Carter-Finley Stadium: History, capacity of NC State’s football home & host of the 2023 NHL Stadium Series
For the first time in NHL history, an outdoor game will be played in North Carolina.
NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium will host the 2023 Stadium Series, which will feature the nearby Hurricanes and the Capitals.
This is the fourth time the league has used a college football stadium for the Stadium Series. Previously, the NHL played the event at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium, the Navy’s Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, and the Air Force’s Falcon Stadium.
MORE: Watch NHL Stadium Series 2023 on fuboTV
As it prepares to host the NHL’s outdoor event, The Sporting News takes a peek inside NC State Stadium.
When was Carter Finley Stadium built?
In the 1950s, NC State began replacing Riddick Stadium, the football program’s first home. The system was almost 50 years old and needed to be modernized. Earl Edwards, the NC State coach, was pushing for a bigger and more modern stadium.
NC State and the Wolfpack Club began the process in 1962 and broke ground on construction in 1964. The facility cost around $3.7 million to build but eventually opened in 1966.
Carter Finley Stadium has since undergone a number of refurbishments to expand facilities and capacity.
Where is Carter Finley Stadium?
Carter Finley Stadium is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The field is very conveniently located for the event. The football stadium is directly across from the PNC Arena, home of the Hurricanes.
Carter Finley Stadium capacity
Carter-Finley Stadium is not one of the larger college football venues, but it does seat 56,919.
While other ACC stadiums have larger capacities, Carter-Finley consistently had one of the best attendances at the conference.
What is Carter Finley Stadium named after?
Carter-Finley Stadium was not originally the name for the arena. At first it was just called Carter Stadium, named after brothers Harry and WJ “Nick” Carter. The two were NC State graduates and were instrumental in building the stadium.
In 1979 the name “Finley” was added to make it Carter-Finley Stadium. This was in honor of Raleigh philanthropist AE Finley, who donated $290,000 to help fund the field house at the facility.
What other sporting events took place at Carter-Finley Stadium?
While a majority of the games played at Carter-Finley are college football, the facility has also hosted non-football events.
Carter-Finley was the main venue for the 1999 Special Olympics. Events held at the facility included track and field, handball, softball, soccer and gymnastics.
In addition, the 2011 World Football Challenge hosted a friendly at the stadium between Juventus of Italy’s Serie A and Guadalajara Chivas of Mexico’s Primera Division. Juventus won the friendly game 1-0.