Mackay Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Nevada in Reno, Nevada. The home venue for Nevada Wolf Pack football and women's soccer in the Mountain West Conference. it is named in honor of the Mackay family, particularly John William Mackay and his son Clarence H. Mackay, who donated funding to build the original stadium in 1909.
Chris Ault Field | |
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  Reno Location in the United States  Reno Location in Nevada | |
| Address | 1664 North Virginia Street |
|---|---|
| Location | University of Nevada, Reno Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 39°32′49″N 119°49′3″W / 39.54694°N 119.81750°W |
| Owner | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Operator | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Capacity | 30,000 |
| Record attendance | 33,391 (vs. UNLV, 1995) |
| Surface | Natural grass (1966–1999) FieldTurf (2000–present) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 11, 1964[1] |
| Opened | October 1, 1966 |
| Expanded | 1978, 1990–1992, 2006 |
| Construction cost | $11.5 million (2016 renovation) $6.5 million (previous expansions) |
| Architect | Worth Group Architects (previous expansions) |
| Tenants | |
| Nevada Wolf Pack (NCAA) Football (1966–present) Women's soccer (2002–present) | |
History
Located on the northern portion of campus, at 17th Street & East Stadium Way, the stadium opened 57 years ago on October 1, 1966 with a seating capacity of 7,500. It replaced the original Mackay Stadium, formerly located in the bowl containing Hilliard Plaza, the Mack Social Sciences building and the Reynolds School of Journalism. Both stadiums were named for the Mackay family, who were university benefactors in the early years of the school. The stadium currently seats 27,000 and has played to crowds in excess.[2][3][4]
The field is aligned northwest to southeast, at an elevation of 4,610 feet (1,405 m) above sea level,[5] with the press box on the southwest sideline.
Renovations
Permanent lighting was installed in 2003 to allow the option of night games.[3] Originally natural grass, synthetic infilled FieldTurf was installed in 2000, 2010, and 2022.[6][7] In 2013, the playing surface at Mackay Stadium was named Chris Ault Field in honor of the former Wolf Pack head coach, College Football Hall of Famer, creator of the Pistol offense in 2004 and for his contributions to Wolf Pack football.[8][9] Due to a $1.3 million sponsorship of the 2022 turf replacement, the stadium's playing surface is now officially referred to as "Chris Ault Field presented by ITS Logistics."[7]
A proposal passed by the Nevada Board of Regents (NSHE) upgraded seating options to the stadium for the 2016 season. This renovation has improved the quality of the fans' experiences but decreased the overall stadium capacity to 26,000. Higher ticket fees in the upgraded sections will repay this $11.5 million bond by 2031.[10][11]
Attendance
The Wolf Pack football single–season attendance record was set in 1991 with a total of 180,457 fans over nine home games, including playoffs; and the regular-season attendance record was set at 151,081 fans in 1993.[4] The single-season attendance record for a Wolf Pack team with a losing record (at 149,635 fans) was set in 2013.[4] 2014 was the third football season to have at least 20,000 fans in attendance at every home game (1993 and 2013), although multiple seasons were close.[4][12]
Top 25 single-game attendance records
| Rank | Attendance | Opponent | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 33,391 (sellout)[4] | UNLV | Won, 55–32 | October 28, 1995 |
| 2. | 32,521 (sellout)[13][14] | UNLV | Loss, 22–27 | October 26, 2013 |
| 3. | 32,327 (sellout)[15][16] | Boise State | Loss, 46–51 | October 4, 2014 |
| 4. | 31,900 (sellout)[4][17][18] | UNLV | Loss, 12–16 | October 4, 2003 |
| 5. | 30,712 (sellout)[19][20] | Boise State | Won, 34–31 (OT) | November 26, 2010 |
| 6. | 30,420[4] | Oregon | Loss, 20–24 | September 13, 1997 |
| 7. | 30,118[4] | UNLV | Won, 31–14 | September 6, 1997 |
| 8. | 30,017 (sellout)[21][22] | Boise State | Loss, 21–27 | December 1, 2012 |
| 9. | 29,551[23][24] | UNLV | Loss, 17–23 | October 3, 2015 |
| 10. | 29,167[4] | Oregon State | Loss, 13–28 | September 4, 1999 |
| 11. | 28,960 (sellout)[25] | UNLV | Won, 51–20 | October 29, 2021 |
| 12. | 28,809[26][27] | California | Won, 52–31 | September 17, 2010 |
| 13. | 28,631[4] | San Jose State | Won, 46–45 | November 6, 1993 |
| 14. | 28,523[4] | Boise State | Won, 38–10 | September 11, 1993 |
| 15. | 27,668 (sellout)[4] | Boise State | Won, 17–14 | October 26, 1991 |
| 16. | 27,057[28][29] | Boise State | Loss, 34–41 | November 22, 2008 |
| 17. | 27,052[30][31] | UC Davis | Won, 36–7 | September 7, 2013 |
| 18. | 26,866[4] | UNLV | Won, 49–14 | October 2, 1993 |
| 19. | 26,023[32][33] | Washington State | Won, 24–13 | September 5, 2014 |
| 20. | 25,978[34][35] | UNLV | Won, 37–0 | October 8, 2011 |
| 21. | 25,804[4] | New Mexico State | Won, 35–21 | October 24, 1992 |
| 22. | 25,506[4][36][37] | Boise State | Loss, 7–38 | November 25, 2006 |
| 23. | 25,446[4] | Southwestern Louisiana | Won, 38–14 | September 2, 1995 |
| 24. | 25,330[4] | Boise State | Won, 66–28 | October 12, 1996 |
| 25. | 25,278[38][39] | UNLV | Won, 27–20 | September 29, 2007 |
Top 10 season average attendance records
| Rank | Season | Avg. attendance | # of Home Games | Overall Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1993[4] | 25,180 | 6 games | 151,081 | 7–4 |
| 2. | 2013[4] | 24,939 | 6 games | 149,635 | 4–8 |
| 3. | 1997[4] | 24,514 | 6 games | 147,086 | 5–6 |
| 4. | 1995[4] | 24,063 | 6 games | 144,378 | 9–3 |
| 5. | 2014[12] | 23,862 | 6 games | 143,172 | 7–5 |
| 6. | 2012[4] | 23,432 | 6 games | 140,591 | 7–6 |
| 7. | 1996[4] | 22,904 | 5 games | 114,518 | 9–3 |
| 8. | 2003[4] | 22,258 | 6 games | 133,546 | 6–6 |
| 9. | 2015[40] | 22,170 | 6 games | 133,022 | 7–6 |
| 10. | 1992[4] | 22,022 | 6 games | 132,133 | 7–5 |
Top 10 season overall attendance records
| Rank | Season | Overall Attendance | # of Home Games | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1991[4] | 180,457 (151,019 before playoffs) | 9 games (7 season, 2 playoff) | 12–1 |
| 2. | 1993[4] | 151,081 | 6 games | 7–4 |
| 3. | 2013[4] | 149,635 | 6 games | 4–8 |
| 4. | 1997[4] | 147,086 | 6 games | 5–6 |
| 5. | 1995[4] | 144,378 | 6 games | 9–3 |
| 6. | 2014[12] | 143,172 | 6 games | 7–5 |
| 7. | 1990[4] | 141,643 | 9 games (6 season, 3 playoff) | 13–2 |
| 8. | 2012[4] | 140,591 | 6 games | 7–6 |
| 9. | 2010[4] | 137,032 | 7 games | 13–1 |
| 10. | 1986[4] | 136,021 | 10 games (7 season, 3 playoff) | 13–1 |
Other uses
The Nevada women's soccer team played home games for their inaugural 2000 season at Mendive Middle School in Sparks, Nevada. The following 2001 season, the Pack did not host any soccer home games. Mackay Stadium has played home to the women's soccer team since 2002, with occasional home matches being played offsite at the Moana Sports Complex (the previous site of Moana Stadium) in Reno, Nevada.
Mackay Stadium no longer hosts home meets for Track and Field due to the expansion and addition of south end zone seats; however, the university continues to maintain the track for training purposes.