Folsom Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. It is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference.
Opened in 1924, the horseshoe-shaped stadium has a traditional north–south configuration, opening to the north. The university's athletic administration center, named after 1950s head coach Dal Ward, is located at the north end.Colorado.edu - CU campus map
The playing field returned to artificial turf in 2025 and sits at an elevation of , more than a mile above sea level.Color aerial view (& topographic map) of CU campus from USGS via Microsoft Research Maps Folsom Field is the third highest stadium in FBS college football, behind only Wyoming and Air Force of the Mountain West Conference.
History
Gamble Field was the home of Colorado football for two decades, through the first game of the 1924 season. Opened as Colorado Stadium on October 11, Folsom Field has been the continuous home of Buffaloes football. Through the 2021 season, the Buffs have a home record of .
The stadium was also unofficially called Norlin Stadium, against the wishes of university president George Norlin himself. Colorado Stadium was renamed Folsom Field in 1944, following the death of former head coach Fred Folsom. He led the Silver and Gold for fifteen seasons (1895–99, 1901–02, 1908–15), compiling an overall record of . The stadium was officially rechristened in the 1946 homecoming game.
In 2008, Folsom Field became the first "zero-waste" stadium in the NCAA by instituting a rigorous recycling and composting program.
Expansions and renovations
When opened in 1924, the horseshoe-shaped stadium had a capacity of 26,000; a major expansion in 1956 raised the height of the stadium, with a new seating capacity of 45,000. The removal of the running track in 1967 added six thousand seats; the track and field team relocated to Potts Field on the East Campus.
A sizable, six-level press box was added in 1968 to the top of the west side grandstand, directly in front of Balch Fieldhouse, the former home of the basketball team. Renovations continued in 1976 when the old, rickety wooden bleachers were replaced with aluminum ones, raising the capacity to 52,005.
In 2003, suites and club seating were added to the east side of the stadium, raising the capacity to 53,750. Since the 2003 renovation, 137 seats with obstructed views have been removed, lowering the seating capacity to 53,613.
In 2014, construction for a further expansion started. This expansion included a new indoor practice facility, a high performance sports center, as well as extra seating on the northeast corner of the stadium.
Before the start of the 2016 season, as part of a $156 million initiative, the north endzone was completely rebuilt. Existing bleachers were renovated into large boxes, club level seating & areas.
The most recent renovation replaced the south endzone's video board, in addition to extending the ribbon board. Completed before the start of the 2024 season, the new video board is over five times the surface area of the previous video board.
Playing surface From 1924 through 1970, the playing surface at Folsom Field was natural grass. In the summer of 1971, AstroTurf was installed and the first game played on the new surface was a 56–13 win over Wyoming on September 18. Unranked in the preseason, the 1971 Buffs finished third in the AP Poll behind Nebraska and Oklahoma, for a sweep of the top three spots by the Big Eight Conference.College FB Data Warehouse 1971 Final AP poll The synthetic turf was replaced in 1978 and again in 1989, with "Astroturf-8."CU Buffs.com Folsom Field playing surface
After 28 years of AstroTurf, Folsom Field returned to natural grass in the spring of 1999. The project, which included bio-thermal heating, drainage, and a sub-air system, cost $1.2 million.
In March 2025, Colorado announced that the natural grass surface would be replaced again with AstroTurf 3D3 starting the next season. This was done to prepare Folsom Field for potentially hosting the College Football Playoff in the future as the grass is difficult to grow in the winter when the playoffs take place; and so the stadium can host concerts outside of summer. The new turf is expected to be completed on July 1.
Other uses
Concerts The Grateful Dead played at Folsom on September 3, 1972, and as part of their 15th anniversary June 7 & 8, 1980. The September 1972 show has been partially released on Dick's Picks Volume 36.
The Rolling Stones were at the venue on July 16, 1978, and October 3 & 4, 1981.
The stadium played host to a concert, later released on DVD, by the Dave Matthews Band on July 11, 2001. The band were fined $15,000 for playing 15 minutes over the stadium's curfew time. Afterwards, no concerts were held at Folsom Field for fifteen years.
The stadium hosted Dead & Company for two-night stands during their 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 summer tours. The band holds the record for number of performances at the venue, with 13 shows after the three night stand at Folsom Field for their final Summer Tour in 2023.
DateArtistOpening act(s)Tour / Concert nameAttendanceRevenueNotesSeptember 7, 1969Country Joe and the FishSteve Miller BandBuddy GuySeptember 3, 1972 Grateful Dead Summer '72 Tour Rained during show. Officially released on Dick's Picks Volume 36.May 10, 1975The Doobie BrothersHenry Gross,Golden Earring,WarMay 1, 1977Colorado Sun Day FestivalFleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Firefall, John SebastianMay 13, 1978The Beach BoysJourneyJuly 16, 1978The Rolling StonesUS Tour 197860,000 / 60,000 $690,000July 21, 1978Fleetwood MacRumours TourJuly 29, 1978EaglesSteve Miller BandMay 13, 1979The Doobie BrothersJune 7, 1980 Grateful DeadWarren ZevonSummer '80 Tour June 8, 1980June 28, 1980EaglesJuly 19, 1980REO SpeedwagonOctober 3, 1981The Rolling StonesAmerican Tour 1981120,000$1,920,000October 4, 1981August 21, 1982REO SpeedwagonOctober 17, 1982The WhoAugust 30, 1983Simon & GarfunkelJuly 12, 1986 Colorado Sun Day FestivalVan Halen, Loverboy, Dio, Bachman-Turner Overdrive 5150 Tour August 13, 1989 The Who May 26, 1993 Paul McCartney The New World Tour 37,245 / 39,137 $1,210,463 July 11, 2001 Dave Matthews Band Angelique KidjoWyclef Jean Summer 2001 Tour 43,041 / 43,041 $2,130,593 This show was recorded for the album and DVD entitled, Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado. July 2, 2016 Dead & Company Dead & Company Summer Tour 2016 49,166 / 85,582$4,179,233 Dead & Company holds the record for number of performances at the venue, with 13 shows July 3, 2016 June 9, 2017 Dead & Company Summer Tour 2017 55,882 / 86,982 $4,365,860 June 10, 2017 July 13, 2018 Dead & Company Summer Tour 201862,904 / 86,982 $5,369,669 July 14, 2018 July 5, 2019 Dead & Company Summer Tour 2019 67,835 / 86,982 $6,512,990 July 6, 2019 June 17, 2022 Dead & Company Summer Tour 202255,601 / 85,646$6,112,360 June 18, 2022 July 1, 2023 Dead & Company Summer Tour 2023131,450 tickets sold spanning all three shows$13,371,629 July 2, 2023July 3, 2023June 29, 2024OdeszaBob MosesBig BoiGolden FeaturesThe Last Goodbye: FinaleFirst EDM show at Folsom FieldAugust 17, 2024Tyler ChildersMule Pull ’24 TourJuly 3, 2025PhishSummer Tour 2025July 4, 2025July 5, 2025October 18, 2025John SummitMax StylerRoddy LimaB/AN/KTchamiExperts Only 2025June 6, 2026Mumford & SonsJuly 18, 2026Tyler ChildersJon BatisteAugust 22, 2026Rüfüs Du Sol
In popular culture The south end zone was featured in the opening and closing credits of the late 1970s television show Mork and Mindy, which was set in Boulder.Southorn, Dave. "The day Mork & Mindy took over Colorado’s Folsom Field goalposts," The Athletic, Tuesday 26 May 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
Other events Folsom Field is also used as the finish line for the Bolder Boulder, a popular 10K run.
The first Promise Keepers stadium conference was held at Folsom in June 1992.
Attendance records The largest crowd for a CU football game at Folsom Field was 54,972 in 2005, against in-state rival Colorado State on September 3, in which the Buffaloes won with a 47-yard field goal by Mason Crosby with four seconds remaining. This early-season, non-conference rivalry game, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, is more often played in neutral Denver at Mile High Stadium and its successor Empower Field at Mile High.
The largest crowd ever at Folsom Field was in 1977 for a rock concert, one of the popular Colorado Sun Day concert series. The attendance on May 1 was an estimated 61,500 (exceeding the seating capacity by about 9,000) for a show featuring Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Firefall, and John Sebastian.
+ Highest attendance at Folsom FieldRankAttendance Date Game result 1 54,972 September 3, 2005 Colorado 31, Colorado State 28 2 54,954 September 4, 2004 Colorado 27, Colorado State 24 3 54,841 November 25, 2005 Colorado 3, Nebraska 30454,646November 16, 2024#17 Colorado 49, Utah 24 5 54,215 October 25, 2003 Colorado 20, #1 Oklahoma 34 6 54,063 October 28, 1995 #7 Colorado 21, #2 Nebraska 44 7 54,032 September 30, 2023 Colorado 41, #8 USC 48853,972October 12, 2024Colorado 28, #18 Kansas State 31 9 53,927 October 4, 2008 Colorado 14, #5 Texas 38 10 53,849 September 23, 1995 #7 Colorado 29, #3 Texas A&M 21