Kidd Brewer Stadium is a 30,000-seat

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

located in

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...

. Nicknamed "The Rock," the stadium is the home of the

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and were ...

football team. Kidd Brewer stands above sea level. The Mountaineers boast a 277–81–5 () home record at the stadium.2024 APP STATE FOOTBALL GUIDE
.

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

, accessed February 27, 2025

History

College Field

College Field was

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 ...

(). The

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

played at College Field from 1928 to 1961. The Mountaineers moved across campus to the Conrad Stadium in 1962.

Conrad Stadium

Officially opened on September 15, 1962, as Conrad Stadium, in honor of former university trustee and

R. J. Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer and major slaveowner, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry Col ...

executive William J. Conrad, the

was originally constructed with 10,000 permanent seats. It became the first venue in either

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

to install

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

. The Mountaineers and Elon staged the first game on artificial turf in the Carolinas on October 3, 1970. Seating capacity was expanded to 18,000 following the 1978 season. The stadium was the backdrop for the second college football game ever televised by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

as the Mountaineers played the

Western Carolina Catamounts The Western Carolina Catamounts are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I as members of the Southern Conference. Western Carolina fields 16 varsity sports t ...

for the Old Mountain Jug in 1979. Conrad Stadium was renamed on September 3, 1988 in honor of

Kidd Brewer Pierce Oliver "Kidd" Brewer (May 5, 1908 – November 22, 1991) was an American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two ...

, one of the most successful head coaches in Appalachian football history and a colorful part of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

history. Brewer, a

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

native, served as head football coach of the Mountaineers from 1935 to 1938, compiling a 30–5–3 overall mark in his four seasons at the helm of the Apps. An

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, Brewer's 1937 squad was unbeaten and unscored upon in the regular season. Appalachian carried a 30-game home winning streak, the longest in Division I at the time, before losing to the

Georgia Southern Eagles The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic team(s) of Georgia Southern University (GS). The Eagles compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A) and are members of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. Prior to jo ...

on October 20, 2007. Prior to that game, the Mountaineers' last home loss was in the first round of the playoffs, 13–14, to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

on November 30, 2002.

Renovations

Completion of an extensive renovation and restoration project on the original 10,000 seats in 1995 readjusted the

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

to 16,650. A then-state-of-the-art "AppVision" video board was added in 1999 and enlarged prior to the 2001 campaign. Appalachian State was also one of the initial collegiate programs in the country to install

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 ...

at its football stadium in 2003. Following the 2006 season, the press box was removed to make way for a new stadium complex. The complex houses state-of-the-art

strength and conditioning Strength may refer to: Personal trait *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths, Values in Action Inventory *The exercise of Self-control, willpower Phys ...

and athletic training facilities to benefit all 20 of Appalachian's varsity sports, as well as extensive locker rooms, academic, office and meeting space for ASU student-athletes, coaches and administrators. However, the most visible element of the crown jewel of ASU athletics' $50 million facilities enhancement campaign is the addition of premium seating on the stadium's west side, in the way of 18 luxury suites, 500 club seats and spacious Yosef Club and Chancellor's Box areas. An additional 4,400 seats were added to the east side stands prior to the 2008 season, which brought the total

to 20,150. The addition of the new seats was completed in time for the home opener against

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

on September 6, 2008. Also new for 2008 was an upgraded AppVision video board which was nearly double the size of the 2001 screen.

Current

In 2009, the Kidd Brewer Stadium complex was completed prior to the home opener against McNeese State. Total seating capacity for 2009 was increased to 21,650 with the opening of the additional premium seating, which includes the 18 luxury suites and 500 club seats in the Yosef Club and Chancellor's Box areas. Prior to the 2011 season, temporary bleachers were installed behind the North Endzone. The additional 1,500 seats brought capacity to 23,150. The temporary section was further expanded prior to the 2012 season, which brought capacity to 24,050. 2013 saw small ribbon boards installed on the stadium's east and west seating areas. In 2016, 2,500 seats were installed in the North end zone, replacing the previous bleachers, along with additional concession stands. This was done partly in preparation for a home game against the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. In 2017, plans were announced for a new video board and ribbon boards to be installed in August. The new board would be around three times as large as the former screen. The work was completed in time for the 2017 season. Along with the north end zone complex, 2020 also saw new FieldTurf installed and the hill behind the north end zone was regraded, bringing it closer to the field, as well as the removal of the track around the field.

End zone expansion

In 2018, App State approved a new north end zone expansion, replacing Owens Field House. The building adds around 1,000 seats to the stadium. It also accommodates a wide variety of athletics and academic uses. Construction started in 2019 and finished by the Spring of 2021. The North End Zone complex opened for the first home game of the 2021 season against Elon.

Largest Attendance

Concerts

Kidd Brewer Stadium has hosted concerts by Appalachian State alumnus

Luke Combs Luke Albert Combs (born March 2, 1990) is an American country music, country singer. He was born in North Carolina and grew up there, performing as a child. After leaving college to pursue a career in music, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, Nas ...

as well as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell ( ; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. One of the most celebrated contemporary songwriters in his genre, his lyrics are defined by their raw emotional honesty. Isbell began his career as a me ...

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carol ...

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: ''Love Like Crazy'', ''Hard 2 Love (Lee B ...

, and

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...

Gallery

File:KiddBrewerStadium(PanoramaFromSE).jpg , Panorama looking Northwest towards the stadium File:KiddBrewerStadium(PanoramaFromN).jpg , Panorama looking South towards the stadium File:KiddBrewer2010-1.jpg , A snowy Kidd-Brewer Stadium played host to an

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

playoff game between

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

and

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of 90° Longitude West) t ...

on December 4, 2010. File:KiddBrewer2011-1.jpg , View of the East stands in 2011 File:KiddBrewer2011-4.jpg , Howard's Knob and the

campus as seen from the West End Seats and the old Owens Field House. File:KiddBrewer2011-2.jpg , The Marching Mountaineers practice in the early morning hours. File:KiddBrewer2011-3.jpg , The

take the field in 2011. File:KiddBrewer2009-1.jpg , A shot from Howard's Knob of Kidd-Brewer Stadium in 2009. File:KBSOwens.jpg , Owens Field House with Howard's Knob and Carol Grotnes Belk Library in the background. File:KBSEastStands.jpg , East stands in 2007 File:KBSBank.jpg , Stadium attendance routinely tops 20,000 with grass seating and standing room crowds. File:KBSBand.jpg , Marching Mountaineers performing prior to kick off File:App_State_Field_Storming.jpg , After defeating nationally ranked Coastal Carolina on an

nationally televised game, students and fans storm the field in celebration

References

External links

College Field
- Appalachian State University Historical Photographs Collection {{WNC sports venues Appalachian State Mountaineers football Athletics (track and field) venues in North Carolina College field hockey venues in the United States College football venues in North Carolina Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States 1962 establishments in North Carolina Sports venues completed in 1962 College track and field venues in the United States

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...