Maryland Stadium
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| Former names | Byrd Stadium (1950–2015) |
|---|---|
| Location | 90 Stadium Drive College Park, Maryland 20742 |
| Coordinates | 38°59′25″N 76°56′50″W / 38.99028°N 76.94722°WCoordinates: 38°59′25″N 76°56′50″W / 38.99028°N 76.94722°W |
| Owner | University System of Maryland |
| Operator | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Capacity | 34,680 (1950–1975) 45,000 (1976–1994) 48,055 (1995–2001) 51,500 (2002–2008) 54,000 (2009–2011) 51,802 (2012–present) |
| Record attendance | 58,973 (1975 vs. Penn State) |
| Surface |
FieldTurf (2012–present) Grass (1950–2012) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 1949 |
| Opened | September 30, 1950 |
| Expanded | 1995, 2002, 2008 |
| Construction cost | US$1 million ($9.95 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | James R. Edmunds Jr. Populous (renovations) |
| General contractor | Baltimore Contractors, Inc. |
| Tenants | |
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Maryland Terrapins (NCAA) (1950–present) Baltimore Stars (USFL) (1985) Presidential Cup Bowl (NCAA) (1950) |
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Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of the Maryland Terrapins football and men's lacrosse teams, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. The facility was formerly named Byrd Stadium after Harry "Curley" Byrd, a multi-sport athlete, football coach, and university president in the first half of the 20th century. In August 2006, naming rights were sold to Chevy Chase Bank, which was subsequently acquired by Capital One. On December 11, 2015, the Byrd Stadium name was removed, with the stadium being renamed Maryland Stadium. However, signs along the Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) still refer to the stadium as Byrd Stadium.
Byrd Stadium, constructed at a cost of $1 million, opened September 30, 1950 in order to replace an older, much smaller Old Byrd Stadium. For four decades, Maryland Stadium consisted of a horseshoe-shaped bowl with capacity of 34,680. In 1991, the five-story Tyser Tower, featuring luxury suites and an expanded press area, was completed on the south side of the stadium, as well as the Gossett Football Team House adjacent to the east endzone. In 1995, the stadium's capacity was raised to 48,055 through the addition of an upper deck on the north side of the stadium. In November 2001, as the football team once again became an ACC-title contender, temporary bleachers were brought in for an additional 3,000 seats. Those bleachers remain to this day. In 2002, a full-color video scoreboard was added in the east endzone and an expansion of the Gossett Football Team House was begun. The athletic department hoped to parlay the success of the Ralph Friedgen era into a stadium expansion that would have increased capacity to 65,000, but considering that attendance has become sparse over the last several years, under Friedgen and Randy Edsall, those plans have been put on hold or abandoned. Maryland Stadium's attendance record is 58,973, set on November 1, 1975. The record was achieved with temporary seating for a game featuring the #14 Terps and #9 Penn State. Lights were installed in 1985. [1]
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