Photos by Joseph Oakes, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.71
Scott Stadium Alderman Rd & Whitehead Rd Charlottesville, VA 22903
Year Opened: 1931
Capacity: 61,500
Football In The Blue Ridge Mountains
Scott Stadium was built in 1931 and is the home of the University of Virginia football. Renovations in 2000 closed in the stadium to its current horse shoe configuration. While crowds may not be as large as they were in the early 2000s, the environment and atmosphere on game days around Charlottesville is still a great college football experience. Throw in the fact that the campus is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, and you have a great setting for ACC football.
Food & Beverage 3
Concessions at Scott Stadium are about what one would expect when attending a major college football game. There are general concession stands operated by UVA scattered around the upper and lower concourses.
Specialty stands featuring Papa John’s Pizza, Chick-fil-A, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream are located on the lower concourse, but not on the upper. The stands run by UVA often quickly except during halftime, and accept credit/debit cards. However, during the game I attended, the credit cards machines were not working at all stands.
These stands offer a wide variety of food including pulled pork nachos ($6), BBQ sandwich ($5), nachos ($5), hot dogs ($4), chips ($4), and candy ($3). Pepsi products and Aquafina water are offered at Scott Stadium. Bottled water and a regular soda are $4, souvenir sodas are $5, and bottomless sodas are $8. The pulled pork nachos are definitely a hit, especially when paired with a bottomless soda.
Atmosphere 4
The atmosphere around a UVA football game is one of Cavalier comradery and pride. As you walk towards Scott Stadium, expect to see tailgaters and alumni groups gathered at various points around campus. The stadium is a double-decked horse shoe with metal bleacher type seats. The open end of the stadium features a large grassy bank which is popular with students. The suites and club seats are located between the upper and lower level. The field is natural grass and is always in excellent condition. One large video board is located above the grass hill in the open end zone. It does a great job providing score, down, timeouts, replays, and out of town scores. There is a ribbon board on the overhang of the upper level in the other end zone which also provides score, down, timeouts, etc.
Be sure to be in your seats early to catch the Cavalier Marching Band perform pregame and team entrance. The team is led onto the field by the Cavalier mascot riding on horseback waving his sword to ignite the crowd. This is a can’t miss feature to a visit to Scott Stadium. There isn’t a bad seat in the house at Scott Stadium, and the sightlines are excellent Sitting on the west side will enable you to view the field logo correctly.
Neighborhood 5
Scott Stadium is located on the beautiful UVA campus, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Monticello, Jefferson’s home, is also located just a few miles from campus and is great spot to visit if in town for a couple days. If you are looking for an area to eat, shop, and just walk around, make your way to downtown Charlottesville. This area offers many local eateries and shop, and is an overall nice place to stroll around on game day.
If you enjoy the outdoors, there are many mountain activities around Charlottesville including hiking and camping. Also located in Charlottesville is the popular Carter Mountain Orchard, where you can buy fresh apples and enjoy a great view overlooking Charlottesville.
Fans 3
Fan support has been slipping at UVA the last few years, which is undoubtedly due to the poor product on the field the past few years. Even though UVA had a good year in 2017 and went to a bowl, it is taking a while for the crowds to come back. UVA only had one game (the Virginia Tech game) in 2017 where the crowd exceeded 40,000. It is somewhat disappointing to see a beautiful stadium a little over half full on a sunny fall afternoon. This is not to say that the fans in attendance are not involved. After touchdowns and big plays, the fans lock arms and sing the Good Ole Song to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Check out the video of this below:
This video will also give you an idea of the crowd size. Hopefully, the new found success that Bronco Mendenhall has brought to the program will cause crowd numbers to increase in the next few years.
Access 4
Since Scott Stadium is located on the UVA campus, access can be a little tricky. Allow yourself extra time to get through Charlottesville, get onto campus, and get parked. For a non-donor, the best bet for parking is to purchase a parking pass online before game day for $10-15 depending on location. It is $5 cheaper if you purchase ahead of time rather on game day. This will enable you to park at one of the parking decks on campus. Depending on where you park, it could be a 15-30 minute walk to the stadium.
Entering the stadium is easy as there are multiple gates. Be aware that UVA enacted a clear bag policy during the 2017 season. If you are unfamiliar with this, check www.virginiasports.com for details. They are strict with this – I saw them tell several folks to take their large purses/bags back to their car. There is a concourse on both the upper and lower levels of the stadium. Both are very easy to navigate and well-marked. Handicapped accessible seating is available for advanced purchase on both the lower and upper levels.
Return on Investment 4
Individual game ticket prices start at $30 and increase depending on seat location and opponent. Plenty tickets are also available on secondary market sites like stubhub.com. Expect to pay quite a bit more when high profile opponents like Virginia Tech are in town. Combine that with reasonable parking and concession, a trip to Scott Stadium will not break the bank.
Extras 3
One point for the beautiful UVA campus surrounding Scott Stadium.
Another point for the friendly staff and ticket collectors at the Stadium.
A third for the plaza area above the grass hill that allows fans an awesome vantage of the playing field.
Final Thoughts
Virginia football has a great history, but the several bad seasons of late have had a negative impact on the fan support and atmosphere at Scott Stadium. That being said, the fans and surrounding community create a great college game day atmosphere. If you are looking for that college town charm, be sure to catch a game at Scott Stadium.
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