Yale Bowl – stadium description

It’s the first American stadium built within a partly sunken bowl. Its simple and cost-effective structure made it first of many similar structures across the USA. Its name also helped popularize the name ‘bowl’ for many famous games, including the Super Bowl.

It took just over one year to deliver the stadium. Land excavated from the central section of the building was then distributed to create the surrounding landfill stands. They were surrounded by stone walls and facilities, all in the neo-gothic style.

Due to its relevance to American football it was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and only had minor renovations since then. The Yale University Bulldogs have been playing here for over a century now. In soccer terms it’s not equally important, but the stadium played host to NASL team Connecticut Bicentennials for two seasons. It also was a candidate for holding the 1994 World Cup, but didn’t make the shortlist.