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Carter–Finley Stadium

Coordinates: 35°48′3″N 78°43′10″W / 35.80083°N 78.71944°W / 35.80083; -78.71944
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Carter-Finley Stadium
Aerial view of the stadium, November 2007
Carter-Finley Stadium is located in North Carolina
Carter-Finley Stadium
Carter-Finley Stadium
Location in North Carolina
Carter-Finley Stadium is located in the United States
Carter-Finley Stadium
Carter-Finley Stadium
Location in the United States
Former namesCarter Stadium (1966-1979)
Location4600 Trinity Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Coordinates35°48′3″N 78°43′10″W / 35.80083°N 78.71944°W / 35.80083; -78.71944
OwnerNorth Carolina State University
OperatorNorth Carolina State University
Capacity57,583 (2006–present)[1]
57,500 (2005)
56,800 (2004)
53,800 (2003)
51,500 (1992–2002)
47,000 (1984–1991)
45,600 (1974–1983)
41,000 (1966–1973)
SurfaceTifway 419 Bermuda Grass (sidelines are artificial turf)
Construction
Broke groundDecember 14, 1964[2]
OpenedOctober 8, 1966[5]
Renovated2006
Expanded1992, 2003-2005
Construction cost$3.7 million
($34.7 million in 2023 dollars[3])
ArchitectMilton Small and Associates[4] & Charles H. Kahn (original 1966 stadium)
Corley Redfoot Architects, Inc. (all additions and renovations since 2001)
Structural engineerLHC Structural Engineers (since 2001)
General contractorL.E. Wooten and Co.[4]
Tenants
NC State Wolfpack football (NCAA) (1966–present)
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks (WLAF) (1991)

Wayne Day Family Field at Carter–Finley Stadium is home to the NC State Wolfpack football team. It was opened in 1966[6] and has grown to a seating capacity of 57,583 seats.

History

Carter-Finley Stadium

As early as the 1950s, State was looking to replace its on-campus facility, Riddick Stadium. The concrete-and-wood stadium had been built in 1907 and was showing its age. It never held more than 23,000 seats (14,000 permanent) at any time. Partly because of this, many of longtime coach Earle Edwards' teams played more games on the road than at home. At Edwards' urging, school officials began a concerted effort to build a more modern facility[7][8]

The new stadium finally opened in 1966. It was originally named Carter Stadium, in honor of Harry C. & Wilbert J. "Nick" Carter, both graduates of the university. They were major contributors to the original building of the stadium. The name of Albert E. Finley, another major contributor to the university, was added in September 1979.[9]

While located on University land, the stadium is a few miles to the west of the academic campus on Trinity Road, just off Hillsborough Street.

Carter–Finley Stadium's season tickets have been sold out for nine straight years.

Carter–Finley Stadium has the smallest clearance between the stands and the sidelines of any stadium in the ACC.

Retired numbers displayed on the west facade of Carter–Finley Stadium include those of Roman Gabriel (18), Torry Holt (81), Philip Rivers (17), Bill Yoest (63), Dennis Byrd (77), Dick Christy (40), Jim Ritcher (51), Ted Brown (23), Mario Williams and Bradley Chubb (9); and Russell Wilson (16). Carter–Finley also displays banners from NC State's Bowl appearances which include the Gator Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Liberty Bowl.

Carter–Finley Stadium during NCSU Game

Renovations

Prior to the 2001 season, the university began a program of modernization of the stadium by enclosing the southern end zone with seats, and the state-of-the-art Murphy Center (named for Wendell Murphy) was built behind it. Following the 2004 football season, Carter–Finley was again expanded with the completion of the "Vaughn Towers", a complex of luxury boxes, club seats, and media facilities which opened for the 2005 football season.[10]

Carter-Finley Stadium

For the 2006 season, a new north end zone grandstand was added consisting of 5,730 new chairback, bench, and handicap-accessible seating with another 1,630 permanent bleacher seats built underneath the video scoreboard making Carter–Finley a bowl and giving it a capacity of 57,583 spectators. Additional upgrades to the stadium included a new north end zone plaza with concession stands and the addition of two video screens in each corner of the south end zone.

Notable events

Concerts

Date Artist Opening act(s) Tour / Concert name Attendance Revenue Notes
June 2, 1979 Boston, Van Halen, Poco & the Outlaws — June Jam 40,000 N/A
May 4, 1988 Pink Floyd — A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour 42,982 / 42,982 $866,576
July 27, 1989 The Who — The Kids Are Alright Reunion Tour —
September 16, 1989 The Rolling Stones Living Colour Steel Wheels Tour 52,881 / 52,881 $1,506,393
July 10, 1990 Grateful Dead —
July 22, 1990 Paul McCartney — The Paul McCartney World Tour —
May 10, 1994 Pink Floyd — The Division Bell Tour 46,656 / 48,000 $1,597,283
September 7, 1994 The Rolling Stones Lenny Kravitz Voodoo Lounge Tour 38,738 / 38,738 $1,797,502
May 30, 1998 George Strait — 45,536 / 45,536 $1,507,720
July 4, 1998 Jimmy Buffett Little Feat Don't Stop The Carnival Tour 45,287 / 45,287 $1,524,695
October 3, 2009 U2 Muse U2 360° Tour 55,027 / 55,027 $4,962,240 This was the first time the venue had hosted a similar event, since the modernization of the stadium.[11]
July 1, 2015 The Rolling Stones The Avett Brothers Zip Code Tour 40,428 / 40,428 $7,947,996 [12]
May 3, 2016 Beyoncé DJ Khaled The Formation World Tour 38,292 / 38,292 $4,810,620 The first solo female to headline a concert in the stadium.[13] During the show, the stadium was evacuated after lightning had been spotted in the area. The show later resumed.[14]

Soccer

On July 28, 2011, the World Football Challenge held an exhibition match between Juventus of Italy's Serie A, and Guadalajara Chivas of Mexico's Primera Division at the stadium.[15]

Hockey

Main article: 2021 NHL Stadium Series

On February 20, 2021, the Carolina Hurricanes will host a Stadium Series game against an opponent TBA. This was announced on February 15, 2020 at the 2020 NHL Stadium Series in Colorado Springs but was leaked out a few hours prior.[16] As of June 2020, this event is still planned to happen in 2021 with fans in attendance. All should remain this way unless there are other circumstances.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Peeler, Tim (October 7, 2009). "Help NC State Trash The Competition". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "Wolfpack Football Through The Decades". Section Six. July 24, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Carter Stadium, and Mr. Finley". North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  5. ^ Peeler, Tim (September 2, 2009). "USC Spoils Carter Stadium Dedication". The Wolfpacker. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  6. ^ "First game in Carter Stadium (10/8/1966)". Historical State: History in Red and White. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Longtime NCSU football coach dead at 88. Associated Press, February 26, 1997.
  8. ^ "Maintaining a sense of place and history". NC State. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "NCSU Timelines". historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "Carter–Finley Stadium". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  11. ^ Pond, Dave (September 2009). "Setting the Stage". Outside the Classroom. North Carolina State University. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  12. ^ "Behind the scenes: Setting up for the Rolling Stones concert at N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh (Slideshow) - Triangle Business Journal". Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Formation World Tour". beyonce.com. February 7, 2016. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  14. ^ Iyengar, Rishi (May 3, 2016). "Beyoncé Fans In Raleigh Can Relax: She's Coming Back On Stage". Time Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  15. ^ Laws, William E. (July 8, 2011). "International soccer powers set to play at Carter–Finley". The News & Observer. Raleigh. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  16. ^ "Hurricanes to host 2021 NHL Stadium Series at N.C. State". NHL.com. February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
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