Valley Children's Stadium

Valley Children’s Stadium

The Doghouse
View from northeast in October 2012
Fresno Location in the United States Show map of the United States Fresno Location in California Show map of California
Former names	Bulldog Stadium (1980–2021)
Address	1620 E Bulldog Lane
Location	Fresno, California, U.S.
Coordinates	36°48′50″N 119°45′29″W / 36.814°N 119.758°W / 36.814; -119.758
Owner	California State University, Fresno
Operator	California State University, Fresno
Executive suites	22
Capacity	30,000 (1981–1990) 40,541 (1991–1992) 41,031 (1993–2017) 40,727 (2018–present)[1]
Record attendance	42,881 (vs Oregon State 2001)
Surface	Natural grass (1980–2010) FieldTurf (2011–present)
Construction
Broke ground	June 1979; 45 years ago (1979-06)
Opened	November 25, 1980; 43 years ago (1980-11-25)
Expanded	1991
Construction cost	$7.198 million ($33.6 million in 2023[2])[3]
Architect	Stevens and Associates
General contractor	Robert F. Fisher Company
Tenants
Fresno State Bulldogs (NCAA) (1980–present) California Bowl (NCAA) (1981–1991)

Valley Children's Stadium,^[4] also known as Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. It is the home field of the Fresno State Bulldogs, who play in the Mountain West Conference.

Prior to the construction of Bulldog Stadium, Fresno State played at 13,000-seat Ratcliffe Stadium at Fresno City College, about five miles (8 km) southwest.^[5] At that time, there were only two stadiums in the Fresno area, Ratcliffe and McLane, which made scheduling of local football games difficult.^[5] Those two stadiums had to host all local high school, community college and University games, which forced some high school games to be played on Thursday nights, rather than the traditional Friday nights.^[5]

The addition of Lamonica Stadium in Clovis eased the bottleneck somewhat, but efforts to build a stadium at Fresno State became serious in the mid-1970s. Bob Goss, chairman of the athletics booster organization the Bulldog Foundation, said in 1973: "I feel strongly the community of Fresno not only needs a new stadium, but can afford it, and is willing to get going as soon as possible on a drive to raise a part of the money."^[5]

In 1975, Fresno State students voted not to contribute to the stadium project via tuition fees, but the state budget included $1.2 million for it.^[6] A stadium steering committee was established in 1977, led by local businessman Leon Peters, looking to make the project a reality.^[7]

An initial round of construction bids came in over-budget and the steering committee re-worked their request. A second round of bidding offered better results and the local Robert F. Fisher Company was awarded the construction contract.^[3] Bulldog Stadium was completed in September 1980, a few months ahead of schedule, and had a seating capacity of 30,000.

It hosted the California Bowl from 1981 to 1991 and friendly soccer matches prior to the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

The completion of the stadium correlated with a drastic rise in the fortunes of the Fresno State football program, led by head coach Jim Sweeney, including multiple conference championships and finishing the 1985 season ranked 16th in the coaches' poll. But the program still had problems scheduling high-profile opponents, and a stadium expansion was proposed as a way to mitigate those issues, as well as boost recruiting efforts and revenue.^[8][1] The expansion was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991.^[8] The expansion consisted of 22 "sky suites" added to the east side, as well as 2,000 more chair seats and 7,200 bench seats, increasing capacity from 30,000 to around 40,000.^[8]

Bulldog Stadium enjoys a reputation of having one of the premier home football environments among universities outside of the so-called "power conferences". Tailgate parties in the adjoining parking lots and athletic fields are an enormously popular pastime for Bulldog supporters and the fans are notable for their enthusiastic support within the stadium's environment. For several decades, supporters of Fresno State football have been nicknamed "The Red Wave" as a tribute to their swell of support and their tendency to be clad entirely in red clothing for home contests.

For most of Fresno State's history, Bulldog Stadium is at its loudest when Fresno State plays their traditional arch-rival, the San Jose State Spartans. However, in recent years, Fresno State's most bitterly contested games have been pitted against the Boise State Broncos, whose success in the Western Athletic Conference, and then in the Mountain West Conference when both teams joined, has contributed to a fierce and energetic modern rivalry.

Bulldog Stadium is constructed in a modern version of the sunken "bowl" style, with seats situated unusually close to the game action and at a steeper slope compared to bowled stadia of the early 20th century. This intimate atmosphere contributes to a louder, more intense gametime experience. Field lighting is mounted on four unique, recognizable cantilevered standards.^[9]

The field has a conventional north-south alignment and the street level elevation is approximately 330 feet (100 m) above sea level. Currently Bulldog Stadium ranks 110th on the List of American football stadiums by capacity.

For Fresno State football games, both end zones are designed in a red-and-white checkerboard pattern, similar to the University of Tennessee's orange-and-white at Neyland Stadium. In 2019, athletic director Terry Tumey said; "I think many folks see that checkerboard and it resonates Fresno State."^[10] Fresno State's Bulldog mascot is depicted at midfield in an enlarged style. A green and red "V" appears at the 25-yard line as a tribute to the agricultural community of the San Joaquin Valley. The "V" matches the design worn on the back of the players helmets.

The field was notable for having numerical markers every five yards (similar to the field at Louisiana State's Tiger Stadium) rather than every ten yards, as is typical. The field went back to the conventional ten-yard markings in 2009.

For its first 31 seasons, the playing field was natural grass. FieldTurf was installed 13 years ago in the summer of 2011, when concerns arose after winter rains saturated the field during the 2010 season, making for very slick field conditions. The $1.2 million project was funded entirely through private donations.^[11][12] The FieldTurf was replaced by AstroTurf in 2019 when it reached the end of its life span.^[9]

The field was named for longtime head coach Jim Sweeney (1929–2013) in a 1997 ceremony.

Local children's hospital Valley Children's Healthcare agreed to provide the Fresno State athletics department with $1 million annually over 10 years in exchange for the naming rights of Bulldog Stadium.^[13] The consulting agency formed by alumni brothers Derek and David Carr played a pivotal role in the negotiations of the deal. Referring to the deal, Derek Carr said both organizations are "leaders in the Valley" and that "this partnership just made so much sense to us."^[14] The stadium renaming became official in July 2022 via a vote by the CSU Board of Trustees and it faced a backlash on social media, with some area residents saying Valley Children's is "squandering funds" and others lamenting the addition of more advertising to the in-person stadium experience.^[15][4]

• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

• "Bulldog Stadium". California State University, Fresno Department of Athletics. 2010. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2010.

• Fresno State Athletics: Bulldog Stadium
• World Stadiums.com - Bulldog Stadium - photos