California Memorial Stadium, University football stadium in Berkeley, United States
California Memorial Stadium is an oval college football bowl on the University of California campus in Berkeley, built into the Berkeley Hills. The field runs northwest to southeast, marked with white yard lines and blue end zones reading "CAL" and "GOLDEN BEARS". Pale yellow bench tiers curve around the field, with dark grey and blue sections on the upper right side, and a running track separates turf from seating. A scoreboard at the open end shows "CALIFORNIA" and "BEARS".
Funded by 10,000 seat subscriptions of $100 each, the stadium opened in 1923 as a memorial to Californians who died in World War I. Because it sits directly on the Hayward Fault, it was built in two halves with expansion joints between them. A renovation from 2010 to 2012 cost $321 million and cut capacity to 63,186 seats.
The name recalls students from World War I, while the arena comes alive today mainly during California Golden Bears games. The rivalry with Stanford draws generations of alumni and families who gather in the stands.
Access is mainly from Piedmont Avenue, where entrances are distributed across multiple levels. The renovation added elevators and wider walkways that make reaching different areas easier.
Above the eastern section lies Tightwad Hill, a slope where spectators gather to watch games without a ticket. From the highest rows, the view stretches to San Francisco Bay, which appears behind the stands in the distance.
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