Stadium Central

The home of the North Carolina State Wolfpack is the subject of today's stadium ratings. This stadium has undergone significant renovations in the Chuck Amato era to add capacity and to bring some luxury to this stadium located at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.

Carter-Finley Stadium, North Carolina State University
Visual Appeal: 7
Fan Friendly: 6
Settings and Surroundings: 4
Quirks: 5
Blend of Classic and Modern: 6
Total: 28

North Carolina State has recently spent significant money to update Carter-Finley Stadium and, in so doing, has created an intimate venue where fans surround the field to provide what should be an intimidating atmosphere for the Wolkpack gridders. The football training facility is located in the Murphy Center behind the South Endzone. This classy building serves as a strong backdrop behind the South stands and provides an interesting visual. The plaza in front of the Murphy Center creates a gathering point for fans and affords excellent views of the stadium. As part of the West Stands, the Wolfpack Towers that were completed before the 2005 season impressively house the press box and luxury suites. While no such suites are present on the East Stands, the towers in no way provide an incongruant imbalance at the stadium. The newest renovation for this stadium encloses the North Endzone below the impressive scoreboard. The East Stands still have an older look, but the renovations to this stadium have successfully created a unified and classy structure for the Wolfpack.
The stadium is intimate enough so that all seats provide an excellent view of the field. Walkways provide easy access to most sections of the stadium, even though the concourse below the East Stands is a bit outdated.
The drawback to this stadium lies in its location. The stadium is located several miles from the NC State campus and sits in the middle of the North Carolina fairgrounds and across from the RBC Arena. While this setting leads to excellent tailgating, it takes away from some other interesting settings in which the stadium blends into its surroundings.
As for quirks, the renovations have not led to any unusual features at Carter-Finley. The Murphy Center and Wolfpack Towers are impressive, but there are no defining characteristics that set this stadium apart from others. The modern look provides a clean and classy stadium; the older Carter-Finley did not possess much classic ambiance, so the renovations have made the most of what is already there.
Carter-Finley is certainly one of the nicer stadiums in which I have seen a game. The stadium provides an excellent viewing environment given the seats that are so close to the action. The presence of the Murphy Center and the glorious Wolfpack Towers bring a touch of class to this stadium in Raleigh.