by ALLBLUCAT
Somehow over the years, after all of the times I have driven up Alumni Dr. and looked over to my right as I passed through campus, I never thought much about what goes on at Commonwealth Stadium. After all, Commonwealth was just a place you passed by on your way to Rupp Arena for a basketball game. But this year, after many years of never seeing much of campus, I drove around and looked over a lot of the facilities when my family and I went to see Matthew Mitchell and his Lady Cats take on Mississippi State. We went up early that day and I was determined for my girls to see part of the campus that they are determined to spend 4-5 years each at, along with a large sum of my money. We passed by Cliff Hagan Stadium, (only at Kentucky do you have a baseball field named after a basketball player/AD, AND a football field at Commonwealth Stadium as C.M. Newton field is) and we drove over around Commonwealth Stadium and they got a close look at the outside of the place. My daughter commented that it looked like the Roman Coliseum which she had been studying in school, and that kind of stuck with me.
Now Commonwealth is by no means the ultimate in collegiate football stadiums. It is smaller than a lot of them, has virtually no real history behind it (of major significance) and is nothing architecturally outstanding, but it is home to our Kentucky Wildcats, and that is reason enough to me for my admiration. I have attended games in Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium, Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Neyland Stadium, and a host of others both college and professional. All of these have some charm and history which far exceed our own, but Commonwealth offers many things that some of you who have not attended a game there may not be aware of, so let me enlighten you.
Commonwealth Stadium is a wonderful place to see a ballgame. There are no really bad seats, even though a few are a little cramped, there are no obstructions that will keep you from enjoying the game. Weather is always a factor, as with any outdoor arena, but the winds are not a serious problem for most games. Stadium fare is good, while not life-altering for the cost. In my mind, any SEC football game is a good one, so there are really good games played at Commonwealth. The goalposts have come down several times, as LSU,Bama, and Georgia all fell victim to the improved Wildcats in the last few years.
One tidbit some people are not aware of is that until 1973 when Commonwealth was built, there was one SEC team that never visited Kentucky for 25 years, Alabama. Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant refused to play UK at the old McLean Stadium, supposedly,because of it’s small seating capacity. I will assume for the purposes of this article that the Bear’s loathing of all things Kentucky never entered into the picture. The Wildcats glory years at Commonwealth immediately followed it’s construction with the high point coming in 1976-1977. After that, things just never seemed to get better and stay that way, until the arrival of Rich Brooks on the scene a few years ago. The 1999 renovation modernized Commonwealth and brought in luxury boxes, and enclosed the stadium completely, and gave it the new capacity of 67,606, however, the record crowd for the stadium is when the Florida game in 2007 drew close to 72,000.
All in all commonwealth gives any Cat fan a wonderful experience from the tailgating in the parking lot, to the last snap. All we need now are a few more signature wins, and maybe another SEC championship to go along with those wins over Georgia, Alabama and LSU in recent past to make Commonwealth a true icon in the state. A clean sweep of Georgia, Auburn, and S.Carolina in October would go a long way to sealing that championship.
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