Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium

Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium

Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the south central United States, located on the campus of the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Commonly known as H. A. Chapman Stadium, it is the home field for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the American Athletic Conference.

Skelly Stadium received a new name in April 2007, changing to Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The newly renovated stadium opened its gates on Sep. 20, 2008,
as Tulsa defeated New Mexico 56-14.

The stadium renovation included new seating throughout the stadium, restrooms, concession areas, new press box with luxury suites and club level seating, and a new scoreboard on the south side of the stadium, among other amenities.

The steel structure on the stadium’s west side was removed substantially improving the aesthetics of the facility. The new structure on the west side now has an exterior finish of pre-cast concrete panels trimmed with cast stone. This returns the façade to the original architecture of the stadium, keeping the traditional look and feel of other campus structures.

On April 24, 2007, University of Tulsa President Steadman Upham announced during his opening remarks at the school’s annual All-Sports Awards Gala that the University had, within the past two hours, received the naming gift for renovation of the football stadium.

The H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Trust provided the financial gift for half of the estimated cost for renovation of the H.A. Chapman Stadium. Trustees of the H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Trust are Donne Pitman and Jerry Dickman. The complete renovation of H.A. Chapman Stadium began at the conclusion of the 2007 football season.

When the stadium was constructed in 1930 it was originally named Skelly Field, but was changed to Skelly Stadium in 1947 when 5,000 seats were added to north end zone.