Floyd Casey Stadium

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Floyd Casey Stadium" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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; -97.1487306
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[1]
Opened	September 30, 1950
Renovated	1989
Closed	December 14, 2013
Demolished	May 14, 2016
Construction cost	$1.5 million ($19 million in 2023 dollars[2])
Architect	Willard Simpson[3]
General contractor	Swigert Construction Company[4]
Tenants
Baylor Bears (NCAA) (1950–2013)

Floyd Casey Stadium was a stadium in Waco, Texas. The stadium was used for 64 seasons before being replaced by McLane Stadium in 2014.^[5] 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 sat 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.^[6][7] 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. Turf was first introduced to the stadium in 1972.^[8] Then 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.

In the spring of 2012, Baylor regents approved a new on-campus stadium to be built on the Brazos River adjacent to Interstate 35.

The demolition of the stadium was completed on May 14, 2016.