Tuesday Open Line


The first stadium built purposely for football hosted its initial game this month 110 years ago — Harvard Stadium in the Alston neighborhood of Boston. In that first game, Dartmouth defeated Harvard 11 to nothing. At the time, the stadium — which is still in use — was the world’s largest reinforced concrete structure. The distinctive colonnade was added in 1910, and the stadium today seats just over 30,000 spectators. Now, across the U.S., there are 639 college football teams. Their games draw a total audience of almost 50 million fans each year. In comparison, NFL games are seen in person by just under 21 million annually. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>