Know Your Stadiums: Veterans Memorial Stadium In Troy Alabama
Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama. | encyclopediaofalabama.org
Located in Troy, Alabama, Veterans Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 at the cost of $65,000. It was originally dedicated to the Troy State Teachers College students and Pike County residents who had died in World War II. When it was built, it consisted solely of small, 5,000 seat grandstand on the west side of the running track and had been built into the natural slope of the ground.
It has since been expanded several times to it’s present capacity of 30,000.
It has been expanded several times including an addition of an upper deck in 1998 that brought the capacity up to 17,500. The most recent was completed in 2003, the season that the Trojans made the move to Division I-A (FBS). It removed the press box that cut into the upper deck that was constructed in 1998 and replaced it with chair-back seats. A larger press box with 27 luxury boxes was added behind the expanded upper deck.
They also removed the track and lowered the field with more permanent seating placed over the old berm area that was located behind the south grandstand. It is now a “flattened U” shape with the north end still open.
Additionally, they installed a large-screen endzone replay board with a then state of the art Danley Sound System in 2003.
The natural grass surface was replaced with AstroPlay synthetic grass. In 2012, they replaced it with ProGrass synthetic Turf.
The record attendance for a game was recorded on September 15, 2012 in a 30-24 loss to Mississippi State in front of 29,013. Previously the largest was recorded on September 9, 2004 when they defeated #17 ranked Missouri 24-14 in front of 26,574.
It also hosted the Blue-Gray Football Classic in 2003 after moving from the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. It had been held at the Cramton Bowl for 62 consecutive years prior to the move. It was cancelled after the 2003 game for the lack of a title sponsor.
Veteran Memorial Stadium in Troy Alabama. | Wikimedia.org
Concept art showing what Veterans Memorial Stadium might look like after a future expansion. | al.com