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McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Constructed: 1964-1965
Architects: Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Chicago, Ill. and New York, N.Y.
Design and construction
By 1960, the growth of the University and its burgeoning football program made the construction of a new sports facility a top priority. From the beginning, the stadium was conceived as a multi-purpose facility which could be used for other sports as well as for ceremonial occasions. A sweeping concrete structure whose bold curves and open space express and exploit the vocabulary of its material, McGuirk Stadium was the first major concrete stadium to be built in the Northeast since 1920. One unusual feature is its raised design: the lowest seats in the stands are more than twelve feet off the ground.
Naming of the building
First known as Alumni Stadium, it was renamed in 1984 for Warren P. McGuirk, a long-time University athletic director who played a major role in the design and construction of the stadium.
Source
- From Three Architectural Tours: Selected Buildings on the Campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, 2000)
- For additional information, consult the University Archives (RG 36/101).