Check out the story of Carter-Finley Stadium’s design

This isn’t a new video, but I’d never seen it before NC State bumped it on Twitter, so it’s new to me! And possibly to some of you.

The school’s website has a bunch more on the genesis of that facility, including a whole bunch of old photos and lots of fun facts. RIP to the fish hatchery:

A lake that had been as a research fish hatchery was drained to help create the bowl of the stadium, while fields of alfalfa hay and corn were plowed under, cleared and leveled to create the expansive parking lots.

Also, if you want to get an idea of just how terrible the football program’s facilities were right up until Chuck Amato got the ball rolling on updates, well:

Less than 10 months before construction was completed, Raleigh philanthropist A.E. Finley and Associates gave $290,000 to finance a fieldhouse in the north end zone, with lockerroom facilities for two 55-player teams.

And that was for 55 1960s-sized players! In the ‘60s, football players only weighed on average 127 pounds*. Never mind that modern football programs get 86 scholarship players. Try to imagine having to recruit using those locker rooms. I mean I’m sure they made some improvements to that building over time, but still.

(*I may have made that up.)

I wonder sometimes how things would be different if NC State made a legitimate investment in football when everybody else was doing the same, rather than waiting until the program had been lapped twice. Thank goodness that the priorities have changed now.