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Kidd Field

Coordinates: 31°46′28″N 106°30′21″W / 31.77444°N 106.50583°W / 31.77444; -106.50583
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Kidd Field
Aerial view of the stadium in 2009
Map
Full nameLarry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field
AddressEl Paso, TX
United States
OwnerUniversity of Texas at El Paso
TypeStadium
Current useTrack and field
Opened1938; 86 years ago (1938)
Tenants
Website
utepminers.com/kidd-field

Kidd Field (complete name, "Larry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field") is an athletic facility used primarily by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in El Paso, Texas. Constructed for its then-primary use as a American football field in 1938, it was the site of the Sun Bowl until 1963 when Sun Bowl Stadium opened. Kidd Field is used for track and field meets today. Kidd Field cost $2,000 to build, and El Paso holds an annual Easter festival there. Built in the early 1930s, Kidd Field has been home to numerous All-Americans, national champions, national record-holders and Olympians.

Overview

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Named after UTEP (then Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy) professor and athletic booster John W. Kidd, the facility was shared with the UTEP football team until 1962, when the facility became sole home to the track and field team. The track features an eight-lane Mondo Track, the same surface used for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The track was made possible by generous donations from Wayne and Russ Vandenburg of EPT Management and Mark Fry.

The track was dedicated in former Miner legend Larry K. Durham's (a football player of the University)[1] name. His contribution gave Kidd Field a makeover in 2011, and it was dedicated in his name in April 2012.[2] A state-of-the-art Daktronics video board was added in January 2008. The 9x15-foot LED video display plants fans right into the action on the track, providing graphics and video elements that display real-time highlights throughout a meet. The lit facility also houses throws and jumps arenas, making Kidd Field one of the top track-only complexes in the country. 31°46′28″N 106°30′21″W / 31.77444°N 106.50583°W / 31.77444; -106.50583

References

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