Photos by Lloyd Brown, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.86
Davidson College Stadium 109 Patterson Court Circle Davidson, NC 28035
Year Opened: 2024
Capacity: 5,000
The Wildcats' New Den
Davidson College is a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is in the village of Davidson, NC, which is 19 miles north of Charlotte, NC. The school was founded in 1837 and has a student body of just over 1,900 students. The school offers more than 74 majors and other academic programs.
The athletic teams at Davidson are known as the Wildcats. They play at the FCS level of NCAA Division I football as a member of the Pioneer Football Conference. Davidson first fielded a football program in 1896. They played at the Division III level of competition through 1992, when they moved up to the FCS level.
The Wildcats have gone to the FCS playoffs three times (2020,2021 and 2022). Davidson’s rivalry game each season is the interstate battle with Presbyterian College. This game is known as the Carolina Border Clash, with the winner taking home the 1919 Cup.
The kickoff to the 2024 college football season was also the beginning of a new era for the Davidson College football program. For the first time in a century, when the Davidson Wildcats stepped out on their home field, it was not in Richardson Stadium. The opening of Davidson College Stadium is the crowning achievement of the Athletics Done Right: The Next Step capital campaign to take athletics to the next level at the school. Richardson Stadium, built in 1923, will stay in use as the track and field stadium at Davidson.
While Davidson College Stadium primarily serves as the home of the football and lacrosse programs, it also serves a much broader purpose to benefit the entire Wildcats athletic program. The 56,000-square-foot three-story building atop the home side of the stands is known as the Game Changers Field House. It houses several facilities that are being used by all the sports teams at the school.
These include the Sports Performance Center (weight room/training room), the Sheridan Brothers Locker Rooms, showers, coaches’ offices, a film room, team meeting rooms, and a media center. The top floor of the Field House will have a large multipurpose room for use by boosters and other campus activities.
The new stadium includes stands on both the home and visitor sides of the field. This is a huge change from the home and visiting fans having to share the same seating area. It also allows the cheerleading squads and bands from each school to focus on their respective fanbases.
Food & Beverage 4
One of the main beneficiaries of the new stadium on gamedays is the concession stands. They are located at the concourse level of the stadium, which is atop the seating bowl at the 50-yard line. The Richardson Stadium concession area was located quite a distance from the seating area.
The state-of-the-art food prep area greatly reduces the wait time to receive your food. The concession stand has also expanded its menu to include NC Hot Chicken, pork BBQ, potato wedges, and a more diverse beer and wine list. Pepsi brand sodas and North Carolina favorite Cheerwine are the featured soft drinks. Unfortunately, there is no permanent concession stand on the visitor’s side of the field.
Davidson College Stadium also has several local food vendors lined up for games with temporary setups. These include Sully’s Steamers sandwiches, Crazy Pig BBQ, and Bojangles.
Atmosphere 4
Moving into a brand-new stadium has brought a whole new feel to attending home games at Davidson. The faculty, administration, and alumni sections of the seating bowl are located between the 40s at midfield and feature chairback seats… much more comfortable than the bleacher seats at Richardson Stadium.
The other sections of the stands still feature bleacher seating. By spreading stands over both sides of the field, the new structure was able to place the seats closer to the playing field, as no seats are more than 15 rows from the playing field.
The new electronics package at Davidson College Stadium is a vast improvement over Richardson Stadium. The basic, high school-level scoreboard used at Richardson Stadium has been replaced by a high-definition Armfield Foundation video board. The lighting and sound system at the new stadium is now state of the art.
The playing surface at the new stadium also adds to the improved atmosphere at home games. It features a very attractive graphics package with each of the end zones featuring one of the team’s colors (red and black). There is also a script “D” at the 50-yard line of the field.
The new artificial turf should also reduce injuries for both the home and visiting teams, as it is a much more giving surface than its predecessor. The playing surface is known as Field 76, which is the number Coach David J. Fagg wore during his playing days at the college. Coach Fagg then served as the head football coach at Davidson during the 1970s. After retiring from the coaching profession, he became a fundraiser for the Davidson Athletic Fund.
Neighborhood 5
Davidson College Stadium is located at the north end of the Davidson College campus. It is still within walking distance of the main campus quad and the charming downtown Davidson business district. The downtown area is very pedestrian and bike-friendly with both walking trails and bike lines.
It is very much a college town, with mom-and-pop stores serving the student population. One of the local favorites is the Soda Shop. It has been open since 1951 and serves the typical soda shop menu of hot dogs, hamburgers, and milkshakes. Those looking for more adult fare can choose between the Brickhouse Tavern and Il Bosco. The downtown area also features the Our Town Cinema and Drafthouse.
Most of the lodging accommodations for visitors to Davidson are located at the I-77 exit, which is only two miles from the campus. They include the Davidson Village Inn, and the Homewood Suites by Hilton-Davidson.
If you will be staying in Davidson over a football weekend, be sure to visit Lake Norman. It is the largest manmade lake in North Carolina. There are numerous recreational activities available at the lake, including a picnic area, fishing, boating, and swimming areas.
Fans 4
Attending a game at Davidson College Stadium is the quintessential small college football experience. Davidson only has 1,900 students, and most of the alumni live in the greater Charlotte area. This means it does not require a lot of effort to get back for all the home football games. They are very knowledgeable about the players, as the school’s small size makes it likely you might know several classmates who also play on the football team.
They are very welcoming of visitors and are glad to recommend places to eat at or visit while you are in town. The students are also well-behaved at games, with no trash-talking, as the school has a very strict honor code.
The stands are packed for every home game, as alumni have turned out in large numbers to check out the first new Davidson football stadium in more than 100 years.
Access 4
The Davidson campus and the football stadium are very easy to get to from I-77. From Charlotte: Take I-77 North for 19 miles to the Davidson exit (Exit 30). Turn left onto Griffith Street and follow it until you reach North Main Street. Turn left on North Main Street, then right on Patterson Court Circle.
There is a large, paved parking lot right outside of the stadium. Gameday parking in this lot is $30, with free parking available in a grass lot next to the baseball field. Overflow parking is available at the Baker Sports Complex just south of the stadium.
Davidson College Stadium is much easier to navigate than Richardson Stadium. While Richardson Stadium was charming, it was built well before many of the amenities we expect to see in a sports facility existed. There are multiple ticket windows too so you should not expect much of a line when you buy your tickets.
There are several entry points into the seating bowl, so you should have no trouble getting to your seats. The concourse and the aisles are wide enough that you should have no problem getting around the venue. The seating bowl is in a U–shaped, with the concourse circling to the other side of the field at one end atop a berm. The other end of the field is where the videoboard is located.
There are three entry gates at Davidson College Stadium. Gates open 90 minutes before kickoff.
Return on Investment 3
Attending a game at the new Davidson College Stadium will not cost you an arm and a leg. The three middle sections between the 40s on the home side of the field feature chairback seats, which are $24 for adults and $12 for youth (under 18).
All other seating in the stadium features bleacher seating and is considered general admission. (General Admission also means bench seating… bring a seat cushion!). The general admission seats are $14 for adults and $7 for youth (under 18). The grass berm at the end of the field is also considered General Admission seating. Parking is $30 in the paved lot just outside of the stadium. Parking is free in the grass lot next to the baseball field or at the nearby Baker Sports Complex.
As far as concession prices, the stadium standards are reasonably priced. Some of the items on the newly expanded menu such as the Impossible burger, the NC Hot Chicken, and several items on the beer and wine list are somewhat more expensive than you would pay at a retail establishment.
Extras 3
Nearly 25 percent of the Davidson student body is involved in one of the NCAA sports at the school.
The Wildcats have beaten the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The game took place in 1906, with a score of 15-0. Davidson used the recently approved forward pass to seal the victory over the Bulldogs.
Davidson has the 4th smallest enrollment of any school competing in Division I football.
Davidson is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports except football.
Final Thoughts
After playing in Richardson Stadium for more than a century, the football program has moved to a new state-of-the-art facility just up the street. While the football program is the major beneficiary of the new stadium and the Game Changers Field House, the facility will also service the needs of all 21 Division I sports programs at the school. The training facilities, sports medicine offices, the strength and conditioning rooms and sports performance laboratories housed in the new structure will be available to all Wildcat athletes. In addition, the alumni will have access to the Gallery 18 multipurpose space housed on the top floor of the Field House for their meetings. There are also plans to allow the townspeople of Davidson, NC to use the building for community events as the schedule allows.
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