The NFL’s oldest stadium is also its smallest.
With a capacity of 62,500, the venue has occupied prime real estate on Chicago’s Lakefront since 1924.
Known originally as the Grant Park Municipal Stadium, it cost $13 million to build — around $240million in current money.
That was a huge price at the time as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum cost under $1 million in 1923.
But the results were spectacular with an amphitheater capable of holding 74,280 people and the option to add additional seating to raise the capacity to over 100,000.
The most striking aspect were the rows of Doric columns on the East and West entrances that formed a larger colonnade encircling the stadium with nods to Roman architecture in the world-famous Colosseum.
By 1925 it had been renamed to Soldier Field as a memorial to US soldiers who died in combat.
Since then, the iconic columns have hosted soccer World Cups, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Fire, University of Notre Dame football and the Special Olympics.
Perhaps the most legendary sporting event held there was the infamous ‘Long Count’ boxing match.
Over 100,000 people packed into the stadium to see Jack Dempsey try and win back his heavyweight title from Gene Tunney in 1927.
He sent his foe crashing to the mat in the seventh but forgot about a new rule requiring fighters to go to a neutral corner which cost him vital seconds and Tunney recovered to take a unanimous decision.
Soldier Field was renovated to modernize the facilities and reduce the capacity in 2002. Despite keeping some of the iconic Roman architecture, it lost its status as a National Historic Landmark four years later.
