Byrd Stadium

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(Redirected from Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium)

Byrd Stadium


Location	College Park, Maryland
Broke ground	1950
Opened	September 30, 1950
Owner	University System of Maryland
Operator	University of Maryland, College Park
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$1 million USD
Tenants
University of Maryland Terrapins (NCAA) (1950-Present) Baltimore Stars (USFL) (1985) Presidential Cup Bowl (NCAA) (1950)
Capacity
51,500

Byrd 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 of the Atlantic Coast Conference, hosting its competitions in football and lacrosse. The facility is named after Harry C. 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, and the current name of the field is Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

Byrd Stadium, constructed at a cost of $1 million, opened September 30, 1950. For four decades, Byrd 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 hopes to parlay the success of the Ralph Friedgen era into a stadium expansion that will increase capacity to 65,000 in the next several years. Byrd 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.

The lone version of the Presidential Cup college football bowl game was held here in December 1950. The USFL Baltimore Stars called the stadium home in 1985.

Byrd Stadium has hosted the Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship ten times.

On August 24, 2006, the Washington Post reported that the University of Maryland agreed to a $20 million naming-rights deal with Chevy Chase Bank in what's being viewed as a key component to the proposed expansion of Byrd Stadium. The university's football stadium is now known as Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Revenue from the deal will help pay for renovation and expansion of the stadium, which will include luxury suites and an increase in capacity.

On April 25, 2007 the Athletics Department unveiled plans for a $50.8 million expansion to Byrd Stadium, a project that will increase overall capacity, add skyboxes complete with catered food and flat panel televisions and lower the field to give spectators a better view.^[1]

The first phase of the expansion plans will be renovating the current press tower and turning it into 64 luxury suites that will stretch from end zone to end zone. This project will be completed by the 2010 season at the latest and possibly by the 2009 season if various factors work out. Byrd will also be getting a second, state-of-the-art LED video board on the west side of the stadium in time for the 2007 season. Phase two of the project will be adding around 8,000 seats to the west end zone and taking total capacity over 60,000. This will be paid for largely with the money generated from suite sales. There will also be numerous cosmetic improvements meant to make the stadium even more fan friendly.

Summer 2007

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip saw their first game of American football at Byrd Stadium during their first trip to the U.S. in the 1950s.
On a clear night, it is possible to see the lights of the Washington Monument, about 8 miles (13 km) away in the District of Columbia, from the top of the stadium.