Carter–Finley Stadium

Wayne Day Family Field at Carter–Finley Stadium is home to the NC State Wolfpack football team. It was opened in 1966[7] and has grown to a seating capacity of 56,919 seats.[1]

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 within North Carolina
Carter-Finley Stadium is located in the United States
Carter-Finley Stadium
Carter-Finley Stadium
Carter-Finley Stadium (the United States)
Former namesCarter Stadium (1966–1979)
Location4600 Trinity Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Coordinates35°48′3″N 78°43′10″W
OwnerNorth Carolina State University
OperatorNorth Carolina State University
Capacity56,919 (2021–present)[1]

Former capacity

List
    • 57,583 (2006–2021)[2]
    • 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[3]
OpenedOctober 8, 1966 (October 8, 1966)[4]
Renovated2006, 2021
Expanded1992, 2003-2005, 2021
Construction cost$3.7 million
($33.4 million in 2022 dollars[5])
ArchitectMilton Small and Associates[6] & 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.[6]
Tenants
NC State Wolfpack (NCAA) 1966–present
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks (WLAF) 1991
Website
gopack.com/carter-finley-stadium

History

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[8][9]

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.[10]

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.

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.[11]

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.

Renovations done before the 2023 season included a new north end videoboard that was more than double the size of the previous screen and sound system upgrades for better performance for concerts and musical performances. Construction commenced after the completion of the 2023 NHL Stadium Series game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals on February 18.[12]

Notable events

Concerts
The crowd and players in a 2007 Wolfpack game
The band at Carter-Finley Stadium in 2008
Sunset at Carter-Finley during a game in 2014
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.[13]
July 1, 2015 The Rolling Stones The Avett Brothers Zip Code Tour 40,428 / 40,428 $7,947,996 [14]
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.[15] During the show, the stadium was evacuated after lightning had been spotted in the area. The show later resumed.[16]

Soccer
Guadalajara Chivas vs Juventus soccer game in 2011

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.[17]

Date Winning Team Result Losing Team Tournament Spectators
July 28, 2011Italy Juventus1–0Mexico Guadalajara Chivas2011 World Football Challenge16,124

Hockey
Main article: 2023 NHL Stadium Series

The National Hockey League announced on February 15, 2020, that the Carolina Hurricanes would host a Stadium Series game at Carter–Finley Stadium on February 20, 2021.[18] The NHL announced on December 23, 2020, that the game had been postponed.[19] On February 4, 2022, the NHL announced the game would take place in February 2023. On March 3, 2022, the NHL announced the game would take place on February 18, 2023, between the Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals.[20]

The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 4–1 with 56,961 fans in attendance.[21]

Following the stadium series game, NC State's club hockey program, the IcePack, defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 7–3 in front of an estimated 24,000 fans.[22][23]

Other Events
  • Carter-Finley served as the primary venue for the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games from June 26 to July 4, 1999.
  • Carter-Finley will serve as a host venue for the 2029 Summer World University Games.

See also

References
  1. "Facilities". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. Peeler, Tim (October 7, 2009). "Help NC State Trash The Competition". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  3. "Wolfpack Football Through The Decades". Section Six. July 24, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  4. Peeler, Tim (September 2, 2009). "USC Spoils Carter Stadium Dedication". The Wolfpacker. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  5. 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 May 28, 2023.
  6. "Carter Stadium, and Mr. Finley". North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  7. "First game in Carter Stadium (10/8/1966)". Historical State: History in Red and White. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  8. "Longtime NCSU football coach dead at 88". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. Associated Press. February 26, 1997 – via Google News.
  9. "Maintaining a sense of place and history". NC State. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  10. "NCSU Timelines". historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  11. "Carter–Finley Stadium". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  12. "New Carter-Finley Stadium Videoboard Coming in 2023". North Carolina State Athletics. November 11, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  13. Pond, Dave (September 2009). "Setting the Stage". Outside the Classroom. North Carolina State University. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  14. Lieth, Angelica (June 30, 2015). "Behind the scenes: Setting up for the Rolling Stones concert in Raleigh (Slideshow)". Triangle Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  15. "The Formation World Tour". beyonce.com. February 7, 2016. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  16. Iyengar, Rishi (May 3, 2016). "Beyoncé Fans In Raleigh Can Relax: She's Coming Back On Stage". Time. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  17. Laws, William E. (July 8, 2011). "International soccer powers set to play at Carter–Finley". The News & Observer. Raleigh. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  18. "Hurricanes to host 2021 NHL Stadium Series at N.C. State". NHL.com (Press release). February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  19. "2021 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Game Postponed". NHL.com (Press release). December 23, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  20. "2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series to Feature Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes at Carter-Finley Stadium on Feb. 18, 2023". NHL.com (Press release). March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  21. "Hurricanes top Capitals 4-1 in Carolina's 1st Outdoor Game". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  22. Donahue, Lillian (February 21, 2023). "'It's unreal' – NC State IcePack hockey conquers UNC during outdoor Raleigh game". CBS17. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  23. Perchick, Michael (February 21, 2023). "Raleigh still buzzing over stretch of sports wins anchored by Stadium Series". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
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