Durrell Rodeo Arena Under Construction, 1949
From CSU's Sense of Place: A Campus History of Colorado's Land-Grant University, by James E. Hansen, Gordon A. Hazard, and Linda M. Meyer. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University, 2018.
Designer – College Livestock Club and Colorado A & M College facilities staff
Builder – College Livestock Club and Colorado A & M College facilities staff
On May 6, 1949, the first Durrell Rodeo Arena located on the west part of campus by Shields Street and South Drive (now Hughes Way) was completed and ready for the College Days Rodeo coming in a couple of weeks. The Livestock Club funded and built it with student labor. This arena was located on the site now occupied by Ingersoll and Edwards Halls.
In April 1950, a tradition began with the production of the first Skyline Stampede rodeo. The rodeo tradition at CSU began in 1922 when the Colorado A & M Livestock Club held a rodeo for a fundraiser. At that time, the rodeo appears to have been held on an open area about where the CSU Transportation Services Motor Pool is today. Other open areas near the original College Farm appear to have been used as rodeo grounds prior to the construction of this more permanent facility.
By 1962, it was known that Edwards and Ingersoll Halls would soon occupy the space of the original Durrell Rodeo Arena. A new facility near the base of the Aggie “A” at the foothills and was placed under construction.
Sources by Gordon A. Hazard
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 24, 1946, page 1, vol. LV, number 14.
Colorado A&M News, June 1948, page 5, vol. 2, number 12.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, April 8, 1949, pages 1 and 2, vol. LVIII, number 23.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, April 29, 1949, pages 1, 2 and 6, vol. LVIII, number 26.
The Colorado State College Alumnus, March – April 1949, page 5, col. 2, vol. XXVII, number 8.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, May 13, 1949, page 12, vol. LVIII, number 28.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, December 9, 1949, page 3, vol. LIX, number 11.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, November 16, 1951, page 4, Vol. LXI, number 9.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 18, 1952, page 12, vol. LXI, number 14.
“Long Range Development Program”, Report to the Colorado State Planning Commission, March 1952, page 10 and campus maps, LD1145.8, A452, 1952.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, May 15, 1952, page 6, vol. LXI, number 34.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 9, 1953, page 1, Vol. LXII, number 13.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, May 14, 1953, page 2, vol. LXII, number 29.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, October 8, 1954, page 2, vol. LXIV, number 4.
The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, January – February 1955, page 1, vol. 31, number 4.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, October 16, 1956, page 4, vol. LXV, number 8.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, April 8, 1958, page 1, vol. LXVI, number 44.
Colorado State University Rocky Mountain Collegian, October 15, 1959, page 9, vol. LXVIII, number 8.
Colorado State University Collegian, October 11, 1960, page 1, vol. LXIX, number 10.
Colorado State University Rocky Mountain Collegian, November 18, 1960, page 1, vol. LXIX, number 33.
The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, January - February 1963, page 14, vol. 37, number 11.
Colorado State University Collegian, January 22, 1963, page 1, col. 4-5, vol. LXXI, number 51.
Colorado State University Collegian, November 13, 1963, page 1, vol. LXXII, number 31.
“A History of Colorado State University 1870 – 1974”, by James E. Hansen II, 1974.
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