Jones AT&T Stadium capacity: The 5 biggest crowds in Texas Tech football history
As Jones AT&T Stadium continues to receive a major facelift, let's look at how the stadium got its name and what the biggest crowds in the venue's history have been thus far.
Perhaps the biggest development of this offseason for the Texas Tech football program will have nothing to do with coaching moves or transfers. Rather, the expected completion of the $250 million renovation to Jones AT&T Stadium will have the greatest impact on the Red Raiders and the community of Lubbock.
The construction of the new South Endzone building and the adjoining Womble Football Center along with a new north endzone video board and new visitor's locker rooms will completely transform the home of the Red Raiders. It will bring to completion the renovation of a complete overhaul of the stadium, one that began in the early 2000s when the west side of the stadium facade was rebuilt. Since then, virtually every aspect of the stadium has been upgraded to make The Jones one of the nicest facilities in the nation.
Certainly, Jones Stadium has come a long way since it first opened in 1947. The venue is named for Texas Tech's third president, Clifford B. Jones (and his wife Aubrey). Clifford was a local businessman, and civic leader who was nicknamed by the Abilene Reporter "West Texas' No. 1 Citizen". When Texas Tech sought to build a new stadium for the football team, the Jones family donated $100,000 to the cause.
The first game at Jones Stadium was played in November of 1947 in front of 27,000 fans. Now, the capacity sits somewhere around 60,000. However, the university has said that the official capacity of the stadium after the completion of the renovations is unknown at this time given that the majority of the new south endzone structure will be luxury suites and coaching offices.
What we do know is that the new stadium will bring plenty of attention to Lubbock and the South Plains and in the process will make game days at Texas Tech even more exciting and special than they already are. Truly, Texas Tech will have one of the best home-field advantages in the country in 2024 and beyond.
But as we wait to see the finished product at the corner of University and Marsha Sharp, let's take some time to look back on the biggest crowds in Jones AT&T Stadium history. We'll begin at No. 5 when the Red Raiders hosted a team that always brings people out in droves.
No. 5: Texas Tech vs. Texas in 2014 (Attendance: 60,961)
In 2014, expectations were through the roof for Texas Tech football in the second year of the Kliff Kingsbury era. Coming off of an 8-5 debut season the year before, the young head coach was the toast of the town as the program set records for season tickets sold.
Unfortunately, injuries and an overall regression would be the story of 2014 as Tech would manage to limp to just a 4-8 record. However, that didn't stop fans from packing The Jones on November 1 to see a young true freshman named Pat Mahomes make his first career start against the Texas Longhorns.
The problem was that the Red Raiders got less than a quarter from Mahomes before he was knocked out of the game with a concussion on what was a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit that was not penalized. As a result, third-string and walk-on QB Vincent Testaverde had to come into the game for his first action of the year.
To say that Testaverde, the son of former NFL QB Vinnie Testaverde, was overwhelmed would be an understatement. He would go just 15-26 passing for 116 yards and an INT as Tech would fall to the Horns 34-13.
Had Mahomes been able to play the entire game, Tech might have been able to take down a very beatable UT team that was just 3-5 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play. But because of the concussion, Tech's offense was rendered punchless sending the massive crowd home disappointed and thinking about what might have been.