Photos by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.57
Wildcat Stadium 145 Main St Durham, NH 03824
Year Opened: 1936
Capacity: 11,015
130+ Years in Durham
The New Hampshire Wildcats have fielded a football team since 1893, and currently play at the FCS level in the Coastal Athletic Association.
The Wildcats play their home football games at Wildcat Stadium, an on-campus facility which includes a running track around the field – the venue is also used by the school’s lacrosse and track and field teams. The stadium holds 11,015 fans and was opened in 1936. This is the third football venue used by the Wildcats during their history.
Food & Beverage 5
The main concession stand (603 Eatery) at Wildcat Stadium has a large selection of choices, including hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, steak and cheese subs, pulled pork, chicken tenders, pizza, mac ‘n cheese, and chili as main dishes, plus snacks such as fries, nachos, popcorn, pretzels, cookies, candy, and brownies. The prices are reasonable, as the most expensive main dish item is only around $9, which is pretty good nowadays as sports stadium prices go.
Drinks include soda, PowerAde, bottled water, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and seven choices of beer and hard seltzer ($7 and up) – on the home side, alcohol is only sold at separate “quick stands”, which also sell popcorn, hot dogs, and pretzels, so if you are looking for a little shorter line for food, you can grab something to eat at one of those quick stands instead of at the main stand.
Atmosphere 4
Wildcat Stadium is a great venue, especially for the FCS level – what you may notice as you first walk in is all the different sections of seating. The home side has a subtle press box, faced with brick and bracketed by peaked roofs on each end, so it blends into the stands. The student section is below the press box, on the left side if you are facing it, easily visible due to the UNH banners being waved by the students in the front row. There are also field-level suites behind one end zone (white tents), as well as the Bud Light Beer Deck next to the visiting stands – the beer deck has white Christmas strung over blue tailgating tents, so would be a great place to visit (standing room only) if you need to get out of the sun. You can also watch from the small hill in front of the videoboard.
The field itself is surrounded by a dark blue and grey track, and the medium-blue UNH end zones really pop against the green of the field and the surrounding trees. There is a large videoboard behind one end zone (the ticket booth/will call is underneath it) – a single videoboard works fine here, as there isn’t any real seating behind that end zone (although a few people do watch from the grassy area on that end).
The Wildcats have a great mascot, and of course cheerleaders, both of whom mostly hang out in front of the student section. But what really sets Wildcat Stadium apart is the pre-game festivities – the cheerleaders lead the team onto the field, which is pretty typical, but the honor guard sports a 13-star flag representing New Hampshire’s status as one of the 13 original colonies. The band also spells out “USA” as the National Anthem is played, and “UNH” prior to that, which is always fun to snap a photo of. The aforementioned honor guard also fires off a vintage cannon every time the Wildcats score.
Neighborhood 3
Wildcat Stadium is surrounded by several of the school’s other athletic facilities, but there are a bunch of restaurants starting about a mile away along Main Street toward the east-southeast, including Hop + Grind for burgers or The Spot for health food, plus a couple of pizza places. There are several hotels in that area as well.
In terms of attractions, there are a lot of parks and other nature areas for those who want to take a hike or otherwise enjoy the local scenery – New Hampshire has a lot of natural beauty and a lot of greenery for visitors to enjoy. There is also a children’s museum and the Woodman Museum about six miles away, the latter being a collection of four historic houses showcasing local history. And if you want to visit the coast, the beaches of New Hampshire and Maine are less than half an hour away.
Fans 3
Wildcat Stadium has a pretty loud student section, and the stands are pretty full on the home side – certain games can easily sell out. The visiting side may appear mostly empty during some games, depending on the opponent, although you will see plenty of fans in the aforementioned Bud Light Beer Deck, some of whom likely walked over from the home side, as you are allowed to walk all the way around the field at Wildcat Stadium. There is also a pretty solid tailgating scene before the game, mostly in the large parking lot behind the videoboard, but also some tailgating in the lots behind the visitor stands.
Access 3
There is a lot of traffic around the stadium even if you arrive several hours before the game, and there doesn’t appear to be any cash parking nearby – all the lots I saw were reserved and/or had to be pre-purchased. I did see some fans walking from further away, so there is parking around, but just not close.
Once you get into the stadium, however, moving around is pretty easy – there are bathrooms and concessions on the home side, although no bathrooms I saw on the visiting side. There is of course the aforementioned beer deck on the visiting side, and you are welcome to walk around the stadium as you please during the game.
Return on Investment 4
Tickets to UNH football games at Wildcat Stadium start at $31 using the UNH athletics website – this a is reasonable price for FCS football, and lets you attend a game here for between $50 and $60, per person, including parking and typical food and drinks. I consider this a good return on investment for the modern stadium, as well as the amenities and festivities you will see here.
Extras 3
The Bud Light Beer Deck is a nice feature, and is something you may not often see at a college football game. The multiple different seating options are also a plus, in case you want to watch the game from a few different vantage points – even though there is a track around the field itself, it stills feels like you can get really close to the action at Wildcat Stadium.
Final Thoughts
There aren’t many great football experiences in this particular part of the country, unless you want to drive down to Massachusetts and see Boston College or the New England Patriots. But if you are looking for a pleasant day or evening in a scenic country setting, you can’t do worse than taking in a Wildcats football game in Durham, NH. The stadium is great, and you will have a wonderful time. Go C-A-T-S!
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