Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Groves Stadium
Wake Forest football has enjoyed one of its best seasons ever in 2006, winning the ACC and earning a bid to the Orange Bowl. Their stadium, Groves Stadium, was filled past capacity for the season. Granted, this stadium is not the largest. With an official capacity of 31,500, it ranks 93rd in Division I-A in size and is the smallest stadium in a BCS conference. With the 2nd smallest student body in Division I-A, however (behind Rice), the attendance figures for the year are quite impressive.
Groves Stadium, Wake Forest University
Visual Appeal: 5
Fan Friendly: 8
Settings and Surroundings: 5
Quirks: 4
Blend of Classic and Modern: 4
Total: 26
Groves Stadium is comprised of two grandstands on each side of the field. This simple design is reminescent of some high school stadiums. Behind the South endzone, a nicely landscaped grassy hill provides seating for families and others looking for a casual seat for games. The Bridger Field house encloses the facility behind the North endzone, providing a rare intimacy for a stadium of this capacity. While the structure itself does not provide many interesting visual sights, the overall look of the stadium is distinctive, especially with the black and gold checkerboard on the Field House. Replacement of the grass field with artificial turf took place before the 2005 season.
The intimacy of the setting and the presence of the grassy hill make Groves Stadium a pleasant experience for fans. The stadium is situated off campus in the middle of parking lots and adjacent to Joel Colisseum, home of the Demon Deacon basketball teams. While this setting provides good tailgating, it does not allow the stadium to be well integrated into the Wake Forest campus.
As previously mentioned, this stadium is rather plain, and no significant quirks can be identified on the structure. The checkerboard pattern on Bridger Field House, however, makes a viewer on television immediately aware that the telecast is coming from Groves.
The stadium is a classic design without many modern amenities. This situation, though, is scheduled to change, as Wake Forest has plans to construct luxury suites at Groves. This step should help bring added revenue to the Wake athletic program and will provide comfortable surroundings for Wake's more well-to-do fans.
Overall, Groves Stadium does an excellent job of creating an intimate atmosphere considering the small size of the structure. While one may think that small stadiums are, by nature, intimate, the lack of stadium elements behind end zones often yields an openness that destroys the intimacy. Additions of suites will hopefully add some architectural interest to the stadium.
Groves Stadium, Wake Forest University
Visual Appeal: 5
Fan Friendly: 8
Settings and Surroundings: 5
Quirks: 4
Blend of Classic and Modern: 4
Total: 26
Groves Stadium is comprised of two grandstands on each side of the field. This simple design is reminescent of some high school stadiums. Behind the South endzone, a nicely landscaped grassy hill provides seating for families and others looking for a casual seat for games. The Bridger Field house encloses the facility behind the North endzone, providing a rare intimacy for a stadium of this capacity. While the structure itself does not provide many interesting visual sights, the overall look of the stadium is distinctive, especially with the black and gold checkerboard on the Field House. Replacement of the grass field with artificial turf took place before the 2005 season.
The intimacy of the setting and the presence of the grassy hill make Groves Stadium a pleasant experience for fans. The stadium is situated off campus in the middle of parking lots and adjacent to Joel Colisseum, home of the Demon Deacon basketball teams. While this setting provides good tailgating, it does not allow the stadium to be well integrated into the Wake Forest campus.
As previously mentioned, this stadium is rather plain, and no significant quirks can be identified on the structure. The checkerboard pattern on Bridger Field House, however, makes a viewer on television immediately aware that the telecast is coming from Groves.
The stadium is a classic design without many modern amenities. This situation, though, is scheduled to change, as Wake Forest has plans to construct luxury suites at Groves. This step should help bring added revenue to the Wake athletic program and will provide comfortable surroundings for Wake's more well-to-do fans.
Overall, Groves Stadium does an excellent job of creating an intimate atmosphere considering the small size of the structure. While one may think that small stadiums are, by nature, intimate, the lack of stadium elements behind end zones often yields an openness that destroys the intimacy. Additions of suites will hopefully add some architectural interest to the stadium.
