Notre Dame Stadium

Originally opened its doors in 1930, the stadium is one of the oldest and most recognizable and iconic venues in college football and serves as a popular tourist attraction for sports fans worldwide. It originally opened its doors in 1930 and was designed by the Osborn Engineering Company and built for $750,000; in 2022 money, that would be the equivalent of over $12,626,400. Photo credit: Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, and is famed for serving as the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Combining rich history and tradition, the stadium is one of the oldest and most recognizable and iconic venues in college football and serves as a popular tourist attraction for sports fans worldwide. It originally opened its doors in 1930 and was designed by the Osborn Engineering Company and built for $750,000; in 2022 money, that would be the equivalent of over $12,626,400.

Notre Dame Stadium is known by many as the “House that Knute Built” after legendary coach Knute Rockne, who was key in the stadium’s structure and design and regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history.

Originally built to seat 54,000 spectators, Notre Dame Stadium’s capacity was increased over the ensuing years, at one point reaching 80,225 in 1997 following a $50 million renovation project that also included new scoreboards. However, that number was lowered slightly to its current 77,622 capacity following a $400 million renovation in 2014 – concluded in time for the 2017 season – that added wider, premium seating to the stadium and as well as three new campus buildings.

In addition, the field’s playing surface was changed to artificial turf in 2014, after 84 seasons on natural grass. The stadium is also known for its iconic “Touchdown Jesus,” mural – entitled The Word of Life by Millard Sheets – which depicts the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the mural was installed in 1964 on the Hesburgh Library, whose mosaic wall looms over the stadium.

While only hosting football games for the vast majority of its history, in recent years Notre Dame Stadium has begun hosting other sporting contests – such as ice hockey, rugby, and soccer – and even entertainment events, including concerts by Garth Brooks and Billy Joel.

Notre Dame Stadium is also well-known in American popular culture, with the 1993 football underdog film “Rudy” having been filmed on the Notre Dame campus while classes were in session; in fact, the stadium scenes were even filmed at halftime during an actual Notre Dame football game.

To find out more – and possibly purchase tickets for a game – please visit https://und.com/facilities-notre-dame-stadium-html.

Notre Dame Stadium
2010 Moose Krause Circle
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 631-5036
https://tour.nd.edu/locations/notre-dame-stadium/