The War Eagle Reader Auburn's Daily Meta-Memoir
The cover of the program for Auburn’s 1979 season opener at home against Kansas State featured a pretty drawing of what Jordan-Hare would look like in 1980: Upper deck, light towers, a section of alternating orange and blue bleachers, and maybe the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
The renovation project cost approximately $7 million. The 10,000 extra fans that could take in a game from the west boosted the stadium’s capacity to more than 72,000. I’m getting all of this information from a wonderful Wishbone post on the history of Jordan-Hare from March 2012. You can read it here.
Some more photos… oh, and the majorette on the far left? Dell Paradise. That’s her name, which is now second on the Best Auburn Majorette Names That We Know Of list.
Color photos of expansion: DGoodson via Wikipedia.
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Nice. Love seeing pictures of Jordan-Hare being built up like this. I’ve only ever known it with both upper decks (my first visit to Auburn was around 1990). Now I’m watching with amazement as my Georgia Southern Eagles’ home stadium is being transformed from the little stadium I’ve always known it as from my first game in 1987 to what it’s becoming. Love seeing all this Auburn history stuff.
Having been in the band the same four years as Dell, I can vouch for the fact that she was one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
In that same Kansas State game in 79, the construction crew raised a crane with a big “War Eagle” on it. I guess we weren’t playing loud enough because they raised it during the National Anthem – which ticked off a lot of people! Oh, well; they had good intentions…
I remember the orange and blue seats. They would make the back of your legs itch like a madman.
I was in school 83-88 while they were building the second upper deck (went into service sometime before 1987). The noise during classes in Haley Center as the humongous augers were drilling the holes for the main pilings was distracting, to say the least.
Michael Val
(who saw the 1987 Florida game from that new upper deck, and remembers seeing the GATOR fans throw trash at THEIR OWN PUNTER when they were stuck at their own the end zone, as they were all game long)
That looks like Cynthia Sanders on the far right of the majorettes picture. She was a friend of mine growing up in Auburn. I had almost forgotten the orange and blue fiberglass seat caps. They would really make your butt itch on warm early games. I am still glad they finally replaced them with the aluminum covers they use today.