The on-campus stadium at Colorado State University opened in the summer of 2017 and brought Rams football games back to campus for the first time in 50 years, providing countless new engagement opportunities for the entire university. The $220 million, 727,000-square-foot facility--financed entirely through a bond sale, with no general fund or tuition funding, and backed by private donations--combines all of the Rams’ football training facilities and offices on the west side. The $18.5 million east side of the building includes the Iris & Michael Smith Alumni Center, general classroom space and the Collaborative for Student Achievement. CSU and Canvas Credit Union announced a 15-year, $37.7 million naming rights agreement in April 2018. Two spectacular VIP areas— The New Belgium Porch in the north end zone and the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies Field Club behind the Rams’ bench at midfield—are unique in all of college football. The stadium’s design embraces Colorado’s natural beauty, topography and visual connections to the Rocky Mountains from campus and ensures functionality for both game-day and non-game day usage. The Smith Alumni Center and academic space has been integrated into the design to bring students and faculty into the building year-round, and the stadium clubs, VIP areas and other unique meeting spaces provide opportunities for hundreds of non-game day events year-round.

In the stadium’s grand-opening game on Aug. 26, 2017, the Rams defeated Oregon State, 58-27, before a sellout crowd of 37,583, the third-largest crowd in school history. For the season the Rams set an all-time attendance record with a total of 192,369 fans and a per-game average of 32,062. Season ticket sales also reached an all-time high of 15,477, a 40-percent increase from the 2016 total of 11,054.

Canvas Stadium

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