Riggs Field
Encyclopedia
Riggs Field is a 6,500-capacity soccer-specific stadium
located in Clemson, South Carolina
. The stadium is home to the Clemson Tigers
men's and women's soccer teams. It has also hosted the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
in 1987. The stadium opened for soccer in 1980, and was renovated in 1987. Previous to this, it hosted a variety of the school's athletic teams, including the football
team from 1915 until 1941 and the baseball
team from 1916 until 1969. It is named after Walter Riggs
, the former coach of the football team and president of Clemson (1910–1924).
As first laid out in 1915, the football field, surrounded by a cinder track was at the east end of Riggs Field, tennis courts were in the center section, and the baseball diamond was at the west end of the space. A new baseball field was later laid out on an area of campus separate from the previous sports complex, and expanded tennis facilities replaced the former diamond. Riggs Field now generally only refers to the eastern portion where the football team played until 1941. The cinder track was eliminated during the remodeling as a soccer venue. It is now referred to as "Historic Riggs Field".
In early September 2011, the stadium surrounding Riggs Field was named Ibrahim Stadium after the late Dr. I.M Ibrahim, who started Clemson's men's soccer program in 1967 and led the team to national titles in 1984 and 1987.
movie The Midnight Man
, filmed in part at Clemson University in 1973.
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
located in Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
. The stadium is home to the Clemson Tigers
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference....
men's and women's soccer teams. It has also hosted the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...
in 1987. The stadium opened for soccer in 1980, and was renovated in 1987. Previous to this, it hosted a variety of the school's athletic teams, including the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team from 1915 until 1941 and the baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team from 1916 until 1969. It is named after Walter Riggs
Walter Riggs
Walter Merritt Riggs was the president of Clemson University from 1910 to 1924 and the "father of Clemson football" coaching the first football team for what was then Clemson College. Riggs graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's of science in engineering in 1892 and was a member of...
, the former coach of the football team and president of Clemson (1910–1924).
As first laid out in 1915, the football field, surrounded by a cinder track was at the east end of Riggs Field, tennis courts were in the center section, and the baseball diamond was at the west end of the space. A new baseball field was later laid out on an area of campus separate from the previous sports complex, and expanded tennis facilities replaced the former diamond. Riggs Field now generally only refers to the eastern portion where the football team played until 1941. The cinder track was eliminated during the remodeling as a soccer venue. It is now referred to as "Historic Riggs Field".
In early September 2011, the stadium surrounding Riggs Field was named Ibrahim Stadium after the late Dr. I.M Ibrahim, who started Clemson's men's soccer program in 1967 and led the team to national titles in 1984 and 1987.
Riggs Field in pop culture
The original configuration of the track and former football stadium, sans bleachers, was featured in a long scene in the latter portion of the 1974 Burt LancasterBurt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
movie The Midnight Man
The Midnight Man (1974 film)
The Midnight Man is a 1974 detective film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred with Susan Clark.-General information:Burt Lancaster shared directing credit with Roland Kibbee, and shared writing credit with Kibbee and author David Anthony upon whose novel The Midnight Lady and the Morning...
, filmed in part at Clemson University in 1973.