Citizens of Ogden, including representatives of the
American Legion and
Elks organizations, incorporated a committee in April 1928 to coordinate construction of a stadium. In February 1929, cost was estimated at $65,000. The following month, the City of Ogden agreed to support the effort, along with
Weber Junior College and local school boards. The stadium was initially scheduled to open in the fall of 1929, with a
college football game between the
BYU Cougars and the Agricultural College of Utah (now the
Utah State Aggies). In August, $75,000 was raised via
bond sales, with the first game moved back, expected to feature Weber Junior College and the
McKinley School of Honolulu in late October. In mid-October, during the
Wall Street crash of 1929, the city effectively took over the stadium effort by creating a stadium board and agreeing to finance construction. Construction of the stadium began on June 9, 1930, was completed during the summer of 1930, and the stadium was first used on August 15, for a fireworks show and
big bands to celebrate the start of an
athletics meet sponsored by the
Union Pacific Railroad. Lighting was in place weeks later, as the Utah State freshman squad defeated Weber Junior College in a night game on October 10. The stadium hosted various college football contests, including games with the
Idaho State Bengals,
Nevada Wolf Pack, and
Utah Utes. It was also used as a
boxing venue, featuring champions such as
Max Baer,
Ezzard Charles,
Gene Fullmer, and
Joey Maxim. == Current usage ==