Mackay Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. 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 Mackay, who donated funding to build the original stadium in 1909.
History Located on the northern portion of campus, at 17th Street & East Stadium Way, the stadium opened 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.
The field is aligned northwest to southeast, at an elevation of above sea level, with the press box on the southwest sideline.
Renovations Permanent lighting was installed in 2003 to allow the option of night games. Originally natural grass, synthetic infilled FieldTurf was installed in 2000, 2010, and 2022. 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. 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."
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.
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. The single-season attendance record for a Wolf Pack team with a losing record (at 149,635 fans) was set in 2013. 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.
Top 25 single-game attendance records RankAttendanceOpponentResultDate1.33,391 (sellout)UNLVWon, 55–32October 28, 19952.32,521 (sellout)UNLVLoss, 22–27October 26, 20133.32,327 (sellout)Boise StateLoss, 46–51October 4, 20144.31,900 (sellout)UNLVLoss, 12–16October 4, 20035.30,712 (sellout)Boise StateWon, 34–31 (OT)November 26, 20106.30,420OregonLoss, 20–24September 13, 19977.30,118UNLVWon, 31–14September 6, 19978.30,017 (sellout)Boise StateLoss, 21–27December 1, 20129.29,551UNLVLoss, 17–23October 3, 201510.29,167Oregon StateLoss, 13–28September 4, 199911.28,960 (sellout)UNLVWon, 51–20October 29, 202112.28,809CaliforniaWon, 52–31September 17, 201013.28,631San Jose StateWon, 46–45November 6, 199314.28,523Boise StateWon, 38–10September 11, 199315.27,668 (sellout)Boise StateWon, 17–14October 26, 199116.27,057Boise StateLoss, 34–41November 22, 200817.27,052UC DavisWon, 36–7September 7, 201318.26,866UNLVWon, 49–14October 2, 199319.26,023Washington StateWon, 24–13September 5, 201420.25,978UNLVWon, 37–0October 8, 201121.25,804New Mexico StateWon, 35–21October 24, 199222.25,506Boise StateLoss, 7–38November 25, 200623.25,446Southwestern LouisianaWon, 38–14September 2, 199524.25,330Boise StateWon, 66–28October 12, 199625.25,278UNLVWon, 27–20September 29, 2007
Top 10 season average attendance records RankSeasonAvg. attendance# of Home GamesOverall AttendanceRecord1.199325,1806 games151,0817–42.201324,9396 games149,6354–83.199724,5146 games147,0865–64.199524,0636 games144,3789–35.201423,8626 games143,1727–56.201223,4326 games140,5917–67.199622,9045 games114,5189–38.200322,2586 games133,5466–69.201522,1706 games133,0227–610.199222,0226 games132,1337–5
Top 10 season overall attendance records RankSeasonOverall Attendance# of Home GamesRecord1.1991180,457 (151,019 before playoffs)9 games (7 season, 2 playoff)12–12.1993151,0816 games7–43.2013149,6356 games4–84.1997147,0866 games5–65.1995144,3786 games9–36.2014143,1726 games7–57.1990141,6439 games (6 season, 3 playoff)13–28.2012140,5916 games7–69.2010137,0327 games13–110.1986136,02110 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.
See also List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
References
External links Mackay Stadium: Home of Wolf Pack Football and Wolf Pack Soccer Mackay Stadium – University of Nevada, Reno