The City of Lodi, CA wanted a stadium built to compliment the city's
first softball park built in Lawrence Park in 1937. The Lodi Motorcycle
Club wanted a place to hold races, and Lodi Union High School officials,
tired of the cold wind ripping through rickety wood bleachers on the
campus' Flame Field, wanted a stadium for football games. The Lodi Grape
and Wine Festival wanted a place for its events.
The Lodi District Chamber of Commerce and a citywide committee
determined a stadium was needed in the community. City Engineer Clinton
Henning drew up the plans, and the City Council submitted the
application for WPA funding.
The June 8, 1939 Lodi News-Sentinel carried the front-page news that
President Roosevelt approved the application and designated $113,296 to
build a stadium. The Stadium was completed in 1940.
The
Lodi stadium hosted two bowl games. The games were held in 1947 and 1948
and were called the Grape Bowl. The name stuck with the stadium even
though there were only two Grape Bowl games held and it is still called
the Grape Bowl to this day
