2 Congressmen Form Caucus to Preserve Historic College Football Stadiums

Two House lawmakers have teamed up to form a new congressional caucus focused on preserving and protecting more than a dozen historic college football stadiums, including the Rose Bowl, the Yale Bowl and Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium. 

The bipartisan caucus—led by Louisiana representative Garret Graves, a Republican, and Wisconsin representative Mark Pocan, a Democrat—wants to bring attention to “these iconic venues,” protect their value and adapt them to meet evolving needs, according to a news release. The effort, which will include “technological upgrades” and “infrastructure updates,” would likely involve federal money. 

“When Tiger fans walk into Death Valley on Saturday nights, they do more than watch a football game—they walk into a 99-year-old local icon that supports our regional economy,” Graves said in the release. “Every bowl of jambalaya scooped and Tiger Dog served injects jobs and resources into our community.”

Similarly, Pocan said the historic stadiums serve a vital role in communities.

“Not only are they where memories are made and young people get inspired to play sports, but they’re often hubs of economic activity,” he said. “We must do everything we can to protect these iconic venues in our communities.”

The Historic Stadium Caucus will work to preserve 18 venues, some of which are the oldest remaining stadiums in the country:

• Beaver Stadium (Pennsylvania State University)
• Camp Randall Stadium (University of Wisconsin at Madison)
• Cotton Bowl (Dallas)
• Davis Wade Stadium (Mississippi State University)
• Franklin Field (University of Pennsylvania)
• Husky Stadium (University of Washington)
• Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn University)
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (University of Southern California)
• Memorial Stadium (University of California, Berkeley)
• Memorial Stadium (University of Illinois, Champaign)
• Memorial Stadium (Clemson University)
• Nippert Stadium (University of Cincinnati)
• Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.)
• SJSU Spartan Stadium (San José State University)
• Tiger Stadium (Louisiana State University)
• Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field (University of Mississippi)
• Wallace Wade Stadium (Duke University)
• Yale Bowl (Yale University)