Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium

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Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium - Football

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Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium, which celebrated its 50th birthday during the 2000 season, has been home to national championship football and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, and to more than 50 ACC track and field champions. It played host to the Queen of England at a football game, and was the stage where the greatest high hurdler in history, Renaldo Nehemiah, performed his amazing feats. It also has been a regular site for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final Four, where several attendance records have been shattered.

Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium - it’s the first-class home to the Maryland Terrapins and will continue to improve as an extensive expansion project begins after this season.

Situated at the foot of the campus’ North Hill, the stadium is named for Dr. H.C. Byrd, a multi-sport athlete as an undergraduate who later became head football coach and eventually served as university president. His vision gave University of Maryland preeminence among Eastern campus sports facilities for decades and the impetus for the Terrapins to win more ACC championships than any league school.

Since opening on Sept. 30, 1950, when Maryland defeated Navy 35-21 in the dedication game before a school-record crowd of 43,386 fans, Byrd has undergone a number of major facelifts, three of which occurred in the 1990s and have resulted in its present form. The first came shortly after the 1990 home season, when the Tyser Tower press box — a fantastic five-tier, 90-foot high, 160-foot long structure — was built on the stadium’s south rim. Tyser Tower accommodates 300 exterior luxury seats, a hospitality suite with theater-style seating, a spacious working press area, television and radio booths, and a photo deck.

In 1991, construction was completed on a beautiful new football complex — since named the Gossett Football Team House — just beyond the east end zone. This $7 million building houses football coaching offices and meeting areas, academic computer lab, locker rooms, weight facility, and a medical support area. A bronze Terrapin sits in front of the team house, its installation coming in 1992 as part of the celebration of the 100th year of football at the university. Following the 1994 campaign, Byrd’s seating capacity increased by more than 12,000 to 48,055 when a massive upper deck was added on the stadium’s north side. The cost for the renovation exceeded $45 million. With the addition of temporary seating—which took place in 2001 and 2002—the stadium’s capacity expanded to house over 51,500 fans.

The refurbishing of Byrd included new restrooms, bleachers and the stadium’s first formal entranceway off of Field House Drive. The Gossett Football Team House, Tyser Tower, concession stands, restrooms and stadium portals, designed by H.O.K. Architects of Kansas City, are enclosed in sand-molded brick that matches the Williamsburgstyle brick used on most of Maryland’s 335 buildings. The brick gives the contemporary architecture a timeless veneer and unity with the university’s traditional Georgian look.

Prior to the 2006 season, Maryland Athletics entered into a partnership with Chevy Chase Bank for naming rights for the field. The ongoing commitment with Chevy Chase Bank will allow the university to add suites to its seating opportunities on the south side of the stadium.

The current expansion project is scheduled to begin in November 2007. Phase One includes the expansion of Tyser Tower along the South concourse, allowing for the addition of 64 suites. Additionally, mezzanine seating for approximately 500 will be added, as well as a University suite for 200 guests. There will also be new work areas for the television, radio and print media, new work area for coaches and gameday staff, a new gameday merchandise outlet, improved seating for disabled customers and a new state-of-the-art scoreboard on the west concourse.

Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium Highlights
1950	Byrd Stadium is constructed at a cost of $1 million. The original capacity was 34,680, but could be boosted to more than 50,000 with temporary bleachers around the rim of the stadium.
1953	Byrd is home to the national champion Terrapin football team.
1955	In a game billed as the "Best of the East" vs. the""Best of the West," Maryland defeated No. 1-ranked UCLA 7-0. Historians called that game one of the greatest of the decade.
1957	Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip visited while former Terp head coach Jim Tatum returned to the scene of his greatest coaching triumphs. The Terps went on to upset North Carolina in what thenhead coach Tommy Mont later called his finest moment as coach.
1974	The legendary Bear Bryant returned to College Park with his third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 14. Temporary bleachers were installed for only the second time in stadium history to accommodate 54,412 fans, then the largest crowd ever at Byrd. Later in the season, on Oct. 11, the then-second-largest crowd (49,647) in Byrd history watched the 15th-ranked Terps defeat 17th-ranked NC State 20-10.
1975	The Byrd Stadium attendance record of 58,973 was set when 14th-ranked Maryland hosted ninth-ranked Penn State. 1983 Byrd Stadium played host to its second-largest crowd, 54,715, as the 17th-ranked Terps met No. 20 West Virginia.
1985	The Terps, ranked No. 1 in the preseason by Sport magazine, set the all-time school home attendance record, averaging 49,385 for five home games.
1994	Following the end of the football season, renovations continued with the addition of an upper deck.
1995	Seating capacity is 48,055 — an increase of 12,000 — following the completion of the upper deck on the stadium’s north side.
2001	The eventual ACC Champion Terps posted a 7-0 record at Byrd Stadium, besting the 6-0 home mark most-recently accomplished by the 1976 team.
2003	Maryland goes 6-0 at home while averaging a school-record 51,236 fans to the six dates at Byrd. Remodeling on the Gossett Football Team House in the end zone nears completion.
2006	Maryland enters a partnership for naming rights for the field. The Terps will now play on Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
2007	Maryland announces Phase One of the stadium expansion which will include 64 luxury suites, 500 mezzanine-level seats, a presidential suite, new work areas for television, radio and print media, a new team shop and a state-of-the-art scoreboard.

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Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium - Men's Lacrosse

Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium, which celebrated its 50th birthday during the 2000 season, has been home to national championship football and men's and women's lacrosse teams, and to more than 50 ACC track and field champions. It hosted the Queen of England at a football game, and was the stage where the greatest high hurdler in history, Renaldo Nehemiah, performed his amazing feats. It also has been a regular site for the NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four, where several attendance records have been shattered.

Situated at the foot of the campus' North Hill, the stadium is named for Dr. H.C. Byrd, a multi-sport athlete as an undergraduate who later became head football coach and eventually served as university president. His vision gave University of Maryland preeminence among Eastern campus sports facilities for decades and the impetus for the Terrapins to win more ACC championships than any league school.

Since opening on Sept. 30, 1950, when Maryland defeated Navy 35-21 in the dedication game before a school-record crowd of 43,386 fans, Byrd has undergone a number of major facelifts, three of which occurred in the 1990s and have resulted in its present form. The first came shortly after the 1990 home season, when the Tyser Tower press box - a fantastic five-tier, 90-foot high, 160-foot long structure - was built on the stadium's south rim. Tyser Tower accommodates 300 exterior luxury seats, a hospitality suite with theater-style seating, a spacious working press area, television and radio booths, and a photo deck.

The refurbishing of Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium included new restrooms, bleachers and the stadium's first formal entranceway off of Field House Drive. The Gossett Football Team House, Tyser Tower, concession stands, restrooms and stadium portals, designed by H.O.K. Architects of Kansas City, are enclosed in sand-molded brick that matches the Williamsburg-style brick used on most of Maryland's 335 buildings. The brick gives the contemporary architecture a timeless veneer and unity with the university's traditional Georgian look.

• Maryland has hosted the NCAA Championship 10 times (1972, 1979, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000), more than any other school.
• Prior to the 2003 NCAA Championships at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland's Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium held every lacrosse attendance record, drawing a then-record crowd of 30,580 to a 1997 semifinal game. The stadium also drew a then-record 26,229 to a title game in 1995.
• Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium also has the second-highest championship weekend attendance of 72,389 also set in 1995.