Kidd Brewer Stadium

Kidd Brewer Stadium
"The Rock"
Location	1 Jack Branch Drive Boone, North Carolina 28608
Opened	September 15, 1962
Owner	Appalachian State University
Operator	Appalachian State University
Surface	FieldTurf
Tenants	Appalachian State Mountaineers (NCAA) (1962-present)
Capacity	10,000 (1962-1978) 18,000 (1979-1994) 16,650 (1995-present)

Kidd Brewer Stadium is Appalachian State University's (ASU) 16,650-seat multi-purpose stadium in Boone, North Carolina. Nicknamed "The Rock," it is the home of the Mountaineers, the NCAA 2005 Division I-AA, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions in football. It is also the home of the school's field hockey and track and field teams. The stadium has undergone many face lifts since its construction, but still stands as a beacon to the Mountaineer faithful. The stadium stands 3,280 feet above sea level with the track measured at 3,333 feet (1,106 m) for NCAA qualifications. Despite the standard salutation afforded to all visitors to Kidd Brewer Stadium, The Rock has offered anything but a warm welcome to opponents since it opened as Conrad Stadium on September 15, 1962. One of the most picturesque settings in all of college football, Kidd Brewer Stadium also stakes claim to being one of the toughest venues in the nation for a visiting team to leave with a victory. Appalachian boasts a 189-59-5 record all-time.

History

Officially opened on September 15, 1962 as Conrad Stadium, in honor of former University trustee and R.J. Reynolds executive William J. Conrad, the stadium was originally constructed with 10,000 permanent seats. Seating capacity was expanded to 18,000 following the 1978 season. Completion of an extensive renovation and restoration project on the original 10,000 seats in 1995 readjusted the seating capacity to its current 16,650. A state of the-art “AppVision” video board was added in 1999 and enlarged prior to the 2001 campaign, while Appalachian was one of the initial collegiate programs in the country to install FieldTurf at its football venue in 2003. Conrad Stadium was renamed on Sept. 3, 1988 in honor of Kidd Brewer, one of the most successful head coaches in Appalachian football history and a colorful part of North Carolina history. Brewer, a Winston-Salem, native who served as head football coach of the Mountaineers from 1935-38, complied a 30-5-3 overall mark in his four seasons at the helm of the Apps. An All-American at Duke, Brewer’s 1937 squad was unbeaten and unscored upon in the regular season. Appalachian carried a 30 game winning streak, the longest in Division I at the time, into the Georgia Southern game before losing on October 20, 2007. The Mountaineers previous was loss was in the first round of the playoffs 14-13 to Maine on November 30, 2002.

Current

In the past several years, dozens of major collegiate athletics programs, as well as twenty-two National Football League teams and three Major League Baseball teams have joined Appalachian in installing FieldTurf at their venues. Appalachian has long been a pioneer of artificial playing surfaces across the Southeast, as Kidd Brewer Stadium was the first facility in either North or South Carolina to install an artificial surface. Appalachian and Elon staged the first collegiate game on fake grass in the Carolinas on October 3, 1970. The Rock is currently in the midst of its most extensive facelift to date. Following the 2006 season,the KBS press box was removed to make way for a new 100,000-square-foot stadium complex. The complex will house state-of-the-art strength and conditioning and athletic training facilities to benefit all 18 of Appalachian’s varsity sports, as well as extensive locker rooms, academic, office and meeting space for ASU student-athletes, coaches and administrators. However, the most visible element of the crown jewel of ASU athletics’ $50 million facilities enhancement campaign is the addition of premium seating on the stadium’s west side, in the way of 18 luxury suites, 500 club seats and spacious Yosef Club and Chancellor’s Box areas. An additional 5,000 seats are also being added to the east side stands.

Largest crowds

Gallery

West stands in 2007. Temporary coaches boxes have replaced the press box.	Owens Field House with Howard's Knob and Carol Grotnes Belk Library in the background.	East stands in 2007.	With grass seating and standing room crowds, stadium attendance routinely tops 20,000.
Marching Mountaineers performing prior to kick off.

Trivia

• The 1979 contest between Appalachian and Western Carolina in Boone was the second college football game ever televised by ESPN.
• Appalachian is 11-0 in games televised on the ESPN family of networks. (12/9/07)

• Kidd Brewer Stadium is at coordinates 36°12′42″N 81°41′08″W / 36.211554, -81.685545Coordinates: 36°12′42″N 81°41′08″W / 36.211554, -81.685545