Husky Stadium

Annually voted the most scenic football structure in the nation, Husky Stadium has proven to be a monstrous opponent for visitors hoping to pin a loss on Washington's gridiron heroes.Nestled high above Union Bay in Lake Washington, Husky Stadium has several characteristics that make it unique among stadia: A seating capacity of 72,500 allows Husky Stadium to rank as the nation's 15th largest on-campus facility. It is the largest stadium, college or professional, in the Pacific Northwest.With nearly 70 percent of the seats located between the end zones, Husky Stadium can be one of the loudest stadiums in the nation. During the 1992 Nebraska contest, the first night game in Husky Stadium history, ESPN sideline crews measured the crowd noise at 130 decibels. Many claim that the first audience wave originated in Husky Stadium on Halloween 1981, at the prompting of Dave Hunter (Husky band trumpet player). Former Washington yell leader Robb Weller has also claimed credit for the first wave. Weller was the guest yell-king during the Huskies' homecoming football game against the Standford Cardinals. His initial concept for the wave was for it to travel vertically, from the bottom of the stands to the top section. When that was met with limited interest, he then came up with the idea to move the wave from top to bottom. This failed, as it was necessary to turn backward to see the wave progressing downward. Weller then gave up and returned his attention to the game. However, a fan named Omar Parker sitting on the open end of the stadium on the student side started yelling "sideways". Weller did not hear him, but then many students tried to initiate a "sideways" wave on their own. After a few attempts, and more yelling of "sideways" by students, Weller took notice. He instructed the crowd to stand as he ran past. He moved along the track toward the open end of the stadium, explaining to the student crowd what he would do, then ran along the track toward the closed end of the stadium, in front of the student section. After a couple of tries, this caught on, and continued around the entire Husky Stadium, and was repeated throughout the rest of the game and the season.