Robert R. Hermann Stadium - Men's & Women's Soccer
The 1999 season was a significant hallmark for Saint Louis University's soccer program as both men's and women's teams returned to the newly renovated Robert R. Hermann Stadium and enjoyed the benefits of a true home field advantage as both won Conference USA championships. The Billiken men's team christened Hermann Stadium by knocking off defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Indiana 3-2 on Aug. 21, 1999, before a record on-campus crowd of 6,517. The project began on March 17, 1999, with the removal of the synthetic surface, and the sod was laid on May 25. The state-of-the-art surface is a mixture of blue grasses that covers an area of 155,000 square feet. The Billikens play on a regulation 120 x 75-yard soccer pitch. The surface sits upon an 8,400-ton root zone composed of 90 percent sand and 10 percent peat moss. A four-inch gravel drainage blanket is composed of 3,100 tons of pea gravel. The drainage system is capable of filtering 10 inches of rain in an hour. The grass is watered with a sprinkler system that features 70 sprinkler heads connected by approximately 1.5 miles of piping.
The addition of permanent seating on the east side of the stadium, along with expanding the main grandstand, increased the facility's seating capacity to 6,050 from 2,400. Munie Outdoor Services of Caseyville, Ill., was the contractor for the project under the direction of the University's grounds and materials management office. The field is located one block east of Grand Boulevard on Laclede Avenue, just behind Busch Memorial Center. Visitors to campus can park in the 2,000-car Olive Parking Garage adjacent to the soccer facility. Originally opened for play in 1990 as The Billiken Sports Center, the facility was home to the men's soccer team until 1994. It also served as a site for NCAA Division I and II playoff games and as a home field for other local collegiate soccer programs when their fields were unplayable due to severe weather conditions. After the soccer team moved its home games to the Anheuser-Busch Center in 1995, the field was used for Billiken field hockey games as well as campus intramurals. Adjacent to Hermann Stadium is The Billiken Sports Center's baseball and softball diamonds and tennis complex.
Hermann Stadium At a Glance
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