Image provided by the Yale Club & Scholarship Foundation of Hartford, Inc.
About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1897)
¥ Ofc: Vile. Nao sk, THE YALE-PRINCETON GAME. The Preparations Made for it by the Field Corporation, About the middle of July the ques- tion of the location of the Yale—Prince- ton football game was left to the Grad- uate Committee, consisting of Mr. Harris of Princeton and Mr. Camp of Yale. They chose New Haven as the place for the game, on the ground that Yale went to Princeton last, when these games were previously played on col- lege grounds. This would send Yale to Princeton next year. There was a good deal of discussion on the matter before this decision was reached, and many Princeton men were strongly of the opinion that the precedent of several years back would not apply and that, in view of Princeton’s supremacy and for other reasons, the game should be arranged at least on neutral ground. The final settlement of the case on the basis above given has, however, been received as an equitable one. This decision brought to the men who control the Yale Field a problem of large size requiring immediate solu- tion. It meant the making of a foot ball field and stands sufficient for the accommodation of a crowd of from ten to twenty thousand. There were no accommodations at.hand for this purpose, and besides the actual work at the Field, there were also the ques- tions of proper and quick transporta- tion. Later in this article are given the details of the way in which this ques- tion has been met and settled: Suffice it to say in general that the Field Cor- poration, under the active direction of Mr. Sargent, has spared no effort to settle the thing right. All facts about the handling of large crowds that can be learned from. experience have been gathered by visits to, or correspond- ence with, the managers of the grounds in such places as Cambridge and Phila- delphia, where the same problem has before been met. : Some points remain. to be settled. It may be that they will not be ad- justed before the game of. this year. It is, however, hoped, and in many quarters confidently expected, that the early completion of the new bridge on Derby avenue will encourage the street railroad corporation to extend its tracks, and be in readiness to handle with promptness the great crowd of that day. The car accommodations on Chapel street have certainlv been much improved by double tracking for the full distance, which will allow cars to run much more frequently, of course. The asphalting on West Chapel will also add materially to the convenience and the comfort of reaching the grounds in other ways. But this is anticipating the rest of this article. It only remains to be said that the expense of completing this work, outside of the cost of the land, has been guaranteed by the Yale Finan- cial Union, and that part of it has already been raised by subscription. On behalf of the Corporation, it is also in order to say that it has every hope that the friends of Yale athletics, who will see, on visiting the Field this Fall, how much of the improved land is now given up entirely to exhibition teams and exhibition games, will show a sub- stantial appreciation of the need of developing the rest of the Field for the general athletic purposes of the great hody of Yale students. NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBE — ae ~oO- R 16, 1897. Price Ten Cents. - —— @ om os oe — me — om we se NEW STRIP — — ——— —_—- o. vy NEW ARRANGEMENT OF YALE FIELD. The site chosen for this new football ground, which is to be one of the fin- est in the country, is almost the same as the old: University gridiron. The playing field itself has been moved west until its edge almost corresponds with the former western boundary of the Yale Field itself. A strip of land west of the Field, fronting 90 feet on Derby avenue and running southerly 840 feet, has been purchased, on which the west- erly stand will be placed. The pur- chase was made on the condition that the house and orchard on this strip should be removed, and this has been done. But the new land, to be of use,. had to be filled in to raise it to a level with the rest of the ground on which the new football field is to be made. THE STANDS. The plan is to have a stand on each side of the rectangle formed by this foot ball field. The east and west stands are to be supported by timbers of yellow pine, made with great care to avoid all structural weaknesses, so that the spectators need fear no repetition of such an accident as happened at Berkeley Oval. Mr. Robinson, the architect, has a reputation which is guarantee enough that the factor of safety will be very large, in all the stands. These two stands on the east and west are to accommodate 5,200 et persons each. The seats are to be between them. | The west stand is to be a permanent structure, and enough land was- pur- chased so that whenever a larger seat- ing capacity is required fifteen more rows may be added at the back: The east stand is to be built in sections which can be taken down and moved. The reason for this is that this same stand can also be used to increase the seating capacity for the Commence- ment base ball game by placing one half of it on each side of the grand stand. There has long been a need of more seats at this game. This mova- ble stand will of course be more costly, but at the same time immensely more useful than if a permanent structure. COMFORTABLE SEATS. The seats themselves are to be made comfortable. There is to be a back and a foot rest, and the seat itself is to be tipped slightly backwards. The front row of seats is to be elevated enough, so that the holder of a seat there can, without rising, see over the heads of anyone standing in the pas- sage way in front of it, and the rise, as one goes toward the back of the stand, is to be sufficient, so that the occupant of a back seat can see plainly. The passage way in front of the stands is to be larger than usual, and each aisle is to be reached* by steps running up from ‘the passage way, but arranged to take up as little space as possible. The elevation of the front seat makes a more costly stand than if they were placed on the ground in the usual style, but the disagreeable feature of having the occupants of the front row stand up in order to see and thus making the whole crowd stand, has been avoided. These two stands will cost over $1.00 per seat, or over $10,000. NORTH AND SOUTH STANDS. The north and south stands, if it shall be found necessary to build them, are to hold 2,400 persons each, and are to be somewhat similar in construction to the east and west stands. The con- tracts call for the completion of the east stand before College opens, and the west stand by November 1. In case of failure there isa forfeiture. If it is estimated that the crowd which will attend the Princeton game, November 24th, will be too great for these stands, the north and south stands will be in readiness by that date. There is to be an entrance to the grounds on either side of the north stand. The Field Corporation are making a study of how to sift the crowd, in order to have no blocking at any point, and a convenient way for each ticket-holder
