Photos by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.29
Rogers Stadium East River Rd Ettrick, VA 23806
Year Opened: 1950
Capacity: 7,909
Trojan Explosion
The Virginia State Trojans football team competes in NCAA Division II and currently plays in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for all 14 varsity sports. The CIAA includes member schools from six states, spanning from South Carolina to Pennsylvania.
The Trojans home football and track venue is called Rogers Stadium – the facility includes both a turf football field as well as a running track around the field. The facility is located just south of Richmond in Ettrick, VA (or some mapping apps may place it in Petersburg). The venue opened in 1950 and currently seats 7,909 fans.
Food & Beverage 4
Concessions at Rogers Stadium include fixed stands on both the home and visitor sides, as well as two food trucks in the plaza next to the home side. Like many HBCUs, you can find chicken wings and fried fish, as well as soul food, in addition to more traditional fare such as BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, nachos, potato wedges, candy, and chips. Drinks include bottled water, bottled Pepsi products, Frappuccino, and energy drinks.
Atmosphere 3
The atmosphere at Virginia State football games is solid, although attendance can be a bit lackluster (more on this later). As with most HBCUs, a big emphasis is placed on the marching bands – the VSU marching band is called the Trojan Explosion, and you can expect to see them sashay as they march into the stadium, and they do a great performance during halftime. You will also see a lot of moving and swaying by the band as they play from the stands during the game.
As is typical at HBCU football games, the opposing team’s band will usually also be invited to play during halftime, and the PA announcer will rib them good-naturedly as not being quite as good as the home team’s band, of course.
Neighborhood 4
Rogers Stadium is located in what you might perhaps call a run-down area, but there are plenty of things to see and do nearby, given its proximity to Richmond and its suburbs. While technically about 25 miles south of Richmond proper, the facility is only about 3 miles from the I-95 corridor, and there are all manner of restaurants, hotels, and attractions to be found next to the freeway.
Colonial Heights is probably the closest “town,” where you can find restaurants such as Olive Garden and Denny’s, and if you are looking for something to do before or after the game, the Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum is less than 3 miles from the facility and is filled with modern and antique tractors and other equipment. The museum is open from 9-5 daily, so depending on what time the game starts, you should be able to plan a visit before or after.
Fans 2
The fans at Rogers Stadium cheer pretty loudly for their Trojans, but there just aren’t that many fans in attendance – the facility may only be one-third full at a typical football game if that. Depending on the opponent, you might even see more support and more fans cheering for the visiting team than for the home team.
Access 4
It is pretty easy to get in and out of Rogers Stadium – the drive isn’t bad, and since the venue is less than 3 miles from I-95, it doesn’t feel like you have to drive much out of your way. Also, the traffic in the area isn’t bad this far south of Washington, DC.
When you get to the stadium, the first parking lot you see might be a long, narrow one with a few tailgaters – that parking lot is next to the visiting side, so you might prefer to follow the road further in, where you will find a much larger parking lot that is closer to the home side. The cost is $10 either way, but you may prefer not to have to walk as far. Either parking lot would be fine in any case, however, as the stadium isn’t that big.
There are three entrances into the venue, one next to the visiting side and one on each end of the home bleachers. There is a ramp on both ends of the home side that leads up into the seats, or you can get to your seats from the back – the concessions and restrooms are behind the home grandstand, and there are staircases at a few places in the stands that take you up to them.
Return on Investment 3
Parking is $10, which seems reasonable, but tickets are $20 each for general admission, which seems a tad high for the experience you are getting here. Also, concessions are a little on the high side for certain items - $3 for a bottled soda or water seems reasonable, but $5 for a hot dog or $14/$16 for chicken wings and fried fish seems pretty steep.
Extras 3
The Trojans have two mascots, one male and one female in costume, and they have field-level seating if you are part of an alumni group (tents set up behind one end zone). While the scoreboard isn’t a real video board that can show replays, it does have some basic capacity to show video. However, it doesn’t include enough information – for example, you can’t tell how many timeouts each team has.
There are some nice pops of color from the orange and blue; however, and the cheer squad runs around with V-S-U banners every time the home team scores. There is also really no shade in the stands to protect you from the sun during a hot day game.
Final Thoughts
A Virginia State Trojans football game at Rogers Stadium is a pleasant experience – it has all the basic amenities a football fan would like to see, if not providing anything over the top. If you are looking for an enjoyable time for friends and family, you couldn’t go wrong by planning a visit here.
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