump and play games," said Phil McCarthey.

Until the McCartheys stepped forward with their gift, the University of Utah had gone 28 years without an on-campus track and field. A track in old Rice Stadium was removed during an expansion of the stadium back in 1982 and the Utah track team has been training at off-campus sites ever since.

"The McCarthey Family Track & Field is monumental in so many ways," said Kepler. "As the new home for our track and field program, this facility will give our student-athletes a world-class training and competition venue. In addition to the competitive advantage it offers us, we will now have a more flexible practice schedule, which will enhance the academic opportunities for our student-athletes. The McCarthey Family Track & Field will also send a very clear message to prospective recruits about the vision of our program's future, which includes developing some of the best track and field student-athletes in the country. We will be forever thankful to the McCarthey family for its generous support of this facility and our program."

During designated times when it is not reserved for use by Utah athletics, campus recreation and club sports, the track will be open to the public.

The 400-meter track has nine 42-inch wide lanes with a Beynon Sports Surface--a surface also found on tracks at several other NCAA schools, among them Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina and Iowa. The interior of the track has a 75 x 125-yard AstroTurf field, along with areas for the throwing and jumping events.

The McCarthey Family Track & Field will be illuminated for night use by four banks of permanent lights. There will be lawn-style spectator seating on the berm along the east side. The facility was designed by Losee Architects' Sports Division and the general contractor was Big D Construction.