Francis Field Stadium

The stadium has been in continuous use since the 1904 Games and became the home of the Washington University in St Louis (WUSTL) Bears American football team immediately afterwards. The Bears continue to play there, with the university’s women’s and men’s soccer, track and field, and cross-country teams also moving in over the years. The stadium was also the home ground of North American Soccer League (NASL) side St Louis Stars between 1975 and 1977, and was the venue for the 1986 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Junior Olympic Games and the first and second National Senior Games in 1987 and 1989.

Built in 1902 by Washington University in St Louis, Francis Field originally had a capacity of nearly 20,000. The stadium underwent its first major renovation in 1984, when the original cinder track was replaced with a 400-metre artificial track, the stadium’s original wing sections were demolished and a new press box was built. The seating capacity of its original reinforced concrete stands – one of the first uses of such technology – was also reduced to 4,000. The stadium was further refurbished in 2003 and 2004, when an artificial pitch was installed, and access provided for people with disabilities.

Francis Field Stadium is a registered historic landmark. In September 2018, the Olympic rings spectacular was erected nearby to provide a permanent reminder of the stadium’s Olympic status, a function also performed by the ornamental wrought-iron gate installed after the Games at the eastern entrance to the stadium. In 2019, the venue was renamed Francis Olympic Field in recognition of its place in Olympic history and St Louis’ role as the host city of the first Olympic Games to be staged outside Europe.

The Olympic flame has also passed by Francis Field Stadium on three occasions, during the Olympic Torch Relays held for Los Angeles 1984, Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004.