William H. Greene Stadium is a 7,086-seat multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C., in the United States, which opened in 1926. It is home to the Howard University Bison football and soccer teams. Originally called Howard Stadium, it was renamed William H. Greene Stadium in 1986 in honor of William H. Greene, M.D., a Washington, D.C., physician.Howard StadiumWhere the stadium stands today was formerly a middle-class African American neighborhood which was home to many Howard University faculty and workers. Howard University completed its new Howard Stadium in July 1926. The first football game played there was on October 16, 1926, against Morehouse College. The 2,000-seat Howard Stadium was clearly too small for Howard football games. Howard played most of its games at nearby Griffith Stadium, where crowds of 17,000 to 20,000 people were common from the 1920s into the 1960s. (Griffith Stadium was demolished in 1965.) Afterward, Howard University played most of its home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (also known as RFK Stadium).By 1977, Howard Stadium had been renovated and expanded to seat 9,000. That year, Howard University officials proposed constructing a 20,000-set stadium to replace the aging facility. Howard University officials admitted that Friday night football games did not draw large crowds, and the university could not get many Saturday afternoon games at RFK Stadium. (The Washington Redskins rented RFK Stadium, and a clause in their contract prohibited the playing of any game in the stadium 24 hours before a Redskins game.) In 1979, Howard University president James E. Cheek announced a plan to build a $14 million stadium and parking garage to replace Howard Stadium. The proposed stadium would seat 20,000. The university said it alread had a design, and blueprints were being drafted. But nothing came of this plan.
