<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Tenants </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Stanford Cardinal football (NCAA) (1921--present) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) (2011--present; some games) </Td> </Tr> <P> Stanford Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Stanford, California, on the campus of Stanford University . It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal college football team as well as the site of the university's commencement exercises . It originally opened 97 years ago in 1921 as a football and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame . Its original seating capacity was 60,000, which grew to 89,000 by 1927 as a nearly enclosed bowl . Immediately following the 2005 season, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt as a dual - deck concrete structure, without a track . Today, it seats 50,424 . </P> <P> Stanford Stadium was built in five months and opened its gates on November 19, 1921, replacing Stanford Field . The first game was against rival California, who defeated Stanford 42--7 in the Big Game . Seating capacity was originally 60,000, with a 66 - row, U-Shaped structure second only to the Yale Bowl in size at the time . In 1925, 10,200 seats were added to the stadium, nearly enclosing the horseshoe while still keeping the overall height of the facility intact . In 1927 14 additional rows of seating were added, increasing the stadium to its maximum capacity of 85,500, with 80 rows of seating . </P>

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