A few years ago I found a stash of documents in the ARA Historical Collection relating to the construction of the 1938 version of the stadium. I scanned some of them but didn’t use them at the time. When I ran across the scans again this morning I was struck in particular by this document, which explains where the funding for the new stadium came from. There was no development department at the time (and in fact there wouldn’t be one for decades) so the people who wanted the improvements went out and raised the money themselves. Crazy, I know. This appeal is really worth reading:
This is the drawing that accompanied it:
And the completed project:
For comparison this is what it replaced:
When it was all finished they held a dinner for the Rice board and the major supporters. All the big dogs were invited and most came. Just for kicks here’s Will Rice’s acceptance note:
Bonus: Another shot courtesy of Annette Bruer Tarver ’86.
