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HOME OF LSU FOOTBALL TIGER STADIUM

"It's Saturday Night in Death Valley...and here come your Fighting Tigers of LSU."

Hearing those words from public address announcer Dan Borne’ as the Tigers enter the stadium brings chills to even the casual LSU football fan and sends shivers to those on the opposing sideline. On football gamedays, Tiger Stadium becomes the fifth largest city in the state of Louisiana as over 100,000 fans pack the cathedral of college football to watch the Tigers play.

For LSU fans, there’s nothing better than spending a night in Tiger Stadium. LSU home football games are events talked about year-round and happenings in Tiger Stadium are passed down from generation to generation.

For opponents, however, it’s another story, as Tiger Stadium is an intimidating venue that has been called one of the most dreaded road playing sites in all of college football. Seating over 100,000 fans and nicknamed “Death Valley,” poll after poll has proclaimed Tiger Stadium as one of the greatest sites anywhere for a football game — college or professional.

No place like home

LSU enters the 2018 season having won 78 of its 91 games in Tiger Stadium over the past 13 seasons. That stretch dates back to the start of the 2005 season and includes wins over 22 Top 25 teams. The Tigers shattered the school record for consecutive home victories with 22 from Oct. 24, 2009, to Oct. 13, 2012.

LSU is 108-18 at home since the 2000 season — including perfect home records of 7-0 in 2004, 8-0 in 2006, 7-0 in 2010 , 6-0 in 2011 and 7-0 in 2013. Only four times since 2000 have the Tigers lost more than one home game.

In 2017, LSU recorded a home win over No. 10 Auburn before 101,601 fans. The 2016 Tigers defeated No. 23 Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium and played top-ranked Alabama before a sell-out crowd of 102,321.

The Tigers in 2015 posted victories before three sell-out home crowds in excess of 102,000, including wins over 18th-ranked Auburn and eighth-ranked Florida.

The 2015 home schedule was marked by a pair of unusual occurrences. The season opener versus McNeese State was stopped in the first quarter due to severe lightning and eventually canceled when the lightning persisted throughout the evening. And, LSU in 2015 held an impromptu home game against South Carolina in Tiger Stadium after severe flooding in Columbia, S.C., the week prior to the game forced the contest to be moved to Baton Rouge.

The 2014 season featured the opening of the South End Zone Expansion, increasing Tiger Stadium’s seating capacity to 102,321. LSU averaged a school-record 101,723 fans for seven home games, recording sold-out attendance figures of 102,321 for its home games against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama.

LSU in 2013 was undefeated (7-0) at home for the fourth time in the Miles Era. The home schedule was highlighted by wins over No. 17 Florida and No. 9 Texas A&M with attendance figures just below 93,000 for both games.

The 2012 season saw the Tigers shatter the total attendance record, packing in a combined 741,005 fans for eight games. It represented the eighth-consecutive season that LSU averaged over 92,000 fans per game. The Tigers knocked off third-ranked South Carolina, 23-21, with a spectacular fourth quarter on Oct. 13 in front of 92,734. The win was LSU’s 22nd consecutive home triumph, representing a school record.

Arguably the most anticipated game in Tiger Stadium history occurred on Nov. 3 against top-ranked Alabama. After weeks of buildup, a school-record 93,374 fans and nearly 1,000 credentialed media saw the Tide escape with a 21-17 victory. However, the atmosphere that evening left an indelible image for many. ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt, attending his first LSU home game, said the following two days later on his radio show: “There is nothing I would put ahead of that that I’ve ever seen in

LSU in 2013 was undefeated (7-0) at home for the fourth time in the Miles Era. The home schedule was highlighted by wins over No. 17 Florida and No. 9 Texas A&M with attendance figures just below 93,000 for both games.

The 2012 season saw the Tigers shatter the total attendance record, packing in a combined 741,005 fans for eight games. It represented the eighth-consecutive season that LSU averaged over 92,000 fans per game. The Tigers knocked off third-ranked South Carolina, 23-21, with a spectacular fourth quarter on Oct. 13 in front of 92,734. The win was LSU’s 22nd consecutive home triumph, representing a school record.

Arguably the most anticipated game in Tiger Stadium history occurred on Nov. 3 against top-ranked Alabama. After weeks of buildup, a school-record 93,374 fans and nearly 1,000 credentialed media saw the Tide escape with a 21-17 victory. However, the atmosphere that evening left an indelible image for many. ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt, attending his first LSU home game, said the following two days later on his radio show: “There is nothing I would put ahead of that that I’ve ever seen in

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Gameday at Tiger Stadium

LSU is legendary for its tailgating tradition. Find out everything you need to know for your next trip to campus.
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Great Moments

The 2007 national championship season featured some of Tiger Stadium’s most exciting moments, including a 28-24 win over Florida on Oct. 6. Top-ranked LSU overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the ninth-ranked Gators in front of 92,910 fans Ð then the largest crowd in stadium history Ð and a primetime CBS national television audience. Just two weeks later, Matt Flynn connected with Demetrius Byrd on a 22-yard TD pass with one second remaining to give LSU a 30-24 victory over Auburn in a game televised by ESPN. LSU rallied from deficits of 17-7 at halftime and 24-23 with three minutes left in the contest to capture the electrifying win.

Though already considered one of the most raucous stadiums in all of college football, the 2003 season saw Tiger Stadium take it to another level during LSU’s national title run, as the team, along with the fans, captivated the national media almost on a weekly basis. CBS televised Matt Mauck’s last-minute game-winning pass to Skyler Green against Georgia before a crowd of 92,251, while ESPN was on hand for a dominating 31-7 victory over Auburn. The Tigers closed out the 2003 home slate with a 55

In 2001, the Tigers clinched a berth in their first SEC Championship Game with a 27-14 victory over Auburn in the season finale in Tiger Stadium. After the contest, thousands of Tiger fans spilled onto the stadium floor to celebrate the victory. The Auburn game was traditionally played earlier in the season, but the attacks of September 11 postponed the contest until the final week of the regular season.

In 2000, the goal posts came down twice. Immediately after the Tigers upset then-No. 11 ranked Tennessee 38-31 in overtime, the capacity crowd of 91,682 flowed onto the field of Tiger Stadium to celebrate the victory. Hundreds of students lined the sidelines and the back of the north end zone as the Tigers held the Vols scoreless in overtime for the victory.

The goal posts came down again in the final home game of the 2000 season as the Tigers posted a 30-28 win over Alabama, their first victory over the Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium since 1969.

The goal posts fell for the first time in 1997 as all of America witnessed one of the most explosive nights in the history of the grand stadium when the Tigers upended No. 1-ranked Florida before a national television audience. A sea of Tiger fans swamped the floor of Tiger Stadium as both goal posts came crashing down — a scene that was replayed countless times on college football highlight shows.

One of the most famous moments in Death Valley history took place on “The Night The Tigers Moved the Earth,” Oct. 8, 1988. When Tiger quarterback Tommy Hodson threw to Eddie Fuller for a winning touchdown against Auburn, the explosion of the crowd was so thunderous that it caused an earth tremor that registered on a seismograph meter in LSU’s Geology Department across campus.

Then there was the night the Tigers nearly upset No. 1-ranked Southern California before a sellout crowd on September 28, 1979. The Tigers came up short, but the crowd roared from kickoff to final gun in a game many ardent LSU followers rank as the loudest in stadium history.

And, of course, there was Halloween night 1959, when Billy Cannon made his famous 89-yard punt return to lead No. 1 LSU past No. 3 Ole Miss. Legend has it that families living near the campus lakes came running out of their homes in fear of the

Those are the highlights, some of which have shaped the character of this great stadium. But week in and week out each fall, a new chapter unfolds in the history of Death Valley.

Aside from football, Tiger Stadium served as a concert venue from 2010-16. Death Valley played host to “Bayou Country Superfest,” a three-day country music festival that featured the likes of Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

““LSU students are the best. Part of being the best, is knowing when to be loud, when to be quiet and where to channel your energy. When they are on, they just wreck the other team.””
Glenn Dorsey
All-American DT
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History

The home of one of football’s proudest traditions, Tiger Stadium once served as a dormitory for approximately 1,500 students, and while Broussard Hall, then LSU’s athletics dormitory, was being renovated during the fall of 1986, the LSU football players lived in Tiger Stadium.

The original phase of construction was completed in 1924. This first phase included the east and west stands, which seated about 12,000. Seven years later (1931), the sides were extended upward to accommodate an additional 10,000 fans, raising the capacity to 22,000. In 1936, the stadium seating capacity was increased to 46,000, with the addition of 24,000 seats in the north end, making Tiger Stadium into a horseshoe configuration.

The next phase of construction took place in 1953 when the stadium’s south end was closed to turn the horseshoe into a bowl, increasing the seating capacity to 67,720.

Refurbishing began on the stadium in the summer of 1985, when the east and west stands were waterproofed, and 25,000 chair back seats were added to replace the older “bench” type seats. Another phase of improvements was completed in 1987 when the north and south stands were waterproofed and newer bleachers were again installed to replace the older ones.

The playing field was moved 11 feet south in 1986 to provide more room between the back line of the North End Zone and the curvature of the stadium fence, which surrounds the field. It also put the playing area in the exact center of the arena’s grassy surface.

Prior to the 1987 season, more seats were installed at the upper portion of the west lower stands in Tiger Stadium. Also, the stadium’s seating arrangement was renumbered to make all seats a uniform size. The addition of bleacher seating in 1988 brought the capacity to 80,150, but the

Now the sixth-largest on-campus stadium in college football, Tiger Stadium continues to provide fans with the ultimate college football experience. Prior to the 2000 season, 11,600 seats were added with the installation of the east upper deck, bringing the capacity to nearly 92,000. In addition to the new east upper deck, 70 skyboxes, called “Tiger Dens,” were built, giving Tiger fans luxury accommodations. The

In 2009, major technological advances were made when Tiger Stadium added an 80-foot wide high-definition video board to the north endzone of the facility. Called one of the largest video boards in all of college athletics, the HD board measures 27-feet high and 80-feet wide.

In August 2010, LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva and the Tiger Athletic Foundation launched a campaign to preserve and restore the look of Tiger Stadium. The 428 windows on the north side of the stadium were completely refurbished. The 300 remaining windows on the east and west sides of the stadium will be completed by the 2013 season.

Prior to the 2012 season, construction was completed on the first part of the west side plaza that includes new gates, All-American and Hall of Fame plazas and the national championship plaza that showcases the past, present and future of LSU football.

Now the sixth-largest on-campus stadium in college football, Tiger Stadium continues to provide fans with the ultimate college football experience. Prior to the 2000 season, 11,600 seats were added with the installation of the east upper deck, bringing the capacity to nearly 92,000. In addition to the new east upper deck, 70 skyboxes, called “Tiger Dens,” were built, giving Tiger fans luxury

Quick Facts

Year built
1924
Capacity
102,321
Largest Crowd
102,321
First game
vs. Tulane, 11/27/1924
First Night Game
vs. Spring Hill, 10/3/1931