View source for Nickerson Field

{{Short description|Outdoor athletic stadium in Boston, Massachusetts}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| name              = Nickerson Field
| nickname          = 
| logo_image        = Boston_University_Terriers_wordmark.svg
| logo_size         = 30
| image             = BUNickersonFldStands.jpg
| caption           = The stadium in 2006
| address           = 285 Babcock Street<ref name=BUfacInfo />
| location          = [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|42.353|-71.119|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| publictransit     = {{rint|boston|rail}} {{rint|boston|green}}<br/>at [[Babcock Street station|Babcock Street]]
| broke_ground      = March 20, 1915
| opened            = {{start date and age|August 18, 1915}}
| renovated         = 1955
| currentuse        = [[association football|Soccer]]<br>[[Lacrosse]]<br>[[Rugby league]]
| expanded          = 
| closed            = 
| demolished        = 
| owner             = [[Boston University]]
| operator          = [[Boston University Terriers|Boston University Athletics]]
| surface           = {{collapsible list|
* GreenFields MX Trimension (2015–present)
* [[FieldTurf]] (2001–2015)
* [[AstroTurf]] (1968–2000)
* [[poaceae|Natural grass]] (1955–1967)
}}
| architect         =  
| construction_cost =  
| former_names      = Boston University Field (1954–1963)
| tenants           = {{collapsible list|
* '''[[Boston University Terriers]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) teams:'''
* men's and women's soccer (1953–present)
* [[Boston University Terriers men's lacrosse|men's]] and women's lacrosse
* '''Professional teams:'''
* [[Boston Patriots]] ([[American Football League|AFL]]) (1960–1962)
* [[Boston Astros]] ([[American Soccer League (1933–1983)|ASL]]) (1974–1975)
* [[Boston Minutemen]] ([[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]]) (1975)
* [[New England Tea Men]] (NASL) (1979)
* [[Boston Breakers (USFL)|Boston Breakers]] ([[United States Football League|USFL]]) (1983)
* [[Boston Bolts (1988–1990)|Boston Bolts]] ([[American Soccer League (1988–89)|ASL]]/[[American Professional Soccer League|APSL]]) (1988–1990)
* [[Boston Breakers (WUSA)|Boston Breakers]] ([[Women's United Soccer Association|WUSA]]) (2001–2003)
* [[Boston Cannons]] ([[Major League Lacrosse|MLL]]) (2004–2006)
* [[Boston Bears (rugby league)|Boston Bears]] ([[American National Rugby League|ANRL]]/[[USA Rugby League|USARL]]) (2009–present)
}}
| seating_capacity  = 9,871<ref name=BUfacInfo>{{cite web |url=http://www.goterriers.com/facilities/?id=10 |title=Nickerson Field |website=goterriers.com |publisher=[[Boston University]] |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>
| dimensions        = 86 × 134 yards<ref name=BUfacInfo /> (78.6 × 122.5 m)
| website     = {{URL|https://goterriers.com/facilities/nickerson-field/10|goterriers.com/nickerson-field}}
}}
'''Nickerson Field''' is an outdoor athletic [[stadium]] in the [[Northeastern United States]], on the campus of [[Boston University]] (BU) in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]. The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for some [[Boston University Terriers]] athletics programs, including [[association football|soccer]] and [[lacrosse]]. It was also the home of the [[Boston University Terriers football]] team until the program was discontinued following the 1997 season.<ref name=bucofbprg>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KQpbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GU4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4203%2C3334923 |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |location=Maine |agency=Associated Press |title=Boston University cuts out football program |date=October 27, 1997 |page=C3}}</ref>

The stadium is located on the site of [[Braves Field]], the former home [[ballpark]] of the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]], a [[Major League Baseball|major league]] [[baseball team]] in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]; the franchise relocated to [[Milwaukee]] in March 1953,<ref name=abbmv>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vZkKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FUwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2400%2C3800523 |newspaper=Ellensburg Daily Record |location=Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Approve Boston Braves' move |date=March 18, 1953 |page=1}}</ref> and relocated again in 1966, becoming the [[Atlanta Braves]]. Parts of Braves Field, such as the entry gate and right field pavilion, remain as portions of the current stadium. The old Braves Field ticket office at [[Harry Agganis]] Way also remains, now used by the [[Boston University Police Department]] as [[headquarters]] complete with a [[cellblock]]. The stadium has been the home of BU teams longer (50-plus years) than it was the home of the Braves (parts of 38 seasons).

The field is named for [[William Emery Nickerson]] (1853–1930), a partner of [[King C. Gillette]] during the early years of the [[Gillette Safety Razor Company]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14515100/nickerson_inventor_of_gillette_safety/ |title=Nickerson, Inventor of Gillette Safety Razor Machinery, Dead |newspaper=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |location=[[Burlington, Vermont]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=June 6, 1930 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Boston bleachers, Braves Field 2nd game of World Series, 10-9-16 LOC 15215977465 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Braves Field during a baseball game in 1916]]
The university's previous athletic field was in the town of [[Weston, Massachusetts|Weston]]. That field had been named for Nickerson, a member of the BU [[board of trustees]] who had donated funds for the facilities in Weston in 1926.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14537258/new_england_sports_briefs/ |title=New England Sports Briefs |newspaper=[[North Adams Transcript]] |location=[[North Adams, Massachusetts]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=September 24, 1963 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Nickerson "was an [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] graduate who was the principal inventor of the machinery used to manufacture the first [[Global Gillette|Gillette]] safety razor."<ref name=behind>{{cite news |url=http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/10-15/features8.html |title=Who's behind that building? |first=David J. |last=Craig |newspaper=B.U. Bridge |publisher=[[Boston University]] |date=October 15, 1999 |volume=III |number=10 |via=bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nickersonassoc.com/about-us/ |title=About Us – Nickerson Family Association |website=nickersonassoc.com |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> The first Nickerson Field was dedicated on October 6, 1928, with a game against the [[New Hampshire Wildcats football|New Hampshire Wildcats]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43266783/pioneers_dedicate_new_athletic_field/ |title=Pioneers Dedicate New Athletic Field Today |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=6 |date=October 6, 1928 |access-date=January 29, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

BU purchased the [[Braves Field|former home]] of the [[Boston Braves]] on July 30, 1953,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14537695/braves_field_sold_to_boston_university/ |title=Braves Field Sold To Boston University |newspaper=[[The Palm Beach Post]] |location=[[West Palm Beach, Florida]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=July 31, 1953 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> and in April 1954 renamed it "Boston University Field".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14537723/braves_field_becomes_boston_university/ |title=Braves Field Becomes Boston University Field |newspaper=[[North Adams Transcript]] |location=[[North Adams, Massachusetts]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=April 14, 1954 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1955, the left field pavilion and the "Jury Box" were demolished and in November, 1959, the grandstand was taken down to make room for three high rise dormitories that were completed in 1964. The existing right field pavilion was squared off on the west side and filled in on the east side where a section had been removed to accommodate the Braves Field right field foul pole and [[bullpen]]s. The three dormitories overlooking the field coincidentally suggest the outline of the original main grandstand section.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:qb98mg94q |title=Boston University field and West Campus, Charles River, Boston |date=1975 |website=digitalcommonwealth.org |access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref>

In February 1956, BU was awarded $391,000 for the Weston field, which had been taken by [[eminent domain]] for construction of [[Massachusetts Route 128]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14537196/bu_wins_391000_in_turnpike_suit/ |title=B.U. Wins $391,000 In Turnpike Suit |newspaper=[[The Berkshire Eagle]] |location=[[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]] |agency=[[United Press International|UPI]] |date=February 2, 1956 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> BU used the proceeds, in part, to renovate the former baseball park, and on September 28, 1963, renamed it "Nickerson Field", inheriting the name of the prior field in Weston.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14537549/new_england_sports_briefs/ |title=New England Sports Briefs |newspaper=[[North Adams Transcript]] |location=[[North Adams, Massachusetts]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=September 23, 1963 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1968, the field underwent a renovation.  The four Braves Field light towers were dismantled. That year, BU became the second college in the United States to install [[AstroTurf]].  The following year, not only did the BU football team practice on that field, so did the [[Boston College Eagles football]] team and the [[Boston Patriots]].  Both used the field to prepare for away games they would play on AstroTurf fields.

During the [[1983 USFL season|1983 season]], Nickerson Field was the home field of the [[1983 Boston Breakers Season|Boston Breakers]] of the [[United States Football League]]. From the mid-1980s to 1995, the stadium hosted the New England Scholastic Band Association's marching band field show championships. In 1989, to accommodate commencement speakers U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] and French President [[François Mitterrand]], a large platform was constructed to [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] specifications on one side of the field. In 2001, the antiquated turf was replaced with a newer, more player-friendly artificial surface ([[FieldTurf]]) as part of a deal with the [[Women's United Soccer Association]] to host the [[Boston Breakers (WUSA)|Boston Breakers]] games.  With a professional soccer team playing at Nickerson the football lines, which had remained on the field even though BU no longer had a football program, were not repainted. The platform built for Bush and Mitterrand was removed during the summer of 2008, when the field was expanded and resurfaced.

In the summer of 2015, the field received a new artificial turf, GreenFields MX Trimension; the new surface was installed over a period of five weeks, covering {{convert|110000|sqft}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2015/nickerson-field-artificial-turf/ |title=Nickerson Field Gets a Face-lift |website=BU Today |publisher=[[Boston University]] |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=
|width=180 | height=180
|align=center
|footer=
|File:NickersonField1.jpg|View from the field, 2008.
|File:NickersonField2.jpg|Former right field pavilion, 2008.
|File:BUNickersonConcourse.jpg|Main concourse under the stadium's seating, 2006.
}}

===Use by professional sports===
Since its reconfiguration in the 1950s, multiple professional sports franchises have used the stadium:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston University Terriers|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Year(s)
! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston University Terriers|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Team
! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston University Terriers|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Sport
! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston University Terriers|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| League(s)
|-
| 1960–1962 || [[New England Patriots|Boston Patriots]] || [[American football]]|| [[American Football League|AFL]]
|-
| 1974–1975 || [[Boston Astros]] || [[association football|Soccer]] || [[American Soccer League (1933–83)|ASL]]
|-
| 1975 || [[Boston Minutemen]] || Soccer || [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|NASL]]
|-
| 1979 || [[New England Tea Men]]{{refn|The Tea Men used Nickerson after [[Foxboro Raceway]] filed a [[temporary restraining order]] preventing them from using [[Schaefer Stadium]].|group=n|name=tea}} || Soccer || NASL
|-
| 1983 || [[Boston Breakers (USFL)|Boston Breakers]] || American football || [[United States Football League|USFL]]
|-
| 1988–1990 || [[Boston Bolts (1988–1990)|Boston Bolts]] || Soccer|| [[American Soccer League (1988–1989)|ASL]] / [[American Professional Soccer League|APSL]]
|-
| 2001–2003 || [[Boston Breakers (WUSA)|Boston Breakers]] || Soccer || [[Women's United Soccer Association|WUSA]]
|-
| 2004–2006 || [[Boston Cannons]] || [[Lacrosse]] || [[Major League Lacrosse|MLL]]{{refn|The 2004 and 2005 [[Steinfeld Cup|Major League Lacrosse championships]] were played at the stadium.|group=n|name=lacr}}
|-
| 2009–present || [[Boston Bears (rugby league)|Boston Bears]] || [[Rugby league]] || [[American National Rugby League|AMNRL]], [[USA Rugby League|USARL]], [[North American Rugby League|NARL]], RLU{{refn|Rugby League United.|group=n|name=rlu}}
|}
;Notes
{{reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{official website}}
* {{cite web |url=http://admin.goterriers.com/sports/2016/6/13/braves-nickerson-100-moments-html.aspx |title=Braves/Nickerson Field 100 Years |website=goterriers.com |publisher=[[Boston University]] |date=September 2015}}

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}}
{{succession box
| title = Home of the<br>[[Boston Patriots]]
| years = 1960 &ndash; 1962
| before = first stadium
| after = [[Fenway Park]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = Home of the<br>[[Boston Cannons]]
| years = 2004 &ndash; 2006
| before = [[Cawley Memorial Stadium]]
| after = [[Harvard Stadium]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = Host of [[Steinfeld Cup|Major League Lacrosse championship weekend]]
| years = 2004 &ndash; 2005
| before = [[Villanova Stadium]]
| after = [[Dignity Health Sports Park|Home Depot Center Track Stadium]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Boston University Terriers football navbox}}
{{Boston University}}
{{New England Patriots}}
{{Greater Boston sports arenas}}

[[Category:Boston Cannons venues]]
[[Category:Boston University Terriers football]]
[[Category:Boston University Terriers sports venues]]
[[Category:College football venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:American Football League venues]]
[[Category:American football venues in Boston]]
[[Category:Defunct American football venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Defunct sports venues in Boston]]
[[Category:Lacrosse venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:College field hockey venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Boston Patriots (AFL) stadiums]]
[[Category:United States Football League venues]]
[[Category:Defunct NFL venues]]
[[Category:Soccer venues in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:College soccer venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Rugby league stadiums in the United States]]
[[Category:Rugby league in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1915]]
[[Category:Boston Minutemen]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums]]
[[Category:1915 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Boston Bears (rugby league)]]
[[Category:Soccer in Boston]]