Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium

Last updated
Floyd Stadium
MTSU Pressbox.JPG
Floyd Stadium pressbox
USA Tennessee relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Floyd Stadium
Location in Tennessee
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Floyd Stadium
Location in the United States
Full nameJohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Former namesHorace Jones Field (1933–1979)
Location1327 Faulkinberry Drive,
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Coordinates 35°51′02″N86°22′06″W / 35.850513°N 86.368223°W / 35.850513; -86.368223 Coordinates: 35°51′02″N86°22′06″W / 35.850513°N 86.368223°W / 35.850513; -86.368223
Owner Middle Tennessee State University
Executive suites16 indoor, 38 outdoor
Capacity 30,788
Record attendance30,502 on September 10, 2011
(Georgia Tech)
SurfaceGrass (1933–1969)
AstroTurf (1970–2005)
Shaw Sports PowerBlade HP (2006–2014)
Shaw Sports Legion 46 (2014–present)
Construction
Built1933
OpenedOctober 14, 1933;88 years ago (1933-10-14)
Renovated1997–1998
Expanded1940, 1960, 1968
Construction cost$25 million (1997 renovation)
ArchitectBurkhalter-Hickerson
Tenants
MTSU Blue Raiders (NCAA) (1933–present)
Grantland Rice Bowl (1964–1968)
Website
www.goblueraiders.com

Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium is a stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders. It previously served as the home stadium for Riverdale and Oakland high schools, for a long period when those schools did not have stadiums. It later was the home stadium for Siegel High School for a short period, when construction for a stadium was delayed. The stadium is named for Middle Tennessee State University football coach Johnny Floyd.

Contents

History

The stadium was officially named Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium/Horace Jones Field in 1968. Set on the northwest end of campus, Floyd Stadium has undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation over the past few years to make it one of the premier facilities in the region and the Conference USA. The stadium opened its doors on October 14, 1933, with a scoreless tie against Jacksonville State. Originally built as two sideline grandstands on either side of an outdoor track, it was enlarged in 1940, 1960, 1968, and most recently in 1998 to bring it to its current configuration as an octagonal bowl.

Renovations

The move to NCAA Division I-A (FBS) football was the catalyst for the most recent renovation to Floyd Stadium. On August 24, 1995, the University announced plans for a US$25 million renovation, which was approved by the State Building Commission. After a lengthy bid process, ground was officially broken for the stadium in January 1997 with Turner Construction handling the project.

Upon completion, the stadium featured 30,788 seats with only the east side grandstands remaining from the original structure. The old press box gave way to a five-story tower including luxury suites on the third level, a large press area and a few suites on the fourth level, and a camera deck on the fifth level. The renovation also included the addition of more chair-back seats as well as a club level.

The first game in the renovated stadium took place on September 5, 1998. The game, in which Middle Tennessee hosted local rival Tennessee State, drew a then-school record 27,568 fans. The attendance helped push Middle Tennessee over the top for its I-A qualifying attendance of 17,000 per game.

The most recent upgrade came during the summer of 2007 when a new state-of-the-art video board was installed. The 18-by-32-foot (5.5 by 9.8 m) Daktronics display board enhances the overall atmosphere and bring fans even closer to the action.

During the summer of 2006, a new synthetic surface was installed to replace the outdated artificial turf. The school decided to use the Sportexe PowerBlade, a special monofilament polyethylene infilled system designed to maximize player speed and performance and provide superior shock absorbency. Middle Tennessee was the first school in the country to use this top-of-the line surface. In 2012, a new stadium club was built from a $1 million donation from Jeff Hendrix.

In mid-2014, the field surface was again renovated with the installation of Shaw Sports Turf's Legion 46 synthetic turf.

Features

In addition to the spectator facilities, the stadium complex includes a team meeting room, position meeting rooms, a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) weight room for all Middle Tennessee teams, an academic center for Blue Raider student-athletes, and access to Murphy Athletic Center from the stadium via a walkway. The stadium also allows for further expansion that would provide an increase of approximately 40,000 seats, putting capacity over the 70,000 mark.

Floyd Stadium panoramic.jpg
The interior of the stadium as viewed from the student section.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FirstBank Stadium</span> Stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

FirstBank Stadium is a football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the South to be used exclusively for college football, it is the home of the Vanderbilt University football team. Vanderbilt Stadium hosted the Tennessee Oilers during the 1998 NFL season and the first Music City Bowl in 1998 and also hosted the Tennessee state high school football championships for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neyland Stadium</span> American sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee

Neyland Stadium, is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Football League (NFL) exhibition games. The stadium's official capacity is 101,915. Constructed in 1921 as Shields–Watkins Field, the stadium has undergone 16 expansion projects, at one point reaching a capacity of 104,079 before being slightly reduced by alterations in the following decade. Neyland Stadium is the fifth largest stadium in the United States, the seventh largest stadium in the world, and the second largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference. The stadium is named for Robert Neyland, who served three stints as head football coach at the University of Tennessee between 1926 and 1952.

Milan Puskar Stadium American football stadium in West Virginia, US

Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium is an American football stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the campus of West Virginia University. It opened in 1980 and serves as the home field for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. The facility is named for Milan Puskar, a Morgantown resident and founder in of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. who donated $20 million to the university in 2004. The playing surface retains the stadium's original name of Mountaineer Field, which was also the name of WVU's previous football stadium. The stadium’s design was inspired by Jack Trice Stadium, which opened a few years earlier at Iowa State University.

Veterans Memorial Stadium (Troy University)

Veterans Memorial Stadium at Larry Blakeney Field is a stadium in Troy, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Troy University Trojans. The seating capacity is 30,470. The stadium was originally built in 1950, and has regularly been expanded, renovated and improved since then. The stadium was named in honor of the college students and local residents who gave their lives during World War II. The field received its name from retired head coach Larry Blakeney, the coach with the most wins in Troy history.

War Memorial Stadium (Laramie, Wyoming) Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming

War Memorial Stadium, also known as Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It is the home field of the Wyoming Cowboys of the Mountain West Conference. It is the largest stadium in the state, and the only college football venue in the state. The field is named after a natural gas field at the Green River Basin in Sublette County.

Scheumann Stadium American football stadium on the Ball State University campus in Muncie, IN, US

Scheumann Stadium, formerly known as Ball State Stadium, is in Muncie, Indiana. It is primarily used for football, and it is the home field of the Ball State University Cardinals. The stadium opened in 1967, and it has a capacity of 22,500 for football games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium</span> Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas

Bill Snyder Family Stadium is a stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. It is used for American football, and is the home field of the Kansas State University Wildcats football team. It is named after the family of head coach Bill Snyder. Over the past 31 seasons – from 1990 through the 2021 season – K-State is 164–49–1 (.769) at home.

M. M. Roberts Stadium

MM Roberts Stadium, also known as "The Rock", is an American football stadium located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is the home of The University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folsom Field</span> Stadium in Colorado, USA

Folsom Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the Western United States, located on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder. It is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12 Conference.

Centennial Bank Stadium

Centennial Bank Stadium is located on the campus of Arkansas State University and is home to their college football team, the Red Wolves. The stadium was named after the old nickname of the school, the Indians, until the 2007 season when it was renamed ASU Stadium. The venue was again renamed in September 2012 after Liberty Bank donated approximately $5 million to the university, and was renamed in 2013 after Liberty Bank was bought by Centennial Bank. The stadium currently has a capacity of 30,406.

University Stadium (Albuquerque) Stadium at the University of New Mexico

University Stadium is an outdoor football stadium located on the south campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is the home field of New Mexico Lobos football, which competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The stadium opened in September 1960 and currently has a seating capacity of 39,224. The playing surface, named Turner & Margaret Branch Field, is oriented in the north-south configuration that is traditional for football venues. The stadium sits nearly a mile above sea level, at an elevation of 5,100 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaught–Hemingway Stadium</span> Outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi

Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field is an outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi, United States. The stadium serves as the home for the University of Mississippi Rebels college football team. The stadium is named after Johnny Vaught and Judge William Hemingway. Since its expansion in 2016, it is the largest stadium in the state of Mississippi with a capacity of 64,038 and also holds the state record for attendance at 66,176.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murphy Center</span>

Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center is the name of the main athletic department building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The building opened December 11, 1972, and is named in honor of former athletics director Charles M. "Bubber" Murphy, a standout athlete at the college in the 1930s, who also served as head coach of Middle Tennessee State's football (1947–1968), basketball (1948–1949), and baseball programs.

Delaware Stadium Multi-purpose stadium in Newark, Delaware

Delaware Stadium is a 18,800-seat multi-purpose stadium in Newark, Delaware, and is home to the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. The stadium is part of the David M. Nelson Athletic Complex, which includes the Bob Carpenter Center, Fred P. Rullo Stadium, the Fred Rust Ice Arena and the Delaware Field House.

Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts, on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortera Stadium</span>

Fortera Stadium is a stadium located on the campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. It opened in 1946 and is the home venue for the Austin Peay Governors football team.

Roos Field

Roos Field is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, southwest of Spokane. It is the home venue of the Eastern Washington Eagles of the Big Sky Conference in Division I (FCS).

The 2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University as member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders compiled an overall record of 7–6 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, sharing the Sun Belt title with Troy. Middle Tennessee was invited to the Motor City Bowl, the program's first bowl game at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, where they lost to Central Michigan. The team played home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Intercollegiate sports teams of Middle Tennessee State University

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the men's and women's athletic teams at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MT athletic teams participate in NCAA Division I in Conference USA. MT competed in the Ohio Valley Conference until 2000, and the Sun Belt Conference until 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertsons Stadium</span> American football stadium at Boise State University

Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco Stadium for its first 44 seasons, it was renamed in May 2014 when Albertsons, a chain of grocery stores founded by Boise area resident Joe Albertson, purchased the naming rights.