Site of Forness Stadium

Forness Stadium previously stood in place of St. Bonaventure University's main entrance and administration building. Forness Stadium was named after it's benefactor, Fred Forness, former three term mayor of Olean of New York. Forness donated 100,000 dollars to the construction of the stadium. The stadium was equipped to host 12,000 fans.

Forness stadium was completed on September 28th 1946, and was the home field of the St. Bonaventure University football team from 1946 to 1951. Forness Stadium would be used by the Pittsburgh Steelers during their summer tranining camp from 1952 to 1957. The stadium was demolished in 1959, but some the bleachers within the stadium were donated to the Portville Central School District and used on their athletic fields until the early 2000's. The largest crowd to attend a game in Forness Stadium was 12,900 strong, who witnessed the St. Bonaventure Football Brown Indians defeat Little Three rival, the Canisius Golden Griffins.

http://archives.sbu.edu/football/Forness%20Stadium.htm