The University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field is an 18,500-capacity

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

located in downtown

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, near the

West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedi ...

complex. It features a

FieldTurf FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett. FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility i ...

playing field for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and facilities for

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

competitions. The University of Charleston Stadium is the home of the American football team of the Charleston Golden Eagles. It was finished in 1979, as a complete rebuild of a previous facility. It is owned by Kanawha County Schools. In 2003, because the school board lacked funds to maintain the stadium, it entered into a joint venture with the private

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...

. UC invested over $1.5 million to replace the turf, add locker rooms and a skybox, and make other improvements in exchange for access and naming rights. Originally the home field of Capital High School football after the consolidation Stonewall High School and Charleston High School. Multiple

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

and community teams also play at the location. It hosts the state high school track and field championships. The field has also played host to multiple high school playoff games as well as being host to the State Championships before their move to Wheeling in the 90's. It also hosts the

Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival The Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival (formerly Daily Mail) is an annual festival dedicated to the public high school marching bands and majorette corps in Kanawha County, West Virginia. It is the longest running music festiva ...

, an annual marching band festival held at the end of September. Record attendance for this stadium was set at a local high school contest, Charleston High School vs. Stonewall Jackson High School in the latter part of the 1980s, later to be locally called "The Game" of the century. Record attendance was set at over 21,000. Later, when Capital High and Riverside High met when both were undefeated and ranked 1 and 2 in the state, there again were over 20,000 in attendance. The WVSSAC announced on February 22, 2024 Laidley Field would play host to the new 4 Class (Quad A) State Championship Football games beginning in 2024.

References

{{Coord, 38.344048, -81.615158, type:landmark, display=title College football venues in West Virginia Charleston Golden Eagles football Soccer venues in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Charleston, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Kanawha County, West Virginia Sports venues completed in 1979 1979 establishments in West Virginia