Icahn Stadium

Icahn Stadium is a 5,000 seat track and field and multipurpose facility located on Randalls Island in Manhattan, New York City. Designed within the former site of Downing Stadium, it opened on April 23, 2005. Icahn Stadium is named after American businessman Carl Icahn, who made a $10 million donation towards the construction of the new stadium. The stadium features an International Association of Athletics Federations Class 1 certified running track with a 400-meter Mondo Super X Performance surface, and it has been the site of many international, national, and regional track and field events.

Icahn Stadium was built to replace Downing Stadium, which was originally opened in 1936 as part of a larger New York City Parks project that included the construction of the Triborough Bridge. The opening of Downing Stadium made history as the facility hosted the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1936, at which Jesse Owens qualified for two events in the upcoming Berlin Olympics. Downing Stadium also made history in 1939 as the site of the first televised college football game, Fordham vs. Waynesburg. The site went was subsequently home to the New York Cosmos soccer team, as well as various sporting events and summer concerts. The stadium lights, which had been taken from Ebbets Field after it was torn down, were left in place to light the new field.

Author: Wikipedia