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On Friday, Dec. 19, UC athletics broke ground at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Corry Boulevard for two football practice fields -- a covered regulation field that will serve as an indoor practice area and an adjacent field measuring only 50 yards in length. Storage facilities and a parking lot where tailgating took place currently occupy the site.

Only two Division I teams play and practice on the same field, and coach Brian Kelly wanted UC removed from the list as part of the of the contract extension he signed in December '08. Construction should be done by December '09, in time for winter practices.

Cost for the project, expected to range between $6 million and $10 million, will be raised privately.

Improvements are also being considered for Nippert Stadium, such as the addition of luxury boxes and club seating, larger concourses, as well as improved concession stands and bathrooms. Dedicated in 1926, Nippert is the fourth oldest playing site and the sixth oldest stadium in college football. Its capacity of 35,000 seats is the Big East's smallest facility.

Nippert's last upgrade occurred in 2005 when the university installed a new grandstand behind the north endzone and a scoreboard/video board, twice the size as the old one.

• 1895 -- Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium on a site in Burnet Woods.
• 1902 -- Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field, site of current Nippert Stadium. Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside.
• 1909 -- Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night.
• 1916 -- A city bond issue funded construction of a permanent brick and concrete structure.
• 1923 -- UC defeated Kentucky Wesleyan, 17-0, in the Midwest's first nighttime collegiate football game.
• 1923 -- To complete the stadium, James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson, Jimmy Nippert, who died as a result of injuries sustained during a game.
• 1924 -- The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated with a capacity of 12,000.
• 1936 -- Carson Field was lowered 12 feet to allow the addition of a lower tier of seats, thus expanding capacity to 24,000.
• 1954 -- Reed Shank Pavilion was completed to boost capacity to 28,000.
• 1968 -- Nippert served as the first home of the Cincinnati Bengals while the city built a facility for the new pro franchise.
• 1970 -- Astroturf replaced Nippert's natural grass surface.
• 1989 -- Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation, and UC played its 1990 home games at Riverfront Stadium.
• 1991 -- Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed, including fortifying the structure and adding a three-tiered press box.
• 1992 -- Phase II of the renovation was completed, increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the Herschede-Shank Pavilion, and adding new lighting and a scoreboard.
• 2000 -- UC became the first college to install FieldTurf, a revolutionary grass-like artificial surface. The pressbox was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Pressbox.
• 2001 -- A new video scoreboard was added in the north endzone and 10,000 seats between the 20-yard lines were upgraded with chair backs. The season opener against Purdue produced the first advance sell-out in Nippert Stadium history.
• 2005 -- Permanent grandstand seating was placed behind the north endzone, new locker rooms were created at field level for game use, a larger video board was installed, and the turf was replaced.
• 2008 -- The largest crowd in Nippert Stadium history (35,098) watched UC defeat Pitt on Nov. 22.