These photos chronicle Princeton Stadium construction during June-August 1998. Click on any of the previews to see a larger image.

As construction enters its final months, finish work begins. The lighting assemblies are mounted high above the outside wall on both home and visitor sides; during some Summer evenings, the stadium is lit with an eerie glow as the new lights undergo testing. Grass and trees are planted outside the stadium; the large fence surrounding the construction site is retired, to be replaced with a series of small temporary fences at each entrance.

A series of rooms runs completely around the top level of the horseshoe-shaped outside wall; workmen install a ribbon of windows along the inside and outside of the wall. Some of this space might be furnished as lounges or box seating. At the north end of the stadium, a series of spotlights are installed at the top of the outside wall.

Here's the view as you approach and enter portal three, near the twenty yard-line on the home side. At ground level, a temporary fence marks the place at which a iron gate will later stand. Beyond, you can see into the concourse that runs the length of the home side, below the upper deck. The steps leading up from the concourse bring you to the top row of the stadium's lower deck. You'll recognize the Y-shaped concrete support as one of the structural elements poured near the start of construction.

Proceeding into the portal, you see a metal walkway suspended above you; it leads into the upper deck. You can reach the metal walkway via stairs rising from the stadium's lower deck to the upper deck. Or you can use stairs built into the outside wall to reach the metal walkway's level; a horseshoe-shaped path runs the perimeter of the stadium, alternating through wall and air. Suspended walkways crossing over the concourse connect this perimeter path to the stadium's upper deck.

Weaver Track and Field Stadium has been complete and in-use since Spring. These three views show the panorama from Jadwin Gym looking northwest, north, and northeast. The track is lit by floodlights mounted atop the ends of Princeton Stadium's wall. To the left and right of the track's grandstand you'll see ground-level entrances leading to the football stadium's field level; these entrance tunnels for teams and vehicles pass underneath the seats of the football stadium's southeast and southwest corners. They also provide access to the locker rooms for both teams, which are located underneath the track's grandstands.

Mounted to the inside of either end of the football stadium's wall are stairs leading from Weaver's track-level up to the stadium's concourse level, and then up to the suspended walkway level. You can also see a door in the wall that allows acccess to the large rampways (the diagonal slits) leading to the wall's upper level.

A few more views of Weaver Stadium: from the Armory parking lot, from the track itself, and from the plaza behind Princeton Stadium section 44.

The view from the south end of Princeton Stadium (section 17), looking northwest (toward the visitor's side), north, and northeast (toward the home side). Installed during the Spring, the pristine grass field appears as smooth as a golf course or gigantic billiard table. The grandstands are complete, down to the benches, banisters, guard rails, and gates. With the first row of seats just yards from the field, the goalposts are tinted bright yellow so as to be easily distinguished from the nearby white grandstands.

The pressbox is set into the top of the wall above the home side, and extends out to the top row of the upper deck. On the right is a large close-up of the pressbox and upper deck, viewed from Weaver Track.

These views of Princeton Stadium are from the top row of the lower-deck in section three (near the southwest corner on the home side). In the first view, you can see the wide walkway at the top of the lower deck, providing wheelchair-accessible seating. You can also glimpse a small repeater scoreboard mounted in the wall at the north end. Next is a closer view of the northwest corner, where a landscaped plaza will be constructed below the gap below the north and west upper decks. The third view looks across the field toward the visitors' side, and the fourth looks toward the right, at the seats in the southern endzone.

Some close-ups of the southern endzone and scoreboard; the black boxes on the shelf below the scoreboard are loudspeakers for the public address system. On the right is an icon familiar to Princeton football fans: "The Palmer Memorial Stadium" nameplate rescued from the old stadium. It was originally located on the outside of Palmer Stadium's north facade, between the two towers. It was rescued from the old stadium shortly before demolition, and has been mounted in the new Princeton Stadium. Installed during August at ground level in the north concourse, it now sits almost exactly below where it stood from 1914 until 1997.