Memorial Stadium (Wichita Falls)

Memorial Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas located on Southwest Parkway at Barnett Road. It is owned and operated by the Wichita Falls Independent School District.

Memorial Stadium

Location	Southwest Parkway at Barnett Road Wichita Falls, TX
Coordinates	33°51′15″N 98°34′57″W
Owner	Wichita Falls Independent School District
Operator	Wichita Falls Independent School District
Capacity	14,500
Opened	1970
Tenants
Pioneer Bowl (NCAA) (1971–1978, 1981–1982) Midwestern State Mustangs (NCAA) (1988–present) Oil Bowl Classic John Hirschi High School Huskies (UIL) S.H. Rider High School Raiders ( UIL) Wichita Falls High School Coyotes (UIL) Wichita Falls Nighthawks (PAFL/GDFL) (2013–2014)

History

Built in 1970, the stadium can seat 14,500 fans with room for 2,500 more and is one of the largest high school football stadiums in the state of Texas. Some of the stadium's attractions include parking for up to 3,600 cars, a two-story press box for visiting coaches, dignitaries, and the media, as well as an artificial turf playing surface and a state of the art scoreboard, most of which were added several years after the stadium's initial opening.[1] Every summer, Memorial Stadium is host to the Oil Bowl Classic, an annual high school all-star football game that pits the best football players from Texas against those from Oklahoma.[2] On April 10, 1979, Memorial Stadium was severely damaged when an F4 tornado tore through the southwest portion of Wichita Falls, the winds only measuring up to an F3 on the Fujita scale while the tornado was directly on top of the stadium, however.[3] The tornado in question also brought upon extremely severe damage to the town of Wichita Falls, causing major safety reforms to buildings and a massive rebuild of the town and the infrastructure within it.[4] That Tuesday in April 1979 hosted the creation of several smaller but equally devastating tornados around the Red River Valley area in what is known as the 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak, often casually referred to as "Terrible Tuesday".

Usage

Memorial Stadium is home to the John Hirschi High School Huskies, S.H. Rider High School Raiders, and Wichita Falls High School Coyotes. It has also served as the home of the Midwestern State University football program since 1988.

From 1971 through 1978, and also in 1981 and 1982, the stadium hosted various NCAA playoff games, at the Division II and Division I-A levels, known as the Pioneer Bowl.

References

1. "Midwestern State University - Memorial Stadium". www.msumustangs.com. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
2. "History – Oilbowl". oilbowl.com. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
3. Burress, About The Author Paige (2014-04-10). "Looking Back at the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak • Texas Storm Chasers". Texas Storm Chasers. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
4. "USATODAY.com - 1979 Texas tornado led to safety changes". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2017-01-21.

Preceded by none Hughes Stadium	Host of the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship Game 1978 1981–1982	Succeeded by Orlando Stadium Johnson Hagood Stadium