Riddick Stadium (opened 1907, closed 1965) was a
college football stadium in
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...
, and home to the
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...
Wolfpack football team. When the stadium was first opened, it was referred to as New Athletic Park. Later it was named Riddick Field and then Riddick Stadium, after
W. C. Riddick, N.C. State football coach during the 1898 and 1899 seasons. The Wolfpack baseball team also played its home games in the stadium prior to moving to
Doak Field.
Prior to moving to the Riddick site, the Wolfpack had played their games at Athletic Park (now
Pullen Park) and at the
North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
The stadium initially had only wooden
bleachers on the
sidelines
The "sidelines" are the white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field, running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the goal lines. The sidelines are also where the coaching staff and players out of play ope ...
, but over the years concrete bleachers were built and a fieldhouse was erected behind the south
end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
. The NC State Wolfpack defeated Florida State 3-0 in the final game ever played in Riddick Stadium on November 13, 1965.
It was one of the smallest stadiums in the country; it never seated more than 23,000 people, and never had more than 14,000 permanent seats. By the 1950s, it was at the end of its useful life, and the Wolfpack were often forced to play more games on the road than at home.
The stadium was partially demolished in 1968, three years after the opening of its replacement, Carter Stadium (now
Carter-Finley Stadium.
The east stands and the field were replaced by a parking lot, and the field house became the campus police station. The west stands remained and served a number of functions through the years, including a residence hall in the 1940s and the home of the University Planning office until their demolition in the summer of 2005. The former field house, the last remaining remnant of the stadium, was demolished in March 2013. SAS Hall, the new mathematics and statistics building, occupies the former site.
References
External links
A photo of early baseball action at the field
{{Triangle sports venues
NC State Wolfpack football venues
American football venues in North Carolina
Defunct college football venues
Sports venues completed in 1907
Sports venues demolished in 2005
1907 establishments in North Carolina
Demolished sports venues in the United States
2005 disestablishments in North Carolina