SECU Stadium
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox venue SECU Stadium<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of Maryland Terrapins football and men's lacrosse teams, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. The facility was formerly named Byrd Stadium after Harry "Curley" Byrd, a multi-sport athlete, football coach, and university president in the first half of the 20th century, and temporarily Maryland Stadium after objections to Byrd's naming due to his history of supporting segregation.
History
SECU Stadium opened on September 30, 1950, as Byrd Stadium after construction at a cost of $1 million, replacing the much smaller Old Byrd Stadium on the site currently used for the university's Fraternity Row east of Baltimore Avenue. For 26 seasons, Maryland Stadium consisted of a horseshoe-shaped bowl with capacity of 34,680.
Permanent lights were installed in 1985.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1991, the stadium added the five-story Tyser Tower on its south side, featuring luxury suites and an expanded press area. That same year, the university opened the Gossett Football Team House adjacent to the east endzone.
In 1995, the stadium's capacity increased to 48,055 through the addition of a 12,000-seat upper deck on the north side of the stadium. In 2001, during the Terrapins' ACC championship run, bleachers were installed to add an additional 3,000 seats. In 2002, a full-color video scoreboard was added in the east endzone, and the Gossett Football Team House started an expansion project.
Between 2007 and 2009, the stadium underwent a $50.8 million expansion, increasing overall capacity, adding skyboxes and lowering the field to improve spectators' sightlines.<ref name="WaPo-April-25-2007">Template:Cite news</ref> The project rebuilt Tyser Tower, adding 63 suites and mezzanine seating. The expansion increased the stadium capacity to 54,000.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> A second LED video board was installed on the west side of the stadium before the 2008 season.<ref name="WaPo-April-25-2007" /> The university had also announced plans to extend the upper deck around the west endzone, adding another 8,000 seats, but the expansion project was completed without this construction.
The university installed a new artificial playing surface field in 2012, replacing its natural grass field used since the stadium's opening.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The upgrade included a new technology known as "CoolPlay" that reportedly keeps the field cooler (up to 15 °F cooler) than traditional turf fields with rubber infill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first installation of its kind in the United States.
In 2021, a larger videoboard was installed behind the west endzone. The screen was first used during a night game against Iowa on October 1, 2021.
SECU Stadium's attendance record is 58,973, set on November 1, 1975. The record was achieved with temporary seating for a game featuring the #14 Terps and #9 Penn State.<ref name="CSTV-about-Byrd">Template:Cite web</ref>
The lone version of the Presidential Cup college football bowl game was held here in December 1950. The USFL Baltimore Stars called the stadium home in 1985. SECU Stadium has also hosted the Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship ten times.<ref name="CSTV-about-Byrd" />
Field naming rights
On August 24, 2006, the University of Maryland announced that it had agreed to a $20 million deal with Chevy Chase Bank to name the field Chevy Chase Bank Field, leaving the Byrd Stadium name intact. The revenue from the deal was used to pay for renovations and upgrades to the stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After Chevy Chase Bank was acquired by Capital One in 2009, the field was renamed Capital One Field.
The bank branding is not displayed on the outside of the stadium, but since 2006 the full name including the branded field has been used in the university's marketing materials for the stadium.
On September 16, 2022, the university announced that the stadium would be renamed SECU Stadium as part of a 10-year deal between the credit union and the university.<ref name="sun">Template:Cite news</ref> The deal is worth $11 million and includes $2.5 million that will go towards athletic facility improvements.
Stadium name change
The stadium's original namesake was Harry C. "Curley" Byrd, a former Maryland football player who later taught English and History and served as athletic director before rising to university president, serving from 1935 until 1954. During his tenure, the campus grew significantly, and Byrd is credited with transforming UMD from "an undistinguished agricultural college to something resembling a modern university."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, in 2015, the Maryland Student Government Association passed resolution in support of removing Byrd's name from the stadium because of his prominent support of segregation during his tenure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That same year, then-university president Wallace Loh appointed a task force to consider the issue. Loh issued a recommendation to the University System of Maryland to change the name, and the Board of Regents voted 12–5 in December 2015 to rename the facility as "Maryland Stadium."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On September 16, 2022, the university announced that the stadium would be renamed SECU Stadium as part of a 10-year deal between the credit union and the university.<ref name="sun" />
Gallery
-
Interior view, 2008
-
Lateral view, 2005
-
View of Tyser Tower
-
Tyser Tower contains 63 luxury suites (2010)
-
Goal grandstand
-
View of the lower bowl of SECU stadium at night (2023)
-
View from the upper deck of SECU stadium at night (2023)
See also
References
External links
Template:S-start-collapsible Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:End
Template:Maryland Terrapins football navbox Template:Maryland Terrapins men's soccer navbox Template:University of Maryland, College Park Template:Big Ten Conference football venue navbox Template:Maryland and Washington, D.C. college football venues
- Pages with broken file links
- Maryland Terrapins football venues
- Maryland Terrapins lacrosse
- Defunct NCAA bowl game venues
- American football venues in Maryland
- College lacrosse venues in the United States
- Lacrosse venues in Maryland
- United States Football League venues
- Sports venues completed in 1950
- Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars stadiums
- 1950 establishments in Maryland