The day UK’s stadium opened 50 years ago: Traffic jams, 11th-hour toilets … and victory

Editor’s note: This article is republished from the Sept. 16, 1973, Lexington Herald-Leader, one day after the first University of Kentucky football game was played at Commonwealth Stadium, which is now known as Kroger Field.

LEXINGTON — It was 10 a.m. yesterday and the early morning chill was quickly giving way to a warming sun.

Commonwealth Stadium was far from deserted although no University of Kentucky football fan had yet passed through the gates to take his seat for the 1973 opener.

Underneath the massive stands, work which had gone on through the night was continuing. Pickup trucks moved up and down the concourses as UK maintenance workers rushed to clean up behind the construction crews.

Concession workers were busy preparing their stands for the thousands who would later push and shove for hot dogs, soft drinks and coffee.

As maintenance trucks cruised under the stands, workers checked out the emergency mobile radio system pressed into service because of the telephone company strike.

The mobile system would handle emergency calls such as the special exchange for physicians attending the game.

Within the hour, the first “tailgaters” were enjoying their pregame picnic before the stadium officially opened at noon.

The Raymond Lambert and the Jim Rees families were munching potato chips, sandwiches and brownies at a parking lot beside the stadium. The Lamberts had driven in from Mason, W.Va.; the Rees from Racine, Ohio.

“We’re both from Kentucky and have been coming to games for about 14 years,” Lambert smiled. “We’re Kentucky natives, heart and soul.”

The two families made the trip from their homes in 3½ hours, Rees taking time from his job at the Kaiser Aluminum Plant at Ravenwood, W.Va. (Lambert was off yesterday).

“This stadium looks awful good,” Rees commented. “Yeah, it’s real pretty,” his friend chimed in. “Now if they can just get a basketball coliseum big enough so we don’t have to buy scalped tickets … “

Lambert and Rees are typical examples of the Kentucky fan. “When we don’t get there for the games,” Lambert explained, “we always listen. My kids can have their ‘be-bop’ music but that third button on my car radio belongs to me. It’s on WHAS; I want that one.”

But yesterday Lambert, a Catlettsburg native, and Rees, from Maysville, were at Commonwealth Stadium for the historic first game. “This should really help Kentucky with its recruiting,” Lambert said. “Now I want to see Bubba McCollum.”

There were more than a few fans who did not see McCollum, the Wildcats’ outstanding defensive lineman, until long after the game started.

Some 75 Metro Police Department traffic officers were on duty and helped most of the traffic move smoothly into the parking lots at the stadium.

Despite the volume, officials managed to avoid lengthy jams for the most part. Nicholasville Road and Waller Avenue-Cooper Drive appeared to be the busiest, but once cars turned into the immediate vicinity of Commonwealth, they were soon moved to parking spaces for the estimated 48,000 fans who watched the coaching debut of new coach Fran Curci.

By late in the first quarter, the final jam on Cooper eased, allowing traffic to move freely — about as freely as the Wildcats moved up and down the new turf of their new home in the first half.

In the spacious press box, Bill Finch and George Heery, partners in Finch-Heery, Architects and Engineers of Atlanta, Ga., surveyed the stadium and discussed the final hectic weeks of preparation for the opener.

“In terms of use, I think Commonwealth is in excess of 95 percent being ready,” Heery noted.

“We knew we were over the hump last week when some more of the toilets were installed,” Finch added. “Henry Teague (project manager for the firm) called us and said, ‘the game’s over now.’ We were relieved.”

Finch said that after July 15 there was really little doubt the first game could be played in Commonwealth. The field itself proved a major concern since bad weather in late winter and early spring delayed groundwork, not leaving sufficient time to “sprig” Bermuda grass. Instead, Blue Grass sod was laid down, finally taking root and “knitting” in.

What is left now is mainly touch-up work. “Because of the inflexibility of the schedule, we’re quite relieved to have made it,” Finch added. “UK people were tense about it and there was a lot of tricky stuff at the end. It’s difficult to be cleaning up and still working at the same time.”

Finch offered the fans some advice. “They have a good road system here and as time passes the fans will learn more alternate routes to the stadium,” he said. “Maybe they can work up car pools or take a bus. That’s the best thing. And stay off Nicholasville Road.”

UK president Otis Singletary called it simply a “super day.”

Dr. Singletary said, “I’m very pleased the people have understood that the stadium is not completely ready. I’ve done all I can do. It’s up to Coach Curci now.”

Curci and his Wildcats responded with a 31-26 victory over Virginia Tech, dedicating the game ball to the stadium and the people of Kentucky because “they’ve supported us,” as the new coach said. “I hope this is the start of something.”

The majority of the Kentucky fans who came to Commonwealth Stadium yesterday would no doubt agree with the Wildcats’ coach.

This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 7:00 AM.