Gesa Field Timeline
Stadium History |
Gesa Field's Greatest Games |
Bowl Game History
1892—Built as Soldier Field.
1895 (November 9)—WSU defeated Idaho 10-4 in the first football game on Soldier Field.
1902—The field was renamed Rogers Field in honor of the Governor of the State of Washington, John R. Rogers.
1936—Washington State College built a completely new football stadium, but retained the same name; the new stadium was an all-wood structure built on concrete pilings. The field also featured new stands, an enlarged press box and an electronic scoreboard.
1970 (April)—Fire destroyed the south stands; a one-million dollar fund drive began after the decision was made to rebuild the stands rather than relocate or build an entirely new stadium; Dan Martin, a Los Angeles businessman, gave $250,000 to the project with the stipulation the stadium be renamed after his father, Clarence D. Martin. Clarence Martin was Governor of the State from 1933-40.
1972 (summer)—First artificial turf (Astroturf) was installed.
1972 (Sept. 30)—WSU met Utah in the first game played in refurbished Martin Stadium;
1975—New north (student) stands were built.
1978 (fall)—Work began on the academic portion of the complex on the south side with the computer center relocating to the complex upon completion of the project in 1979.
1979 (January)—Another renovation of the stadium began to increase the seating capacity from 27,600 to 40,000; the floor of the stadium was excavated 16 feet to add 12,400 seats; the track was removed from the stadium and relocated to the Bailey Baseball Stadium area directly north of the football complex, while a new baseball stadium was then built just south and east of Friel Court, home of Cougar basketball; the entire project, like the one in 1970, was funded through contributions; gift-in-kind and the purchase of “stadium builder’’ seat options; it marked the first time a collegiate football stadium had been enlarged by digging down rather than building up; the project was also funded in part by the Martin family, with Charlotte Martin, widow of Dan Martin, giving $250,000 to the project; a SuperTurf artificial surface was installed.
1979 (October 13)—WSU celebrated Homecoming by defeating UCLA 17-13 before a record crowd of 32,651 in the first game played in the enlarged Martin Stadium.
1990 (summer)—Installed the sand-filled Omni-Turf playing surface.
2000 (summer)—Installed FieldTurf in Martin Stadium and on Rogers Field.
2006 —Current stadium renovation began.
2006 (summer)—Replaced FieldTurf in Martin Stadium.
2008 —Phase I and II completed. The renovation included a new concourse along the north stands and new concessions and restrooms were also added throughout the stadium. Improvements were also made around the stadium perimeter including the construction of the Cougar Plaza and Cougar Ticket Office at the northeast corner of the stadium, as well as a monumental sign at the east edge of the stadium along Stadium Way. The existing scoreboard behind the west stands was also upgraded.
2012 (summer) —The $80 million Cougar Football Project, which began in Nov., 2011, replaces the old press box on the south stands with a new structure that includes a new press box, club seats, loge boxes, luxury suites and a club room.
2013 (summer) —A $3.5 million scoreboard is added to the east end of Martin Stadium.
2014 (summer) — Construction began on the $61 million, 84,000-square-foot Cougar Football Complex in winter, 2013 and completed in summer, 2014. The facility provides a home for the Cougar football program, including new weight room, lockers, equipment and training rooms for players, in addition to position meeting rooms and coaches’ offices. It also features a WSU Football heritage area and a game-day home for Gray W former letter winners.
2021 (March) — Washington State University Athletics and Gesa Credit Union announced a partnership to provide Gesa the naming rights to the playing surface at Martin Stadium, now named Gesa Field. The 10-year agreement is valued at a minimum $11 million, that will escalate as additional Gesa consumer-based incentives are reached.
MARTIN STADIUM ATTENDANCE
40,306 11-15-97 WSU 38, Stanford 28
40,000 10-17-81 WSU 17, UCLA 17
40,000 11-20-82 WSU 24, UW 20
40,000 11-17-84 UW 38, WSU 29
40,000 11-22-86 UW 44, WSU 23
40,000 11-19-88 WSU 32, UW 31
38,434 09-30-89 USC 18, WSU 17
37,600 11-23-96 UW 31, WSU 24 (OT)
37,600 11-17-90 UW 55, WSU 10
37,600 11-21-93 WSU 42, UW 23
37,600 10-08-94 WSU 21, Oregon 7
37,600 10-15-94 Arizona 10, WSU 7
37,600 11-19-94 WSU 23, Washington 6
37,600 11-09-02 WSU 32, Oregon 21
37,600 11-23-02 UW 29, WSU 26 (3OT)
37,444 11-02-02 WSU 44, ASU 22
37,251 11-21-98 Washington 16, WSU 9
37,196 10-10-98 Oregon 51, WSU 29
36,861 10-05-02 WSU 30, USC 27 (OT)
36,770 09-19-98 WSU 24, Idaho 16
36,686 11-05-94 USC 23, WSU 10
36,090 10-21-89 Arizona 23, WSU 21
35,759 10-18-97 WSU 63, California 37
35,283 10-06-01 WSU 34, OSU 27
