Кайл Филд: История стадиона Техасского университета A&M

Football stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas
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Kyle Field is the American football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, United States. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent concrete stadium since 1927. The seating capacity of 102,733 in 2021 makes it the largest in the Southeastern Conference and the fourth largest stadium in the NCAA, the fourth largest stadium in the United States, and the sixth largest non racing stadium in the world and the largest in Texas. Kyle Field's largest game attendance was 110,633 people when Texas A&M lost to the Ole Miss Rebels by the score of 35–20 on October 11, 2014. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased a covered grandstand from the Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people. On November 11, 1904, the Texas A&M Board of Directors set this area as a permanent athletic field, which served as the home for the football and baseball teams. After the stands were built, students supported naming the field after its founder and builder. Accordingly, in 1906, the Corps of Cadets unofficially named the field "Kyle Field" in Kyle's honor. this claim is incorrect. The first live, play by play broadcast on radio of a college football game occurred October 8, 1921 at Forbes Field when KDKA AM broadcast a Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia game. The Texas Historical Commission installed a historical marker at Kyle Field in 2005 indicating that, while it was not the first broadcast in the US, it is believed to be the first in Texas.

The Aggies enjoyed an undefeated season in 1919, accumulating a combined score of 275–0. Aggie supporters began to clamor for a permanent stadium, but only $2,400 was raised by 1920. In 1927, the school chose to build a new concrete stadium, at a cost of $345,001.67 or $365,000, depending on the source. In 1956, the Texas A&M Board of Regents officially named the stadium "Kyle Field," though it had been unofficially called by that name for over half a century. More of second deck and other improvements were added in 1967 to raise the capacity to 48,000 at a cost of $1.84 million.

On November 26, 1999, just one week after the collapse of the Aggie Bonfire, the Aggies beat the 5th ranked Texas Longhorns 20–16 in an emotional comeback game before a then record crowd of 86,128. Another notable event occurred on September 22, 2001, 11 days after the September 11 attacks and the first game for the Aggies after the attacks, where the students organized a "Red, White and Blue Out". Students assigned each deck a different color (red on third deck, white on second deck, and blue on first deck) to wear for the game against Oklahoma State. Despite the short notice, attendees followed the instructions, resulting in a red, white, and blue stadium. More than $150,000 was raised in shirt sales, which was donated to FDNY charities. Texas A&M's last Big 12 Conference football game and the last scheduled game against the University of Texas Longhorns occurred on November 24, 2011. Texas A&M lost this game 27–25. Notably, this was the second time Texas A&M lost their final game in a conference to the Texas Longhorns at Kyle Field on December 2, 1995, they lost their final Southwest Conference Game to the Longhorns 16–6, in a game that decided the final SWC championship. Texas A&M's first Southeastern Conference (SEC) football game occurred on September 8, 2012, against the University of Florida Gators.

Kyle Field has at times been regarded as one of the most intimidating college football stadiums in the nation by various media outlets and sportswriters. Contributing to its reputation in the 1990s, Texas A&M boasted one of the nation's best home records at 55–4–1, including 31 straight wins at Kyle Field from 1990 to 1995 and 22 straight from 1996 to 2000. From 2000 through 2015, however, the record of Texas A&M at Kyle Field was 70–37 (a winning percentage of 65.4%, down from 93.2% in the 1990s). Through November 14, 2015, the overall Kyle Field record at the site of the playing field is 402–161–19 (70.7%) while the overall record since the stadium's construction in 1927 is 301–147–12 (66.7%).

The Bernard C. Richardson Zone, named for a 1941 petroleum engineering graduate and a Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus, is located at the north end of Kyle Field, replacing the former single deck horseshoe which connected the east and west wings of the stadium. This $32.9 million expansion added over 20,000 seats, and sits 65 feet (20 m) closer to the field than the previous seating. The Zone unofficially opened for the memorial vigil following the 1999 Texas A&M Bonfire Collapse, and then at full capacity the next day for the grudge match against the University of Texas, setting a then state record of 86,128 fans attending. For the next several years the Aggies saw consecutive record breaking attendance figures for the season. The ground level of The Zone contains the Texas A&M Sports Museum, the nation's only all sports museum funded primarily by former athletes (The Texas A&M Letterman's Association). The museum contains rotating exhibits focusing on various varsity sports at Texas A&M, while permanent exhibits trace the history of the school sports and some of the more treasured traditions. The Zone contains four levels of seating areas, with the first and fourth deck containing bench seating. One deck is comprised completely of luxury boxes, while the last deck is armchair seating. Known as The Zone Club, the 1,900 open air armchair seats are considered the premier seating area of Kyle Field. The Zone Club sits underneath the fourth deck, meaning the inhabitants are protected from rain, wind, and the blazing Texas sun. The area boasts a full service bar and concession areas, with a pre game buffet offered for those with seats in the area. The Zone Club also has sixteen televisions stationed in various areas so that attendees can also keep an eye on other games being played around the country.

The old Kyle Field press box was located at the top of the west deck of the stadium, sitting over 120 feet (37 m) above the field. The pressbox had two tiers, accommodating over 250 members of the press, with print journalists stationed in the upper tier and radio and television journalists sitting in the lower tier. In 2003, the press box was declared a high rise building, and Texas A&M was forced to renovate it to meet federal, state, and local regulations regarding fire safety and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Renovations before the 2014 season lessened the swaying effect somewhat. The 110 feet (34 m) structure contains 590,000 pixels on 154 video panels with a screen size of The athletic department also updated the media equipment to allow production and broadcast of enhanced definition video to the screen. This addition to Kyle Field was accompanied by LED ribbon boards installed along the facade of the second deck encircling the stadium. At 1130 feet (344 m), it is the second longest ribbon board in collegiate sports and second worldwide only to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

When the first Aggie mascot, Reveille, died, she was buried at the north end of Kyle Field so that the score of the Aggie football games was always visible from the site. Subsequent Reveilles were buried alongside her. Construction of the Bernard C. Richardson Zone disrupted the mascot graves, so the graves were temporarily moved across the street from the stadium. Following the completion of the addition, an improved graveyard was dedicated directly outside the Zone and a small electronic scoreboard was mounted on the Zone so that the score would remain visible. Traditionally, when a current or former Reveille died, a military funeral was held at Kyle Field. Over 10,000 people attended the service for Reveille IV.<! In 2013, Reveille VII, who was retired in May 2008, was given a toned down memorial service at Reed Arena, rather than a funeral service. According to the Commandant of the Corps, as she is a dog, not a person, he did not believe a 21 gun salute or the playing of "Taps" was appropriate, although he had no involvement in the planning of the memorial service. Some fans were displeased with the changes. It was also announced that the bodies of the previous Reveilles will be exhumed as part of the Kyle Field renovations and relocated across the street, similar to what was done in the previous renovations.

During summers, young athletes are invited to Kyle Field for football training camps. In the fall, the stadium plays host to various Texas high school football playoff games. The stadium is the home to the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets annual Parents' Weekend Review and Final Review. From 1990 to 2013 it was the venue for the "Cross Town Showdown" high school football game between the Bryan Vikings and the A&M Consolidated Tigers, arguably the most popular game of the Vikings/Tigers football season. Traditionally the last game of each team's football schedule, beginning in the 2006 season, Texas A&M University requested that the game be held earlier in the year so as not to interfere with Aggie games. In 2013 due to the renovations including a new turf field; Texas A&M requested the Bryan Vikings vs. A&M Consolidated game be held at their home fields beginning 2014 until the renovations are completed. Kyle Field also hosts the Texas A&M University football team for the Maroon & White practice scrimmage during Parent's Weekend each spring. On June 8, 2024, in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Copa América in the United States, Mexico will play a friendly match with Brazil in Kyle Field's first international soccer game.