Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 01:32:00

When it opened it was the largest poured-concrete structure on Earth, and university officials worried it would never fill. Ohio Stadium at 411 Woody Hayes Drive in Columbus - The Horseshoe - has instead packed in crowds above 100,000 for a century of Ohio State football. The design solved a real problem: architect Howard Dwight Smith's double-deck horseshoe, the first in America, cantilevered the upper deck over the lower so tens of thousands could sit close to the field; the American Institute of Architects gave him its gold medal for it. The opening numbers still impress: built for 1.34 million dollars from 40,000 cubic yards of concrete and 4,000 tons of steel, the stadium debuted on 7 October 1922 with a 5-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan and was formally dedicated two weeks later before 71,385 against Michigan. The expansions never stopped: original capacity of 66,210 grew through a 194-million-dollar renovation completed in 2001 that removed the track and made the south stands permanent, pushing capacity past 102,000 - the largest stadium in Ohio and among the biggest on-campus venues in the nation, with a record crowd of 110,045 for Michigan in 2016. The Shoe moonlights as a concert and event stage: Pink Floyd drew 75,250 in 1994, the Rolling Stones, U2 and Taylor Swift followed, and the 2025 NHL Stadium Series brought outdoor hockey; the building was the first football stadium listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1974. Practical notes: the open south end frames the field and the rotunda's north entrance is the historic approach; C-Deck's top rows reward binoculars, campus game-day parking demands hours of lead time, and the pre-game Skull Session at St. John Arena is the free tradition visitors miss most often. The dedication-day commerce entered legend alongside the football: vendors sold 10,000 hot dogs, 70,000 bottled sodas, 8,000 boxes of Cracker Jacks and 25 gallons of mustard to the 71,385 on hand - who then watched Michigan's Harry Kipke intercept two passes and win 19-0.