Downing Stadium

Coordinates: 40°47′38″N 73°55′27″W / 40.79389°N 73.92417°W / 40.79389; -73.92417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Downing Stadium
New York United
(ASL) (1981)
Several concerts (1938–2002)

Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.[1][2] It was demolished in 2002 and the current Icahn Stadium was built on the site.

Overview

Track and field

Built on

Women's Olympic Trials in 1964.[1] Later the stadium hosted the 1991 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
.

The stadium was also used as a filming site for a Sesame Street segment about The Flashettes girls track team. [citation needed]

Football

Triborough Stadium served as one of two home stadiums of the

second AFL team New York Yankees (along with Yankee Stadium) in 1936 and 1937. The first televised American football game was held at Triborough on September 30, 1939, as Fordham took on Waynesburg
. It was for many years the home of Cardinal Hayes High School football teams.

NYU's football team also played its last two seasons at Triborough in 1951 and 1952.[5]

The England first team played the United States in Downing Stadium, on 27th. May, 1964, winning 10-0.

In 1966, the

New York Stars of the WFL;[7] like the Dodgers, the Stars left the stadium before the season ended, shifting to Charlotte
.

Soccer

Randalls Island was the site of three international soccer matches: the US team played

European Cup at the time. The teams drew 1–1 in front of 12,000 people.[10]

A friendly held at the stadium in July 1973 between Haiti and Millonarios of Colombia was delayed for more than two hours and forty five minutes by Haitian exiles protesting against the Duvalier regime. At one point, Haitian manager Antoine Tassy took his team to the dressing room and said that they were going home. He later made a call to Haitian Football Federation president Claude Raymond who told him to resume the match, if possible. Then, Serge Charles, a high-ranking member of the Haitian delegation to the United Nations, arrived and made another call to Raymond, and the Haitians agreed to go back on the field. Police arrived and cordoned off the field.[11]

The

A-League
in 1995.

The site was considered for a 48,000-seat capacity

soccer specific stadium, based on the design of the City of Manchester Stadium, had the New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics been successful. The plan was shelved when New York lost out to London
.

Baseball

The stadium was also used for some Negro league baseball games in the 1930s; it was the home of the New York Black Yankees in 1938.

Rugby

The stadium also played host to the

All Blacks several times, in the course of larger tours to Europe. They last played a New York Metropolitan selection in October 1972, beating their hosts 41–9.[14]

Date Teams Match Type Attendance Notes
October 21, 1972  New Zealand 41–9 United States New York Metropolitan 1972–73 New Zealand Tour [14]
September 9, 1989
United States
 1989 Ireland Tour [15]

Other sports

In October 1997, Downing played host to a Gaelic football match between Cavan and Kerry; the game was moved to New York in order to commemorate the 1947 All Ireland Final between the same teams played at the Polo Grounds.[16]

In May 1990, Downing hosted an unofficial 30-overs a side cricket match between Pakistan and Australia with many regular international cricketers participating from both countries. Australia won the match by 5 runs.[17]

Music

Downing Stadium during a music concert, c. 1990

In 1938, the stadium hosted the Carnival of Swing, one of the first large outdoor jazz festivals.

In August 1968, the New York Jazz Festival took place at Downing Stadium. Performers included Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Miriam Makeba, and Mongo Santamaria.[18]

On August 31, 1968, T.P. Productions presented N.Y. City Fun Festival at Downing, which included performances by

B.B. King, Arthur Conley, Big Maybelle, and the Mirettes.[19]

After the triumph of Woodstock the previous year, the three-day New York Pop Festival tried to re-create its success in New York City, opening on Randalls Island on July 17, 1970. Unfortunately, the concert was a bust, as half the big name lineup failed to show up (although Jimi Hendrix performed a memorable set). What is more, the festival was picketed by several radical groups: some of the protesters demanded that a portion of the ticket sales go to worthy causes (even threatening the box office), while others wanted everyone to get in free. (This was partially accomplished when thousands of concert-goers literally crashed through the gates.)[20]

Once the stadium stopped being a major sports venue, Downing was used largely for concerts, serving as a venue for rock concerts such as Lollapalooza in 1994, Pearl Jam in 1996, and the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1997.

Fate

The stadium was torn down in 2002 in order to be replaced by a newer, smaller complex, Icahn Stadium, which was completed in 2004. This facility is used primarily for track and field.

References

  1. ^ a b Collins, Glenn (August 20, 2004). "Built for Speed, And Local Pride; Track Stadium Emerges On Randalls Island". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  2. Newspapers.com
    .
  3. ^ Daley, Arthur J. (May 8, 1936). "$1,000,000 Randalls Island Sports Project Impresses Olympic Officials". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  4. ^ Daley, Arthur J. (July 12, 1936). "Metcalfe 2d in Sprint". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  5. ^ "New York University Violet All-Time Football Records". www.luckyshow.org. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "500 Lights From Ebbets Field Will Shine on Randalls Island". The New York Times. June 4, 1960. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  7. ^ Crossley, Andy (October 22, 2013). "July 17, 1974 - New York Stars v Birmingham Americans". funwhileitlasted.net. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  8. ^ "Scottish Eleven Ends Soccer Tour With 4-0 Victory Over Americans". The New York Times. June 20, 1949. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  9. ^ "England's Matches 1960-1965". England Football Online. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  10. ^ https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1cV1YLtvF18/WufuvNwUGsI/AAAAAAAALck/Z3lxRIWu3CgFCBldqcyXXWte3Vz6JWAaQCLcBGAs/s1600/40CF03989.png [bare URL image file]
  11. ^ "Haitian protesters rush field", Daily News (New York, New York), July 30, 1973, p.18
  12. ISBN 978-1-59797-193-5
    .
  13. ^ Maurer, Pablo (July 20, 2023). "When Pelé made his NY Cosmos debut — the similarities and differences to Messi in Miami". The Athletic. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "New Zealand Rugby Team Downs New Yorkers, 41-9". The New York Times. October 22, 1972. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  15. ^ "IRELAND XV TOUR - New York, 9 September 1989, 16:00 local, 20:00 GMT". espnscrum. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  16. ^ "Terrace Talk Photos". Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  17. ^ "Australia v Pakistan at New York, 12 May 1990". Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "New York Beat". Jet: 62–63. August 8, 1968.
  19. ^ "STEVIE WONDER, WILSON PICKETT, SAM & DAVE, BB KING 1968 - Mar 12, 2020 | Hake's Auctions in PA". LiveAuctioneers. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  20. ^ "Randall's Island Park". Retrieved April 3, 2016.
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