Carter-Finley Stadium
| |||
|
Carter-Finley Stadium was opened in 1966 as home to the North Carolina State University Wolfpack football team. The stadium replaced the obsolete on-campus Riddick Stadium and 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 later. While located on University land, the stadium is a few miles to the west of the academic campus on Trinity Road just off of Hillsborough Street. The capacity was 60,000 seats for 2006. Carter-Finley Stadium has been sold out for six straight years.
Prior to the 2001 season, the university began a program of modernization of Carter-Finley. The southern endzone was enclosed with seats, and the state-of-the-art Murphy Center (named for Wendell Murphy) was built. Following the 2004-2005 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 2005-2006 football season.
For the 2006 season, a new north end zone grandstand has been added. 5,730 new chairback, bench and handicap-accessible seating, with another 1,630 permanent bleacher seats built underneath the video scoreboard make Carter-Finley a bowl and give it a capacity of 60,000 spectators. Additional upgrades to the stadium include a new north endzone plaza with concession stands and the addition of two video screens in each corner of the south endzone. Carter-Finley Stadium has the smallest clearance between the stands and the sidelines of any stadium in the ACC. This puts the fans right on top of the action and makes it one of the toughest venues in the ACC to play at despite its modest capacity. Many would rank it right behind Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium, Clemson's Memorial Stadium, and Florida State's Doak-Campbell Stadium, in terms of toughest places to play.
“N.C. State is a tough place to play in. It’s not that big, but some places just have a nice atmosphere, and they do up there. Their fans get a little rowdy and a little tough, especially when they get things going. “ — C.J. Gaddis, Clemson cornerback
"N.C. State can be pretty intimidating, too. Their fans get into it, and every time they get a first down, they start hollering, 'A Wolfpack first down!'" — Thomas Hunter, Clemson tight end
Retired jerseys on the facade of Carter-Finley Stadium includes those of Roman Gabriel, Torry Holt and Philip Rivers. Carter-Finley also displays banners from NC State's Bowl appearances which include the Gator Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Liberty Bowl.
