Misplaced Pages

Ownby Stadium

Ownby StadiumLocation within TexasShow map of TexasOwnby StadiumOwnby Stadium (the United States)Show map of the United States
Address	5800 Ownby Dr.
Location	University Park, Texas
Coordinates	32°50′22″N 96°46′56″W / 32.83944°N 96.78222°W / 32.83944; -96.78222
Owner	Southern Methodist University
Operator	Southern Methodist University
Capacity	23,783
Acreage	1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Surface	Natural grass
Construction
Broke ground	1926 (1926)
Opened	1926 (1926)
Closed	1998 (1998)
Demolished	October 1998 (1998-10)
Architect	DeWitt & Lemmon
Builder	Osborne Engineering Co.
Tenants
SMU Mustangs (NCAA) (1926–1948, 1989–1994) Dallas Tornado (NASL) (1976–1979)
Jordan C. Ownby Stadium
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival
MPS	Georgian Revival Buildings of Southern Methodist University TR (AD)
NRHP reference No.	80004093
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 27, 1980
Removed from NRHP	September 23, 2004

Ownby Stadium was a stadium in the University Park suburb of Dallas, Texas. It was the home of the Southern Methodist University Mustang football team. In late 1998, the stadium was demolished to build Gerald J. Ford Stadium at the site.

Background

Named for Jordon Ownby, the stadium was built at the south end of the campus. There was controversy at the time of the stadium's inception, as the school had spent the gift from Ownby on a stadium (per his wishes) rather than a full-sized library, which the school did not have at the time.

As the Mustangs rose to prominence in the 1930s, they began scheduling an increasing number of games at the much larger Cotton Bowl, and finally moved there on a permanent basis in 1948, while later moving to Texas Stadium. However, after massive rules violations resulted in the NCAA handing down the "death penalty" in 1987, SMU officials decided to move football games back to a heavily renovated Ownby Stadium.

From 1976 to 1979 the chief tenant at Ownby was the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League.

The 23,783-seat stadium consisted of four grandstands, one on each side, with the west (home) side being larger than the rest. In late 1998, the stadium was demolished to make way for Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which stands on the same site.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Texas

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. "National Register of Historic Places" (PDF). Annual Listing of Historic Properties. National Park Service. February 3, 1981. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
3. DES Newsletter, Volume IV, Issue IV, April 2005, smu.edu.
4. SMU Football - Historical Information
5. "SMU demolishes 72-year-old stadium to build new home". Abilene Reporter-News. November 6, 1998. p. 5B. Retrieved August 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Texas
Lists by county	Anderson Andrews Angelina Aransas Archer Armstrong Atascosa Austin Bailey Bandera Bastrop Baylor Bee Bell Bexar Blanco Borden Bosque Bowie Brazoria Brazos Brewster Briscoe Brooks Brown Burleson Burnet Caldwell Calhoun Callahan Cameron Camp Carson Cass Castro Chambers Cherokee Childress Clay Cochran Coke Coleman Collin Collingsworth Colorado Comal Comanche Concho Cooke Coryell Cottle Crane Crockett Crosby Culberson Dallam Dallas Dawson Deaf Smith Delta Denton DeWitt Dickens Dimmit Donley Duval Eastland Ector Edwards El Paso Ellis Erath Falls Fannin Fayette Fisher Floyd Foard Fort Bend Franklin Freestone Frio Gaines Galveston Garza Gillespie Glasscock Goliad Gonzales Gray Grayson Gregg Grimes Guadalupe Hale Hall Hamilton Hansford Hardeman Hardin Harris Harrison Hartley Haskell Hays Hemphill Henderson Hidalgo Hill Hockley Hood Hopkins Houston Howard Hudspeth Hunt Hutchinson Irion Jack Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jim Hogg Jim Wells Johnson Jones Karnes Kaufman Kendall Kenedy Kent Kerr Kimble King Kinney Kleberg Knox La Salle Lamar Lamb Lampasas Lavaca Lee Leon Liberty Limestone Lipscomb Live Oak Llano Loving Lubbock Lynn Madison Marion Martin Mason Matagorda Maverick McCulloch McLennan McMullen Medina Menard Midland Milam Mills Mitchell Montague Montgomery Moore Morris Motley Nacogdoches Navarro Newton Nolan Nueces Ochiltree Oldham Orange Palo Pinto Panola Parker Parmer Pecos Polk Potter Presidio Rains Randall Reagan Real Red River Reeves Refugio Roberts Robertson Rockwall Runnels Rusk Sabine San Augustine San Jacinto San Patricio San Saba Schleicher Scurry Shackelford Shelby Sherman Smith Somervell Starr Stephens Sterling Stonewall Sutton Swisher Tarrant Taylor Terrell Terry Throckmorton Titus Tom Green Travis Trinity Tyler Upshur Upton Uvalde Val Verde Van Zandt Victoria Walker Waller Ward Washington Webb Wharton Wheeler Wichita Wilbarger Willacy Williamson Wilson Winkler Wise Wood Yoakum Young Zapata Zavala
National parks	Big Bend National Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
United States National Register of Historic Places listings Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

• Dallas Tornado sports facilities
• American football venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
• Buildings and structures demolished in 1998
• Defunct college football venues
• Defunct soccer venues in the United States
• SMU Mustangs football venues
• Soccer venues in Texas
• Sports venues in Dallas
• North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
• Former National Register of Historic Places in Texas