Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma is the home of the Oklahoma Sooners football team, one of the marquee venues in college football and now the SEC. Known as 'The Palace on the Prairie,' it fills with a crimson-clad crowd for every home Saturday, punctuated by the Sooner Schooner racing across the field after every score. Its scale and the program's championship pedigree make it one of the sport's premier home-field environments.
The stadium's playing surface, Owen Field, dates to 1923 and is named for coach Bennie Owen, who helped raise the funds for its construction as a memorial to Oklahomans who died in World War I; original seating was just 500 seats before permanent stands were added in 1925. It has been expanded many times since, reaching its current 80,126-seat capacity after renovations completed in 2019, and was renamed for the Gaylord family following a $110 million gift in 2002. The stadium has hosted decades of championship Sooners football, including national title teams under Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer and, more recently, Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley. It remains one of the sport's most storied grounds as Oklahoma continues its history in the SEC.
Source: RateGame editorial