Rice Eccles Stadium is home of the Running Utes and a centerpiece of the University of Utah's athletics department.
The University of Utah football team launched in 1907 under the leadership of Joe Maddock, playing at Cummings Field.
The University of Utah opened "Ute Stadium" in 1927 to replace "Cummings Field. The stadium had an initial capacity of 20,000. The stadium upgraded to 30,000 in 1947.
In 1971, Robert Rice, founder of European Health Spas Inc., donated a million dollars to add 2,500 seats bringing total capacity to 32,500. The field rebranded as Robert Rice Field.
In 1997, Salt Lake City won its bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, creating an imperative to replace the field.
Spencer Eccles, chairman of First Security Corporation in conjunction with George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation led the effort to rebuild the stadium with a $10 million and a second rebranding of the field.
The new stadium was home to the opening and closing session of the 2002 Winter Games. It was briefly home of Real Salt Lake soccer franchise.