McLane Stadium

McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named "Baylor Stadium", the facility's name was changed to "McLane Stadium" in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business magnate Drayton McLane, Jr., who provided the lead gift in the fundraising campaign for the stadium construction.[8] Baylor's first game at McLane was played August 31, 2014, with the Bears defeating SMU 45–0.[9] The stadium has a capacity of 45,140 spectators and was designed to be expandable to a capacity of 55,000 as future needs require.[10] McLane Stadium replaced Floyd Casey Stadium as the home field for the Baylor Bears football program.[4]

For the similarly named baseball stadium, see Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium at John H. Kobs Field.

McLane Stadium
McLane Stadium south end zone construction photo July 16, 2014
McLane Stadium is located in Texas
McLane Stadium
McLane Stadium
Location in Texas
McLane Stadium is located in the United States
McLane Stadium
McLane Stadium
Location in the United States
Former namesBaylor Stadium (2013)
Location1001 S M.L.K. Jr Blvd. Waco, Texas 76704
Coordinates31.5582°N 97.1157°W / 31.5582; -97.1157
OwnerBaylor University
OperatorBaylor University
Capacity45,140[1][2]
SurfaceMatrix Turf (2014–present)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 15, 2012[3]
OpenedAugust 31, 2014 (August 31, 2014)
Construction cost$266 million
ArchitectPopulous[4]
Structural engineerBuro Happold[5]
Services engineerM-E Engineers, Inc.[6]
General contractorFlintco/Austin Commercial[7]
Tenants
Baylor Bears (NCAA) (2014–present)
Website
mclanestadium.com

Events

The first college football game in McLane Stadium was a 45–0 Baylor win over SMU, in the 2014 season opener, on August 31, 2014.[9][11] The Bears followed up their first victory with a 70-6 win over FCS opponent Northwestern State.

In addition to sporting events, Baylor and the city of Waco plan to use the venue to host concerts and other community events such as The Gathering[12] (a local gathering of churches on Palm Sunday). The stadium features the Baylor Club, a dining and event space located on the stadium's west side.[13] The Baylor Club ballroom offers floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the field and panoramic views of the Brazos River and Waco.

Features

The stadium is located on the north bank of the Brazos River, one of a few major college football stadiums (along with Neyland Stadium, Husky Stadium and Acrisure Stadium) where fans can arrive at the stadium by boat. Fans can "sailgate" in the Baylor Basin, a cove that adjoins the stadium.[14]

The stadium contains 39 suites, 74 loge boxes, 1,200 outdoor club seats, 3,000 seats for the Baylor Line< student group, and 6,700 total student seats.[15]

Video board

The stadium includes a large high-definition LED video board behind the south end zone. The board has an area of 5,029 square feet, ranking it as the 13th largest college football video board in the nation as of April 2014.[16]

McLane also features ribbon displays around the stadium's horseshoe configuration, measuring 1,254 feet in length. To complement the video board, Baylor released an in-game mobile app that enables fans to stream live footage, watch game replays from a variety of angles, and access current game statistics. To accommodate usage of the app, the stadium is outfitted with free Wi-Fi.[17] The video board from Baylor's previous football stadium, Floyd Casey Stadium, was installed at the university's baseball field, Baylor Ballpark.[18]

Locker room

Baylor constructed a 7,500-square-foot home locker room.[19] Designed as an oval in the shape of a football, the facilities feature over 120 cherry wood lockers.[19] Additionally, the center of the room's ceiling features a large illuminated "BU" logo.

Attendance records

Single game attendance
RankAttendanceDateOpponentScoreEvent
150,223November 16, 2019OklahomaL, 34–31ESPN College GameDay
249,875November 14, 2015OklahomaL, 44–34ESPN College GameDay
349,165September 23, 2023TexasL, 38–6Final Big 12 game vs. UT
449,109November 23, 2019TexasW, 24–10Clinched Big 12 Championship Game berth
548,129November 5, 2016TCUL, 62–22
648,093December 5, 2015TexasL, 23-17
748,016October 16, 2021BYUW, 38–24Homecoming
847,979October 1, 2022Oklahoma StateL, 36–25Big 12 championship game rematch
947,934December 6, 2014Kansas StateW, 38–27ESPN College GameDay; clinched Big 12 title
1047,686November 12, 2022Kansas StateL, 31–3

Season average attendance
RankAvg. attendanceSeasonHome RecordTotal attendance
146,71020146-0280,257
246,16020154-2276,960
345,83820164-2275,029
445,51720196-1318,621
545,46320223-3272,779
645,23920231-4226,194
744,72920217-0313,102
843,83020170-6262,978
941,33620184-2248,017
1011,6672020†2-246,668
Totals 42,722 – 37-22 (.627) 2,520,605

† Limited to 25% capacity due to COVID-19 pandemic

  • Inaugural game, 2014
    Inaugural game, 2014
  • Football game in 2016
    Football game in 2016
  • Video board
    Video board
  • Locker room
    Locker room
  • Exterior view
    Exterior view

See also

References
  1. "McLane Stadium –". Stadiumdb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. Cherry, Brice (August 29, 2014). "45,140 Seats: McLane Is Right-Sized for Baylor, Waco Market". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  3. Cherry, Brice (September 15, 2012). "Baylor-Sam Houston Notebook: Florence Shows Flashes of RG". Waco Tribune-Herald. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. Hill, Jerry (November 5, 2011). "On-Campus Stadium Getting a Closer Look". Baylor Bear Insider. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  5. "Baylor University Stadium". Buro Happold. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  6. "Collegiate Sports Project Descriptions". M-E Engineers, Inc. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. Copeland, Mike (July 28, 2012). "Key Aspects of Proposed Baylor Stadium Presented at Chamber Banquet". Waco Tribune-Herald. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  8. Dennis, Regina (December 31, 2013). "Name of New Baylor Football Stadium Changed to McLane Stadium". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  9. "No. 10 Baylor opens stadium with 45-0 win over SMU". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 31, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. Ubben, David (March 13, 2012). "Baylor Closer to On-Campus Stadium". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  11. Wixon, Matt (March 5, 2014). "Aledo Will Play Cedar Park in First Game at Baylor's New McLane Stadium". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  12. Copeland, MIKE. "The Gathering returns Sunday to McLane Stadium". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  13. "General Information | Baylor Club | Waco, TX".
  14. "Will 'sailgating' become new Baylor tradition?". August 4, 2014.
  15. "Baylor Stadium - Stadium Facts". Baylor University. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  16. "Baylor Taps Daktronics for McLane Stadium Video Display". April 17, 2014.
  17. "McLane Stadium Wi-Fi, In-Game App Will Boost Fan Experience". Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  18. http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/baylor/football/baylor-ballpark-to-receive-part-of-floyd-casey-stadium-scoreboard/article dcb2b713-9b99-5397-9755-f4abea7a0eba.html?photo=1
  19. "Baylor prepares to awe recruits with nearly complete McLane Stadium | Baylor | wacotrib.com".
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