Yulman Stadium

Yulman Stadium is the on-campus venue for football at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It currently has a capacity of 30,000 spectators, with 4,500 premium seats in two fan clubs – the Westfeldt Terrace and the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club.[2] The stadium's first game and grand opening was the 2014 season's home opener against its former Southern Conference and Southeastern Conference foe Georgia Tech on September 6, 2014.[3][10][11][12]

Yulman Stadium
A view from outside the stadium, 2018
Yulman Stadium is located in New Orleans
Yulman Stadium
Yulman Stadium
Location in New Orleans
Yulman Stadium is located in Louisiana
Yulman Stadium
Yulman Stadium
Location in Louisiana
Yulman Stadium is located in the United States
Yulman Stadium
Yulman Stadium
Location in the United States
Full nameBenson Field at Yulman Stadium
LocationBen Weiner Drive
New Orleans, LA 70118
Coordinates29°56′41″N 90°07′01″W
OwnerTulane University
OperatorASM Global[1]
Executive suites4,500 Club Seats[2]
Capacity30,000[3]
SurfaceAct Global UBU Speed Series S5-M[4]
Construction
Broke groundJanuary 28, 2013[5]
OpenedSeptember 6, 2014[3]
Construction cost$75 million[6]
ArchitectGould Evans & Associates
Lee Ledbetter & Associates
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti[7]
Services engineerMCC Group[8]
General contractorWoodward Design+Build[9]
Tenants
Tulane Green Wave football (NCAA) (2014–present)
Website
tulanegreenwave.com

Yulman replaced the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the home stadium of Tulane Green Wave football after 39 seasons at that venue, and it is situated on the university's Uptown campus between the Tulane baseball team's Turchin Stadium and the former site of Tulane's last on-campus football stadium, Tulane Stadium.[12]

Stadium features

The stadium features two elevated club decks on the home side. The Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club is the premier club-level seating in the stadium, with 1,500 chair back seats, two club rooms, two bars, expanded concessions, and a large meeting space. The remainder of Yulman's premium seating is composed of 3,000 chair back seats in the Westfeldt Terrace, located directly above the Glazer Club and covered by a canopy. Westfeldt features a panoramic view of the New Orleans skyline and premium concessions, including traditional New Orleans dishes.[2][13]

A large-scale meeting space is located on the ground level for use year-round. The entry space in front of the stadium, known as the Athletes Plaza, is used for pre- and post-game activities. The field's end zones feature a green and white checkerboard pattern such as that in the original Tulane Stadium, as well as an alternating green pattern made to look similar to real, mown grass.[4][2] Yulman holds a 94-by-24-foot LED video board, as well as two ribbon displays, all made by Daktronics.[13][14] Barry Kern from Mardi Gras World created a float for use during pre-game parades, as well as a mural inside the Glazer Club.[15]

Stadium updates

Yulman was designed and constructed with the ability to expand in the future should demand dictate it, specifically with 5,000–10,000 seats in the east sideline and north end zone (Glazer/Westfeldt side and Wilson end zone, respectively).[16][17]

Prior to the 2016 season, Tulane Athletic Director Troy Dannen announced the addition of a 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) sculpture of the program's classic "Angry Wave" to the top of the scoreboard. Installed during the 2017 season and located above the student section and produced by Mardi Gras World, the sculpture doubles as a water feature, though details of that aspect were not announced.[18][19] The Angry Wave—made of fiberglass and steel—weighs 3,353 pounds (1,521 kg) and is 14 feet 7 inches (4.45 m) tall and 20 feet 9 inches (6.32 m) wide.[20]

History

For some time, Tulane fans had felt chagrin at playing games at the Superdome. The stadium seated over 75,000 people for football, but in almost all cases, Green Wave football games were swallowed up by the environment due to poor attendance.

University representatives initially named the stadium "Tulane Community Stadium" but revealed its official name in late 2012. Richard Yulman, the former chair/owner of Serta and a member of the Board of Tulane, and his wife donated $15 million toward construction of the project, gaining naming rights to the stadium in the process. He later committed another $10 million to the project as a challenge to other donors to completely fund the project through private donations by the end of the first football season in the stadium.[21] The stadium’s playing surface was named Benson Field after New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans owner Tom Benson and his wife Gayle, who jointly donated $7.5 million from the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation.[22]

  • Construction Photos, February 2014
  • View from Westfeldt Terrace
    View from Westfeldt Terrace
  • Home side & student section
    Home side & student section
  • Visitors' side & press box
    Visitors' side & press box
  • Student section & video board
    Student section & video board
  • Glazer Family Club
    Glazer Family Club

In its first game in Yulman Stadium, Tulane played the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in front of a university-reported crowd of 30,000 spectators. The opening game sold out 14 minutes after single-game tickets went on sale,[23] and students picked up roughly 5,000 tickets for the game (about 40% of the entire undergraduate and graduate enrollment of the university), making it the largest student crowd at a Tulane game since football moved off campus in 1975.[24][25]

Attendance history
Rank Attendance Opponent Date Result
1 30,118 UCF December 3, 2022 W 45–28
2 30,100 Memphis October 22, 2022 W 38–28
3 30,000 Georgia Tech September 6, 2014 L 21–38
3 30,000 Ole Miss September 9, 2023 L 20–37
3 30,000 North Texas October 21, 2023 W 35–28
6 28,614 Memphis November 15, 2014 L 7–38
7 27,417 Tulsa November 3, 2019 W 38–26
8 27,317 UCF November 12, 2022 L 31–38
9 27,179 Southern September 10, 2016 W 66–21
10 26,973 South Alabama September 2, 2023 W 37–17
All-time record in Yulman: 32–27 (.542)

Attendance at games through October 21, 2023

Other events

Yulman Stadium hosted its first high school football game on September 8, 2017 when New Orleans Catholic schools De La Salle and St. Augustine played.[26] It was the first prep contest on the Tulane campus since November 3, 1979, when Chalmette defeated Jesuit 23–9 at Tulane Stadium.

Yulman hosted its first Louisiana High School Athletic Association state championship game on December 6, 2019, when Archbishop Rummel defeated Baton Rouge Catholic 17–14 for the Division I select title. It will host two LHSAA select championship games on December 4, 2021: Baton Rouge Catholic vs. Jesuit and Lafayette Christian vs. St. Charles Catholic.

  • View from End zone
    View from End zone
  • View from Westfeldt Terrace
    View from Westfeldt Terrace
  • Original Tulane Stadium medallion
    Original Tulane Stadium medallion
  • Front facade
    Front facade
  • Student section at opening game
    Student section at opening game
  • A bar in the Glazer Club
    A bar in the Glazer Club
  • View from Westfeldt Terrace
    View from Westfeldt Terrace
  • Field view
    Field view
  • Field view (student endzone)
    Field view (student endzone)
  • Video board
    Video board
  • Glazer Club & Westfeldt Terrace
    Glazer Club & Westfeldt Terrace

See also

References
  1. "Tulane Gets Ready for Some Football: A Series on Game Week Preparations". tulanegreenwave.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  2. "Yulman Stadium Amenities". Tulane University. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  3. Wulff, Rachel (April 5, 2014). "Crews work to complete construction on Tulane's Yulman Stadium". WDSU News. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  4. "Tulane University Football Making Waves for 2014 Season". PR.com. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  5. Dall, Tania (January 30, 2013). "Demolition Begins on Tulane Stadium, Neighbors Still Concerned". WWL. New Orleans. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  6. "Tulane AD talks momentum, stadium". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  7. "Dant Clayton Selected as Stadium Manufacturer for Tulane University's New Football Facility". Dant Clayton. August 1, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. "Entertainment". MCC Group. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  9. "Tulane University Football Stadium". Woodward Design+Build. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  10. "Tulane University Announces Fundraising Campaign for Stadium" (Press release). Tulane University. December 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  11. "Call It Yulman Stadium" (PDF). Tulane Athletics. November 1, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  12. Nunez, Tammy (December 8, 2011). "Tulane Plans to Build a 30,000-Plus Seat On-Campus Football Stadium". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  13. Scott Kushner. "In Yulman Stadium, Tulane strives for unique home, 'taste of New Orleans'". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  14. "Tulane University Adds Daktronics Video Display System to Power Green Wave Football Fans". Daktronics Inc. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  15. Tammy Nunez. "Media gets a glimpse of Yulman Stadium's interior and an update on construction and ticket sales Friday". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  16. Christopher Dabe (September 4, 2014). "High demand for Tulane football tickets could lead to Yulman expansion, AD Rick Dickson says". nola.com. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  17. "Tulane AD Says Yulman Stadium 65% Complete, Should Be Ready For Season Opener". Sports Business Daily. April 8, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  18. Troy Dannen (August 23, 2016). "Troy Dannen on Twitter". Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  19. Troy Dannen (August 23, 2016). "Troy Dannen on Twitter". Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  20. Guerry Smith (October 19, 2017). "Fritz: Tulane has huge opportunity to beat ranked team". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  21. Kushner, Scott (September 5, 2014). "Tulane gets another $10 million donation from Richard Yulman". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  22. Nunez, Tammy (November 1, 2012). "Tulane's New Venue Will Be Called Yulman Stadium". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  23. Kushner, Scott (August 23, 2014). "Statement made: Tulane sells out home opener against Ga. Tech in 14 minutes". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  24. Kushner, Scott (September 6, 2014). "Tulane students pounce on additional tickets for Yulman Stadium debut". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  25. Kushner, Scott (August 29, 2014). "Tulane Students Set to Pack Yulman Stadium". tulanegreenwave.com. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  26. "St. Augustine – De La Salle to be first prep football game at Tulane's Yulman Stadium". nola.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
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