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Carter–Finley Stadium

Coordinates:35°48′3″N78°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
Map
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 Carolina27607
Coordinates35°48′3″N78°43′10″W/ 35.80083°N 78.71944°W/35.80083; -78.71944
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;57 years ago(October 8, 1966)[6]
Renovated2006, 2021
Expanded1992, 2003-2005, 2021
Construction cost$3.7 million
($34.7 million in 2023 dollars[4])
ArchitectMilton Small and Associates[5]& 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.[5]
Tenants
NC State Wolfpack(NCAA) 1966–present
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks(WLAF) 1991
Website
gopack.com/carter-finley-stadium

Wayne Day Family Field at Carter–Finley Stadiumis a sports venue inRaleigh, North Carolina.Home to theNC State Wolfpackfootball team, it opened in 1966[7]and has a current seating capacity of 56,919 seats.[1]

History

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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 signs of decline. It never held more than 23,000 seats (14,000 permanent) at any time. Partly because of this, many of longtime coachEarle 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 offHillsborough Street.

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

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 ofRoman Gabriel(18),Torry Holt(81),Philip Rivers(17), Bill Yoest (63), Dennis Byrd (77),Dick Christy(40),Jim Ritcher(51),Ted Brown(23),Mario WilliamsandBradley Chubb(9); andRussell Wilson(16). Carter–Finley also displays banners from NC State's bowl appearances which include the Gator Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Liberty Bowl.

Renovations

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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 forWendell 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 the2023 NHL Stadium Seriesgame between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals on February 18.[12]

Notable events

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Concerts

[edit]
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

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Guadalajara Chivas vs Juventus soccer game in 2011

On July 28, 2011, theWorld Football Challengeheld an exhibition match betweenJuventusof Italy'sSerie A,andGuadalajara Chivasof Mexico'sPrimera Divisionat the stadium.[17]

Date Winning Team Result Losing Team Tournament Spectators
July 28, 2011 ItalyJuventus 1–0 MexicoGuadalajara Chivas 2011 World Football Challenge 16,124

Hockey

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TheNational Hockey Leagueannounced on February 15, 2020, that theCarolina Hurricaneswould host aStadium Seriesgame 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 theWashington 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

[edit]
  • Carter-Finley served as the primary venue for the1999 Special Olympics World Summer Gamesfrom June 26 to July 4, 1999.
  • Carter-Finley will serve as a host venue for the 2029 Summer World University Games.

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Facilities".NC State University Athletics.RetrievedJanuary 4,2022.
  2. ^Peeler, Tim (October 7, 2009)."Help NC State Trash The Competition".North Carolina State Athletics.RetrievedAugust 9,2012.
  3. ^"Wolfpack Football Through The Decades".Section Six.July 24, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 23,2011.
  4. ^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–".RetrievedFebruary 29,2024.
  5. ^ab"Carter Stadium, and Mr. Finley".North Carolina State University. Archived fromthe originalon October 16, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 7,2012.
  6. ^Peeler, Tim (September 2, 2009)."USC Spoils Carter Stadium Dedication".The Wolfpacker.RetrievedSeptember 23,2011.
  7. ^"First game in Carter Stadium (10/8/1966)".Historical State: History in Red and White.RetrievedDecember 23,2011.
  8. ^"Longtime NCSU football coach dead at 88".Star-News.Wilmington, North Carolina.Associated Press.February 26, 1997 – viaGoogle News.
  9. ^"Maintaining a sense of place and history".NC State. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2011.RetrievedDecember 20,2010.
  10. ^"NCSU Timelines".historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu.RetrievedJune 22,2017.
  11. ^"Carter–Finley Stadium".North Carolina State Athletics.RetrievedDecember 23,2011.
  12. ^"New Carter-Finley Stadium Videoboard Coming in 2023".North Carolina State Athletics.November 11, 2022.RetrievedAugust 17,2023.
  13. ^Pond, Dave (September 2009)."Setting the Stage".Outside the Classroom.North Carolina State University.RetrievedSeptember 7,2012.
  14. ^Lieth, Angelica (June 30, 2015)."Behind the scenes: Setting up for the Rolling Stones concert in Raleigh (Slideshow)".Triangle Business Journal.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2015.RetrievedJuly 10,2015.
  15. ^"The Formation World Tour".beyonce.com.February 7, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon February 9, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 8,2016.
  16. ^Iyengar, Rishi (May 3, 2016)."Beyoncé Fans In Raleigh Can Relax: She's Coming Back On Stage".Time.RetrievedMay 3,2016.
  17. ^Laws, William E. (July 8, 2011)."International soccer powers set to play at Carter–Finley".The News & Observer.Raleigh.RetrievedSeptember 7,2012.
  18. ^"Hurricanes to host 2021 NHL Stadium Series at N.C. State".NHL.com(Press release). February 15, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 16,2020.
  19. ^"2021 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Game Postponed".NHL.com(Press release). December 23, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 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.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  21. ^"Hurricanes top Capitals 4-1 in Carolina's 1st Outdoor Game".U.S. News & World Report.February 20, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 18,2022– via Associated Press.
  22. ^Donahue, Lillian (February 21, 2023)."'It's unreal' – NC State IcePack hockey conquers UNC during outdoor Raleigh game ".CBS17.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
  23. ^Perchick, Michael (February 21, 2023)."Raleigh still buzzing over stretch of sports wins anchored by Stadium Series".ABC11 Raleigh-Durham.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
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