Know Your Stadiums: Liberty Bank Stadium
Liberty Bank Stadium from the air.
The Arkansas State University Red Wolves host their home football games at Liberty Bank Stadium, formerly known as ASU Stadium and Indian Stadium) located on the campus of Arkansas State University. Up to 2007 the stadium was named after the old nickname of the school, the Indians. The capacity is 30,964.
Originally, the stadium could hold 16,343 fans when it originally opened in 1974 when they began playing football. The stadium cost $2.5 million to build, $1.4 of that was raised by alumni and friends of the University. The first game in the stadium was on September 28, 1974 against Louisiana Tech which ASU lost 21-7. The stadium was dedicated on November 2, 1974 when they hosted Northeast Louisiana University, which ASU won 17-14.
In 1980 it was upgraded to hold 18,709. When ASU made the move to Division I in 1991, it was expanded to 30,708 in order to meet the capacity requirements. An upper deck was added to the grandstands and it included a four level press area that included the press box, two donor levels: Happy Hunting Grounds and Chiefs Council. It also included a photo deck with an area for filming, visiting team AD suite, and coaches boothes for both teams.
In 2001 a video scoreboard was built in the South end zone.
In 2002 luxury suites were added to increase the capacity to today’s number of 30,964. The players and coaches also moved into a new complex with office space, dressing rooms, meeting rooms and player lounges. Some areas become suites used during football games, academic study areas, conference rooms, alumni function areas, booster meetings and recruiting areas.
Prior to the 2006 season the University replaced the Bermuda grass field with Pro Green synthetic grass.
The largest crowd at the stadium was when ASU hosted the 25th ranked University of Memphis in 2004. The crowd numbered 30,427 and was designated a sellout. However ASU lost the game 47-35.
The best average attendance for a season is 17,488 in the 2003 season.
View of the Grandstands and Press box at Liberty Bank Stadium from the north end zone.
View of the ASU Football Complex and Video scoreboard in the south end zone of Liberty Bank Stadium.