Oct

4

Photo Series: Riddick Stadium

Written by J. Chavis and filed under Photo Series, Sports 

Riddick1N.C. State has spent a lot of money on its football facilities with the addition of the Murphy Center and the Vaughn Towers. That said, we thought it would be fun to look back at the Pack’s old stomping grounds, Riddick Stadium.

In the first picture you can see a football game being played on Riddick Field. I’m not sure what date the picture was taken, but my guess is the 1920s. The second picture was taken in 1946 during a football game between NCSU and Duke. Notice the upgrades to Riddick Stadium that were added between the first and second photos. I think they came in the 1930s in the form of permanent bleachers and a field house.

Riddick2Until recently, half of Riddick’s permanent bleachers remained on campus. It’s sad that the only thing left of the stadium these days is the field house pictured in the second photograph. I’ve read that it’s scheduled to be demolished in a year or two and there are no plans to commemorate the stadium with so much as a statue or a plaque. Something should be done about that.

By the time State finally got around to building Carter Stadium, (the Finley part came later) Riddick was badly outdated. In fact, State tried to schedule away games just to avoid playing in the old stadium. Further, when they recruited Roman Gabriel, they took him to Reynolds Coliseum but didn’t even show him the football field. I think they probably handle recruiting a little differently these days.

On the subject of Carter-Finley, while I love all the tailgating space it offers, there are definitely times when I wish it was located closer to campus. It must’ve been a much different experience for the State students of the early 1900s to attend games at Riddick Stadium. (They sure look like they’re having fun)

Find NC State sports news on WolfpackWire.com.

(Photos courtesy of the Raleigh City Museum - Click on thumbnails for full size images)

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One Response to “Photo Series: Riddick Stadium”

  1. Leo on October 5th, 2007 7:56 am

    Syme hall had to be THE spot to stay in back in those days.

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