With sellout crowds almost reaching 90,000, Jordan-Hare Stadium has undergone numerous transformations and improvements to welcome home its fans.
Nicknamed "The Jungle" by former head coach Tommy Tuberville in August 2001, Jordan-Hare Stadium is ranked as the eighth largest on-campus stadium and the 12 largest stadium in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, according to the Auburn Tigers Web site.
"The stadium gives Auburn national prestige and respect," said John Varner, library assistant at Ralph Brown Draughon library.
The Auburn Stadium, its name from 1939-1949, was dedicated on Nov. 30, 1939, when the Tigers played against Florida ending in a 7-7 tie. Football player Babe McGehee scored the first touchdown for Auburn.
"Before the field we used to play games at the Haley Center," Varner said. "Then we moved right behind Samford."
At this time the stadium consisted of 7,500 seats built into the natural slope of the hillside and stopped at ground level, located on the west side of the field and formed a valley that was divided by a running stream. The stream was covered, the creek bed was filled and tons of soils were hauled in to level the playing field.
In 1940, the seating capacity increased to 12,000 after 4,500 wooden seats were added to the east side of the field, but were replaced in 1949 by 14,000 permanent seats, which rose the stadium's seating capacity to 21,000.
"Some stadiums have seats with backs on them, it would be good if we had some seats with backs on them to be more comfortable," said Victoria Lisle, an Auburn Ph.D. student in English.
In 1949 the stadium received its first name change and was officially dedicated as the Cliff Hare Stadium in recognition of Dean Clifford Leroy Hare.
Hare was a member of Auburn's first football team in 1892, along with teammate Ralph "Shug" Jordan, and later became the Dean of Chemistry, Faculty Athletic Committee Chairperson and President of the Southern Conference.
"It was always big news when they expanded the stadium," Varner said.
In 1955, an additional 54 rows of permanent seating increased the stadium's capacity yet again, to 34,500, but was not enough to house the Auburn family.
The stadium did not take its bowl shape until 1970 after the north endzone was enclosed with 16,000 more seats increasing the capacity to approximately 61,000.
Along with head coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan (1951-1975), came another name change for the stadium.
In 1973, Cliff Hare Stadium was renamed the Jordan-Hare Stadium in honor of Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Auburn's most successful coach in the University's football history.
Jordan-Hare Stadium was the first stadium in the nation to be named after a living, active coach.
In 1980, the stadium's capacity reached 75,000 and the addition of press box, scholarship section and lights were part of the expansion.
During the construction a sign outside of the site read, "Please pardon this inconvenience! Jordan-Hare Stadium is growing so that more fans will have better seats. We believe that you will be proud of our expanded stadium."
"The stadium wasn't built all in at once so it was a sign used to tell people pardon our progress," said Dwayne Cox, Archivist III at RDB Library.
By 1987, more than 10,000 seats were added by double-decking the east stands. More than 1,000 scholarships seats and 71 luxury executive suits have been added.
As the years have passed Jordan-Hare Stadium has become more modernized and technologically advanced.
"I estimate that the next renovations to the stadium will be in about 10 years," Varner said. "No one saw the economy is going down so it is kind of hard to say when."
The press box underwent a renovation in 1988 to provide the working media with the finest facility in the country, and in August 1998, a new 21-foot by 27- foot LED video display screen and scoreboard was raised in the stadium.
A 30-foot high by 74-foot wide high definition Daktronics LED video display was installed before the 2007 season and made Auburn the first SEC school to install an HD video display and the second in the NCAA.
Murals of prominent individuals and history can be viewed on the stadium's exterior and interior framing.
Over the years Auburn has been working on expanding the concession areas, bathrooms and the area under the bleachers for its family.
The stadium has also become more handicapped accessible and has elevators for those in need.
"We started out with one game per year, now we have eight home games," Varner said.
This year Jordan-Hare Stadium will be celebrating its 70th Anniversary.
"Jordan-Hare Stadium is an Auburn icon just like Samford Hall," Cox said.
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