Gopher Warrior Bowl - Grand Prairie Texas
N 32° 45.319 W 097° 00.190
14S E 687064 N 3625926
The Gopher Bowl is the high school stadium for Grand Prarire, Texas.
Waymark Code: WM60FF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/11/2009
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The history of The Gopher-Warrior Bowl is intricately tied to the growth and development of Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie in the 1950s had a population of approximately 27,500 and flourished with growth buoyed by construction, prior to World War II, of the North American Aviation plant and the influx of workers it brought from throughout the United States.
The original name, Gopher Bowl, was changed on July 8, 2004, with the Board of Trustees’ decision to rename the Gopher Bowl to The Gopher-Warrior Bowl in recognition of Grand Prairie’s two high schools. The colorful history of The Gopher-Warrior Bowl will never be forgotten nor will the special memories of long-ago events soon fade.
The Grand Prairie Independent School District Board of Trustees approved construction of the 7,500-seat stadium on February 13, 1956. Smith & Warder Architects & Engineers was selected to draw plans for the new football stadium. General Contractor Lewis C. Krodell was awarded the construction contract in May 8, 1956.
Dirt work began May 1956. The stadium quickly became known as the Gopher Bowl: the gopher being the high school mascot and “bowl” because the stadium was carved from a natural ravine on the north side of Grand Prairie High School. Cost of construction was $200,000. Construction of the Gopher Bowl was completed in four and one-half months. School Superintendent H.H. Chambers boasted that the Gopher Bowl was paid for “with cash.” There are existing copies of an 8 mm film of the actual construction.
Though school district officials have searched, there appears to be no factual information pertaining to how the name “Gopher Bowl” actually came to be other than a Sunday, February 12, 1956, news headline that reads, “Trustees to Consider New GPHS Grid Bowl.” The same article includes mention of “plans for a new 7,500 seat, bowl-type football stadium.”