Baker Athletic Complex

Baker Field is Columbia University's 26 acre athletics complex at the northern tip of Manhattan at Broadway and 218th St.. Prior to the opening of Baker Field, South Lawn played host to Columbia's athletic teams.

History

The tract of land on which the Baker Field Complex stands was purchased for the University on December 30, 1921 by financier George F. Baker. Then a $700,000 gift, the 26-acre area was dedicated in April, 1922 and was coronated with spring football practice that same year. In the fall, Columbia's football team continued to practice at Baker Field, but played its games at South Field on the Morningside Heights Campus. The first stadium at Baker Field opened in the fall of 1923 with 15,000 seats in temporary stands. Five years later, the University built the 32,000 wooden-seat stadium that served Columbia fans for 55 years, until the spring of 1983.

The first game at Baker Field took place on September 29, 1923, with Columbia defeating Ursinus, 13-0. The opening game in the official stadium was played on Sept. 29, 1928 as Columbia defeated Vermont, 20-0.

On May 17, 1939, Baker field played host to the first live television broadcast of an athletics event. A Columbia-Princeton baseball game at Baker Field was carried by the National Broadcasting Company to the 400 or so sets then capable of receiving its broadcast signal. Satisfied with the result, NBC decided to try doing a major league game. Five months later it did, from Brooklyn's Ebbets Field.

Wien Stadium was opened on Sept. 22, 1984 as the Lions fell to Harvard, 35-21. Columbia won its first game in the Stadium on Oct.8, 1988 when it defeated Princeton, 16-13.

Wien Stadium is now home to the Lions' football, lacrosse and track & field teams. The track features an eight-lane Rekortan track.

Facilities

The Baker Field complex is composed of the following facilities

• Lawrence A. Wien Stadium
• Columbia Soccer Stadium
• Andy Coakley Field (Baseball)
• Columbia Field Hockey Stadium (Formerly the football practice field. Converted to field hockey pitch with state-of-the art AquaTurf in 2006 after hockey-unfriendly FieldTurf was installed in Wien Stadium in 2005.)
• Columbia Softball Complex
• Dick Savitt Tennis Center
• Gould-Remmer and 1929 Boathouses
• Chrystie Field House

Events

Baker Blast

Hosted jointly by the student councils for the first home football game of the year since (?), Baker Blast is a popular event.

Homecoming

The first Ivy League home game of the year, Homecoming always draws a large crowd as well as a strong alumni presence to Baker Field.

Additional Reading

Baker Field: Birthplace of Sports Television