Paulson Stadium
Encyclopedia
Allen E. Paulson Stadium is an 18,000 seat on campus football stadium
in Statesboro, Georgia
. It is home to the Georgia Southern Eagles
football team and the focal point of Erk Russell Athletic Park.
Paulson Stadium was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1984 with a 48-11 rout of Liberty Baptist University. The game was a fitting end to four years of planning one of the finest I-AA facilities in America . The phrase "Prettiest Little Stadium in America" was coined by former Coach Erk Russell
. The stadium has also come to be known as "Our House" to reflect the extreme home field advantage.
The first game in Paulson was originally scheduled for September 1, 1984, against the Florida A& M Rattlers, but construction delayed by wet weather forced this game to be played in Savannah.
The first touchdown scored in "Our House" was a 36-yard run around the right side by quarterback Tracy Ham against Liberty Baptist University on September 29, 1984.
a bust was added along the fence near the Gene Bishop Fieldhouse.
Constructed at a cost of $4.7 million, the stadium was designed with two expansion phases in mind. The first would increase the capacity to approximately 35,000, while the final phase would expand seating to 50,000.
The stadium has also hosted concerts for artists such as Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and 3 Doors Down.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Statesboro, Georgia
Statesboro, Georgia
Statesboro is a city in southeast Georgia, United States, and is the county seat and most populous city of Bulloch County. Statesboro has a population of 28,422 and the Statesboro, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 70,217...
. It is home to the Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern Eagles
The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic teams of Georgia Southern University. The Eagles compete in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the NCAA Division I Southern Conference...
football team and the focal point of Erk Russell Athletic Park.
Paulson Stadium was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1984 with a 48-11 rout of Liberty Baptist University. The game was a fitting end to four years of planning one of the finest I-AA facilities in America . The phrase "Prettiest Little Stadium in America" was coined by former Coach Erk Russell
Erk Russell
Erskine "Erk" Russell was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach in the United States. He was also the defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia Bulldogs for seventeen years and head football coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles...
. The stadium has also come to be known as "Our House" to reflect the extreme home field advantage.
History
The stadium is named for the late Allen E. Paulson, founder and owner of Gulfstream Aerospace, who donated more than $1 million toward construction of the facility. The late State Senator Glenn Bryant of Hinesville donated over a quarter-million dollars for the property. To recognize his gift, the playing surface of the stadium is named "Glenn Bryant Field".The first game in Paulson was originally scheduled for September 1, 1984, against the Florida A& M Rattlers, but construction delayed by wet weather forced this game to be played in Savannah.
The first touchdown scored in "Our House" was a 36-yard run around the right side by quarterback Tracy Ham against Liberty Baptist University on September 29, 1984.
Features
The stadium features a Prescription Athletic Turf with special Bermuda on a clay, sand and gravel base over an elaborate drainage system. The playing field was designed to accommodate both soccer and football. Special climate-controlled VIP boxes with luxurious interiors, private restrooms and food service areas, plus a 50-seat pressbox and film deck overlook the playing surface on the south side of the stadium. Prior to the start of the 2005 season, a brick façade was built along the walls of Paulson Stadium while the video scoreboard was also surrounded with a brick garden/façade. Built in 2006, the Gene Bishop Fieldhouse sits in the western open end of the natural bowl, replacing the Lupton Building, the stadium's original fieldhouse. The field level of the Bishop Fieldhouse includes team and officials dressing rooms, while the second level houses a hospitality room and club-level seating. In the summer of 2007, the south concourse was improved with red brick walls on the consession stands and a paver sidewalk, and the stadium's parking area was also updated. The north concourse received similar renovations during the spring semester of 2008. Also after the passing of legendary coach Erk RussellErk Russell
Erskine "Erk" Russell was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach in the United States. He was also the defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia Bulldogs for seventeen years and head football coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles...
a bust was added along the fence near the Gene Bishop Fieldhouse.
Constructed at a cost of $4.7 million, the stadium was designed with two expansion phases in mind. The first would increase the capacity to approximately 35,000, while the final phase would expand seating to 50,000.
Special events
Paulson Stadium hosted the 1989, 1990 and 1991 NCAA Division I-AA National Football Championship Games. 25,725 fans, the largest crowd in Paulson Stadium history, saw Georgia Southern defeat Stephen F. Austin University in the 1989 NCAA Championship Game. Temporary bleachers were brought in and installed in the east endzone and on the northern concourse to handle the standing-room-only crowd.The stadium has also hosted concerts for artists such as Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and 3 Doors Down.