Floyd Casey Stadium

Floyd Casey Stadium

Floyd Casey Stadium on November 5, 2005 at the Baylor vs. Texas game.
Former names	Baylor Stadium (1950–1988)
Location	3088 Burnett Avenue Waco, TX 76711
Coordinates	31°31′52.83″N 97°8′55.43″W / 31.5313417°N 97.1487306°W / 31.5313417; -97.1487306Coordinates: 31°31′52.83″N 97°8′55.43″W / 31.5313417°N 97.1487306°W / 31.5313417; -97.1487306
Owner	Baylor University
Operator	Baylor University
Capacity	50,000
Surface	Grass (1950–1971, 1998–2003) Astroturf (1972–1997) Prestige System SportGrass (artificial) (2004–2013)
Construction
Broke ground	May 28, 1949
Opened	September 30, 1950
Renovated	1989
Closed	December 14, 2013
Demolished	May 14, 2016
Construction cost	$1.5 million ($14.9 million in 2016 dollars)
Architect	Willard Simpson
General contractor	Swigert Construction Company
Tenants
Baylor Bears (NCAA) (1950–2013)

Floyd Casey Stadium was a stadium in Waco, Texas. It was primarily used for football, and was the home field of the Baylor Bears. The stadium, located about four miles from the Baylor University campus, cost $1.8 million to build and seat 50,000 people. Originally named Baylor Stadium, it opened in 1950 with a Baylor game against the Houston Cougars. On December 7, 2013, Baylor played its last game in the stadium, against the Texas Longhorns, where the attendance record of 51,728 was established. Baylor won 19 of its final 20 games played at the stadium.

Originally known as Baylor Stadium, the stadium was renamed at halftime of the November 5, 1988 homecoming game when it was renamed for Floyd Casey by his son, university trustee and longtime booster Carl B. Casey of Dallas, who gave US$5 million towards an $8 million stadium renovation project.

The stadium was renovated several times. In 1998, the stadium installed SportGrass, a leading artificial grass surface. In 2005, it underwent massive renovations to extend the Grant Teaff Plaza in honor of former head coach Grant Teaff. The extended plaza created much-needed updates to the stadium's façade.

The stadium was an elongated oval shape, running southeast-northwest, with large grandstands on the sidelines. The south end zone was cleared, with athletic marks painted on the ground and the large LED scoreboard behind it. (Prior to the creation of the current athletic marks, the area was painted gold, with "BAYLOR" painted in large green block letters.) In 2004, a large tarp was installed that covered the south end zone and could be removed when ticket demand necessitated it. With the tarp in place seating capacity was reduced to 47,000. The north end zone had seating in front of the Carl & Thelma Casey Athletic Center, site of the football offices, training facilities, and stadium field house.

Prior to the building of the stadium, the Baylor football team played at Carroll Field, an on-campus field last used in 1935, and Waco's Municipal Stadium on Dutton Avenue.