Editing Kyle Field (section)

==History==
[[File:KyleField1920.jpg|thumb|left|Kyle Field ca. 1920]]

===Beginning===
In the fall of 1904, [[Edwin Jackson Kyle]], an 1899 graduate of Texas A&M and professor of [[horticulture]], was named president of the General Athletics Association. Kyle wanted to secure and develop an athletic field to promote the school's athletics. Texas A&M was unwilling to provide funds, so Kyle fenced off a section of the southwest corner of campus that had been assigned to him for agricultural use.<ref>Perry, George Sessions. ''The Story of Texas A. and M.'', p.127.</ref> Using $650 of his own money, he purchased a covered [[grandstand]] from the [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]] fairgrounds and built wooden [[bleacher]]s to raise the [[seating capacity]] to 500 people.<ref>Perry, p.127</ref><ref name="Dethloff, Henry C. p.505">Dethloff, Henry C., ''A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976'', p.505.</ref>

On November 11, 1904, the Texas A&M Board of Directors set this area as a permanent athletic field,<ref>Minutes of the Board of Directors, November 10, 1904, I, 288.</ref> which served as the home for the football and baseball teams. After the stands were built, students supported naming the field after its founder and builder.<ref>Perry, p.128</ref> Accordingly, in 1906, the Corps of Cadets unofficially named the field "Kyle Field" in Kyle's honor.<ref name=Timeline/>

Though some sources suggest the November 21, 1921 game between the [[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M Aggies]] and their archrival the [[Texas Longhorns football|University of Texas]] at Kyle Field became the first college football game to offer a live, play-by-play broadcast on radio,<ref name="schultz">{{cite web |last=Schultz|first=Charles R.|title=First Play-by-Play Radio Broadcast of a College Football Game|publisher=WTAW|url=http://www.wtaw.com/history.php|access-date=May 8, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111180739/http://www.wtaw.com/history.php |archive-date=November 11, 2006}}</ref> this claim is incorrect. The first live, play-by-play broadcast on radio of a college football game occurred October 8, 1921 at [[Forbes Field]] when [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA-AM]] broadcast a [[1921 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh football game|Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia]] game.<ref>{{Cite web|title=College football history: Notable firsts and milestones {{!}} NCAA.com|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2020-01-31/college-football-history-notable-firsts-and-milestones|access-date=2021-04-25|website=www.ncaa.com|language=en}}</ref> The [[Texas Historical Commission]] installed a [[Texas Historical Commission#Historical Markers|historical marker]] at Kyle Field in 2005 indicating that, while it was not the first broadcast in the US, it is believed to be the first in Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Early Play-By-Play Radio Broadcast of a College Football Game Historical Marker|url=https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5041013065/print|access-date=2022-05-25|language=en}}</ref>

===Facility improvements===
The Aggies enjoyed an undefeated season in 1919, accumulating a combined score of 275&ndash;0. Aggie supporters began to clamor for a permanent stadium, but only $2,400 was raised by 1920. In 1927, the school chose to build a new concrete stadium, at a cost of $345,001.67<ref>Ousley, Clarence. ''History of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas'', p.84</ref> or $365,000, depending on the source.<ref name=Timeline />

The new stadium—roughly corresponding to the lower half of the current structure's east and west grandstands—opened later that year. By 1929, the stadium had become a 32,890-seat horseshoe, with temporary seating for an additional 5,000.<ref>[http://www.12thman.com/facilities/?id=1 Kyle Field] at official Texas A&M athletic site</ref><ref name=Timeline /> The space inside the horseshoe was sufficient to allow a track surrounding the field. Capacity was raised to 41,500 in 1953 when a partial second [[Deck (building)|deck]] and a pressbox were added at a cost of $346,000.<ref name="Dethloff, p.524">Dethloff, ''A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876–1976'', p.524</ref>

In 1956, the Texas A&M Board of Regents officially named the stadium "Kyle Field," though it had been unofficially called by that name for over half a century.<ref name=Timeline /> Although some believe that the field was instead named after Dr. J. Allen Kyle, a member of the Board of Directors from 1911 to 1915, the Board of Directors decreed that Kyle Field was in fact named for E.J. Kyle (Class of 1899).<ref>Dethloff, ''A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976'', p.506</ref>

More of second deck and other improvements were added in 1967 to raise the capacity to 48,000 at a cost of $1.84 million.<ref name="Dethloff, p.524"/> In 1974, two large flagpoles were added at the south end of the stadium in memory of Lt. William B. Blocker, (Texas A&M Class of 1945).

Expansion continued in 1980, when a third deck was added to Kyle Field, bringing the capacity to 70,000. Construction took place during the football season, and students were allowed into the area as each row of seating was added. In 1981, {{convert|16|ft|m|-high|adj=mid}} letters spelling out "KYLE FIELD" were installed.

The Bernard C. Richardson Zone was added in 1999 at a cost of $32.9 million<ref name="zoneimg" /> raising the capacity to 82,600. For high-demand games, temporary bleachers were installed in the south [[end zone]] and folding chairs were placed on the sidelines. In the fall of 2003, the Bright Football Complex was completed on the south end of the stadium. The facility (named for its principal donor, former [[Dallas Cowboys]] owner [[Bum Bright]]) includes a players' lounge overlooking Kyle Field, dressing rooms, one of the largest training and rehabilitation facilities in the country, and a state-of-the-art academic center.<ref name="KF_Attendance" />

The field had a grass playing surface until 1970, when [[Astroturf]] was installed.<ref name="Dethloff, p.524"/> Natural turf was reinstalled on the field for the 1996 season.<ref name="KF_Attendance" /> Since that time, the turf has consistently received praise from players and coaches. For their efforts, the groundskeepers were honored in 2004 as the winners of the STMA College Football Field of the Year.<ref name="turf" >{{cite web |title=Kyle Field's turf the "13th man"?|publisher=Sports Turf|year=2004|url=http://www.greenmediaonline.com/uploads/st/features/0509_foy.asp|access-date=February 28, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055301/http://www.greenmediaonline.com/uploads/st/features/0509_foy.asp|archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref>

====2013–2015 renovation====
[[File:TAMU Kyle Field 2022-01-14 5.jpg|thumb|right| 12th Man Statue and Kyle Field added with renovations]]
[[File:Aggie War Hymn.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Aggie War Hymn|War Hymn Movement]] statue erected in 2014]]
On May 1, 2013, the Texas A&M Board of Regents approved a $485 million rebuild of Kyle Field. The renovation would temporarily raise the official seating capacity to 106,511 people for the 2014 season, making it the largest football stadium in Texas and the [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] (surpassing [[Neyland Stadium]] by 57 seats) and the third largest football stadium in the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ohio Stadium to expand to 104,829 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/9329236/ohio-state-buckeyes-expand-ohio-stadium-2500-seats-2014 |date=May 31, 2013 |work=ESPN |access-date=May 13, 2014}}</ref>

The renovation was done in two distinct phases geared around the football season, and began immediately after the conclusion of the final 2013 season game in November with the implosion of the student section side. The stadium renovation was complete by the beginning of the 2015 season bringing the official capacity to 102,733. Per local media, [[KBTX-TV|KBTX]], major milestones for the Kyle Field project were as follows, with construction sequenced and phased to allow the playing of regular home football games in the stadium for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons. The renovation was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
* Phase I (November 2013): Demolition of the first deck of the east side of the stadium, reconstruction of the first deck, and construction of the south end zone, which includes seating, media interview areas, 12th Man Productions and related gameday support, and a commissary and recruiting area.
* Phase II (November 2014): Demolition of the entire west side of the stadium (including the last remnant of the original 1927 stadium), complete construction of the south end zone, and reconstruction of the west side.

Other significant items included in the scope of work for the Kyle Field redevelopment included: 
* Demolition of the Read Building, [[G. Rollie White Coliseum]], and the Netum Steed strength and conditioning facility, all of which are adjacent to or part of Kyle Field
* Construction of a new strength and conditioning laboratory training area on the university's west campus
* Lowering of the playing field by approximately 7 feet and relocation of the playing surface approximately 18 feet to the south allowing for an additional six rows of seating around the stadium
* Relocation of the existing south end zone scoreboard and video board reusing appropriate components to provide a scoreboard facility on the exterior of the north end zone structure: New interior scoreboard locations will be established in the south end zone and the northeast and northwest corners of the developed stadium.
* Construction of widened, tree-lined walkways along both sides of Houston Street from George Bush Drive to the stadium east mall area
* The new "South Side Upper Level" (with addition of an upper seating deck and concourse), has an estimated seating capacity of 12,000 with the future potential of an additional 7,000 seats, with seating to be located both below and above the new upper concourse.

===Notable events===
[[File:red white and blue out.jpg|thumb|right|Red, White, and Blue Out following September 11 attacks]]
On November 26, 1999<!--linked as a notable event that year and date-->, just one week after the collapse of the [[Aggie Bonfire]], the [[1999 Texas A&M Aggies football team|Aggies]] beat the 5th-ranked Texas Longhorns 20&ndash;16 in an emotional comeback game before a then-record crowd of 86,128.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lone Star Showdown: 112th UT vs A&M game Friday |url=http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=150435 |work=[[Time Warner Cable News Austin|News 8 Austin]] |date=November 23, 2005 |access-date=April 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165108/http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=150435 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="recordcrowd">{{cite web|title=Aggies Top No. 5 Longhorns Before Record Crowd, 20-16|publisher=Texas A&M University Athletic Department|date=November 26, 1999|url=http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112699aaa.html|access-date=April 2, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607045322/http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112699aaa.html|archive-date=June 7, 2009}}</ref> Another notable event occurred on September 22, 2001, 11 days after the [[September 11 attacks]] and the first game for the Aggies after the attacks, where the students organized a "Red, White and Blue-Out". Students assigned each deck a different color (red on third deck, white on second deck, and blue on first deck) to wear for the game against [[2001 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State]]. Despite the short notice, attendees followed the instructions, resulting in a red, white, and blue stadium. More than $150,000 was raised in shirt sales, which was donated to [[New York City Fire Department|FDNY]] charities.<ref>{{cite press release |title=A&M Opens Big 12 Play with 21-7 Win over OSU|url=http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?PRID=503|publisher=Texas A&M University Athletic Department|date=September 22, 2001|access-date=May 3, 2008}}</ref>

Texas A&M's last Big 12 Conference football game and the last scheduled game against the University of Texas Longhorns occurred on November 24, 2011.  Texas A&M lost this game 27–25.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Texas at Texas A&M Box Score, November 24, 2011 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2011-11-24-texas-am.html |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=[[Sports Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>  Notably, this was the second time Texas A&M lost their final game in a conference to the Texas Longhorns at Kyle Field - on December 2, 1995, they lost their final Southwest Conference Game to the Longhorns 16–6, in a game that decided the final SWC championship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Texas at Texas A&M Box Score, December 2, 1995 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/1995-12-02-texas-am.html |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=[[Sports Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Fans Storm Kyle Field.jpg|thumb|Fans [[Pitch invasion|storm the field]] after defeating [[LSU Tigers football|LSU]] in the [[2018 LSU vs. Texas A&M football game|longest and highest scoring game]] in [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Division I FBS]] history. ]]
Texas A&M's first Southeastern Conference (SEC) football game occurred on September 8, 2012, against the University of Florida Gators.

On June 15, 2024, [[George Strait]]'s concert at Kyle Field became the most-attended (non-festival), ticketed show in US history, with 110,905 fans in attendance. The record was previously held by the [[Grateful Dead]], who played for 107,019 people at [[Old Bridge Township Raceway Park|Raceway Park]] in 1977.<ref name="Brooks" />