RICHMOND, VA — In late November, grounds professional Dennis Blackburn said goodbye to football at UR Stadium, where the University of Richmond football team had played football since 1929. Blackburn spent 55 to 60 hours a week taking care of the turfgrass at the stadium for the university team, whose nickname is the Spiders.

The last hurrah for UR Stadium, at least in terms of Richmond football, will probably be the spring 2010 game. Women's lacrosse may play there, as well. Next season, the Spiders will play at the new Robins Stadium, a $25-million on-campus facility, with a FieldTurf playing surface, and Blackburn's duties will shift to maintaining turfgrass on the campus and on the university baseball field.

UR Stadium has a rich history in addition to the 81 seasons of Spider football. Renowned for the quality of its turfgrass field, it also hosted the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Championships from 1995-1998.

There was a nice story written by reporter John O'Connor about Blackburn, who spent 21 years in the U.S. Army prior to becoming a grounds pro, in a recent issue of the Richmond-Times-Dispatch. Click here to read about historic UR Stadium, which will probably revert back to its former name, City Stadium, and about Blackburn's feelings about leaving the stadium.

“Grand grass continues to be featured item at UR Stadium,” by John O'Conner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nov. 17