Spirit & Sports
See our dream home being built: 1920–22 photos
Scenes from the construction of Ohio Stadium show some of the state-of-the-art work that helped our icon stand the test of time.
September 13, 2022
Ohio Stadium’s centennial celebrates more than a place. It celebrates hard-fought victories, university ceremonies, personal milestones and so many more of the moments — big and small, long ago and into the future — that define our Buckeye community.
And it all started in what was once a marshy cornfield.
Follow along for a look at how that field, 42,000 cubic yards of concrete and 343 miles of lumber took on new life as our beloved icon.
![In an old black and white photograph, four men work at plain wooden tables building horseshoe-shaped stadium models.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_model.jpg)
![In an old black and white photograph, seven men in suits and hats are lined up and shoveling dirt where the stadium will be built.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_groundbreaking.jpg)
![A team of workers construct one of the first sections of stands — only the wooden structure looks to have been put in and the men stand on top. The black and white photo includes a crane and wooden frame for a taller structure.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_crane.jpg)
![Concrete arches are in place in this vertical photo from the outside of the stadium, but the upper deck of stands is no more than lumber and steel. Men on a suspended scaffolding make adjustments to the front of the concrete, and men on the ground step over lumber and other construction materials.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_vertical.jpg)
![At a time when Ohio Stadium was almost completely constructed, more than a dozen people mill around outside the open end of the horseshoe. In the distance, one end of Ohio Stadium and its newly completed seating can be seen.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_finished.jpg)
![A historical photo shows men in suits and hats, each holding a broom, chatting amid the stands at Ohio Stadium. The concrete risers are filled with wooden folding chairs](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_sweeping.jpg)
![An old-time football game has players in soft helmets and little padding. Behind them, Ohio Stadium’s stands are packed.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/OSAM_digital_construction_game.jpg)
100 years of history
Celebrate a century of the ’Shoe with a visual walk down a memory lane featuring Ohio Stadium’s icons, its biggest moments and more photos showing how it came to be.