Anchorage Football Stadium
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Robert O. Robertson Stadium
1968, Land Design North with USKH and Robert Droll. 1600 Gambell St.
Robert O. Robertson Stadium, formerly known as the Anchorage Football Stadium, is a football and soccer field that forms part of the city-owned Chester Creek Sports Complex. The 4,500-seat stadium opened in 1968 just south of Mulcahy Stadium. The football field is flanked by aluminum bleachers on both sides of the playing surface, running roughly from one 15-yard line to the other. A seven-lane track runs around the perimeter of the field and is used for track and field events. Immediately northeast of the playing field are the restrooms and a snack bar, located in a single-story structure with a concrete block base and corrugated steel siding. Due to cold weather, the original natural turf was dangerous for players and difficult to maintain. The field was converted to artificial turf in 1982, and was replaced in 1999 with a new artificial FieldTurf playing surface.
The stadium is primarily used by high school football and soccer teams, although it is open for public use most of the year. In 2016, the stadium was renamed for Robert Robertson, director of Anchorage’s Parks and Recreation Department from 1971 to 1989. Robertson oversaw the rapid development and expansion of city parks, trails, and recreation opportunities, including the creation of the Fairview Recreation Center, Anchorage Golf Course, Spenard Recreation Center, Bicentennial Park, Fairview Lions Park, Sullivan Arena, Ben Boeke Ice Arena, Dempsey-Anderson Ice Arena, Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, and the Chester Creek Greenbelt. However, most, including the Anchorage Daily News, still refer to the facility as the Anchorage Football Stadium.
Like the other facilities in the Chester Creek Sport Complex, Robertson Stadium reflected Anchorage’s ambitions in the late 1960s and 1970s to grow into a midsize city with the amenities one would expect to find in the Lower 48 states. The complex and football field support community athletics and demonstrate a commitment on the part of the Anchorage Municipality to establish an array of public facilities.
References
Land Design North with USKH and Robert Droll. Chester Creek Sports Complex: Master Plan Update, Existing Conditions Report. Anchorage: Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department, January 2006.
“Proposed Naming of a Public Facility: Robert O. Robertson Stadium memo.” Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, Parks & Recreation Department, November 5, 2015.
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