Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2152855

SECU Stadium

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
SECU Stadium

SECU Stadium 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.

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.

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. The project rebuilt Tyser Tower, adding 63 suites and mezzanine seating. The expansion increased the stadium capacity to 54,000. A second LED video board was installed on the west side of the stadium before the 2008 season. 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. 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. 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.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.