The first game at what was previously known as Scott Field came with an MSU win over Marion (Ala.) Military Institute, 54-0, on Oct. 3, 1914. More than a century later, Scott Field remains, now surrounded by a top-tier facility that frequently draws jam-packed, raucous crowds.
Originally christened after Olympic track and field athlete Don Magruder Scott, one of State’s first football stars, the 107-year-old facility – which makes it the nation’s second-oldest FBS on-campus football stadium – has undergone multiple renovation and expansion projects during its history to maintain its status as a destination venue.
More than $110 million in football projects have been initiated in the last decade. Of that figure, $75 million of it went towards the nationally-praised 2014 expansion.
More recent additions have featured the creation of an innovative, unique premium seating area in the upper deck of the stadium’s west side. Known as The Balconies at Davis Wade Stadium, occupants have the chance to customize and enjoy a tailgate-style scene inside the venue. The stadium’s videoboards and ribbon boards were all replaced and updated prior to the 2022 season, giving fans as immersive of an experience as possible.
Located on both ends of the stadium's west side upper deck, The Balconies at Davis Wade Stadium provide occupants with an in-venue extension of the tailgating scene.
Seeing an opportunity to do something creative, The Bulldog Club worked with LPK Architects out of Meridian, Mississippi, as well as global design firm Populous and challenged them to come up with ideas for an exciting alternative to the traditional football viewing experience.
The result? A new, permanent creation built by Codaray Construction of Ridgeland, Mississippi, that features a total of 22 Balconies – 11 on each end of the upper deck – all designed to give occupants a flexible, mobile football viewing experience.
It's a spot where the tailgate never really has to stop. Those who enjoy the Balconies at Davis Wade Stadium are allowed to service their area prior to gameday like other premium areas in the venue. Each Balcony offers storage space for a fan's favorite beverages and food items and provides access to a limited number of pre-packaged bags of ice just steps away. There are also electrical outlets for fans to setup a small fridge, fans or lighting. Removable shading was also installed at the back of each box.
A state-of-the-art locker room in the north end zone of Davis Wade Stadium was completed in August 2018.
The players’ locker room features a high-gloss metal panel ceiling, color-changing LED linear lighting, internally lit ceiling logos and a state-of-the-art sound system.
In addition, a new recruiting lounge spanning more than 3,000 square feet is adjacent to the locker room. The previous home locker room in the south end zone now serves as the visiting team locker room.
The $3.6 million project was privately funded through the Bulldog Club. LPK Architects was the project’s architect. ICM was the construction manager, and Copeland and Johns served as the general contractor.
Completed in August 2014, the north end zone expansion increased capacity, provided additional premium seating, elevators, restrooms and concessions and delivered a new west side concourse. Construction began in August 2012.
The construction contract for the project was awarded to the Harrell Contracting Group of Jackson, Mississippi. Harrell won the construction project in a university sealed bid process.
. The north end zone addition created a total of 8,815 new seats, which, factored with the loss of the previously existing bleacher seating in the north end zone, resulted in a net 6,255-seat increase. Included in that expansion were 7,076 grandstand seats, 1,155 Scoreboard Club seats, 236 loge seats, 22 traditional suites totaling approximately 288 seats and 60 field-level suite seats. Additionally, standing room availability and ADA-compliant seating were included in the project.
The north end also features a high-definition video board similar in size to the one on the stadium’s south end, which is among the largest in college football.
The west side renovation showcased a rebuilt concourse under the west stands, the addition of four high-capacity elevators, an increase in restroom and concession point of sale facilities and a brick facade that matches the new construction on the north side.
In 2014, fans saw the number of elevators at Davis Wade Stadium more than double (from five to 12), the restroom fixture total nearly double (from 313 to 621), and permanent concession point of sale positions increase by over 40 percent (from 110 to 156).
For media, the project included a new television compound away from the stadium property. The TV compound is now located west of the stadium, allowing network broadcast trucks to connect to stadium equipment via underground cable runs.
The renovation and expansion was funded by the sale of $68 million in bonds and $7 million in private giving. Private contributions for the stadium project were part of the Bulldog Club’s “Today. Tomorrow. Forever” Athletics Facilities Initiative, which is completely independent of annual giving and priority seating donations.
Construction and renovation design for the Davis Wade Stadium expansion and renovation was handled by local architect LPK of Meridian, Mississippi, along with national sports consultants 360 Architecture of Kansas City. The design team engineered the north end zone facility to support future expansion of approximately 5,000 seats, including 22 additional suites and an upper deck.
Prior to 2014, the previous expansion came in the summer of 2000 and raised capacity to 55,082 with the addition of 50 skyboxes and 1,700 club-level seats. The expansion continued into the 2001 season with the addition of 7,000 upper-deck seats. The entire project, completed at a cost in excess of $30 million, was made possible, in large part, by a financial commitment from the late Floyd Davis Wade Sr., of Meridian, Mississippi, for whom the stadium itself is now named.
Earlier building efforts in 1936 and 1948 brought capacity at Scott Field to 35,000 seats and provided the basic concrete grandstand structure (35 years after the 1948 expansion, the end zone seating structures were removed, lowering the capacity to 32,000 in 1983). But after 25 years, Scott Field was ready for another facelift and an expanded seating potential for the school’s growing following.
A $7.2 million drive in 1986, spearheaded by former MSU athletic director Carl Maddox and an active group of university and community leaders, financed the addition of 9,000 seats to Scott Field’s capacity without the use of appropriated state funding. A 5,500-seat upper deck, an additional 1,700 chair back seats that extend from the stadium’s original structure, and another 1,000 chair back seats flanking the Bob Hartley Press Box on the second level were added to the west side. Two 1,700-seat sections were added to the east side stands to bring capacity to 40,656.
ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Earning a reputation of being one of the nation’s toughest places to play, the facility has been host to average attendances in excess of 55,000 the last six seasons. In fact, the last 10 years have seen the largest cumulative totals in the stadium’s history.
In 2011, the program watched as each game recorded a then top-15 all-time attendance mark at Davis Wade Stadium, including 57,871 against Alabama (second) and 56,924 vs. LSU (then fourth). The 335,695 total fans to watch a game in Starkville was then the highest ever for a six-game schedule at the venue.
State fans broke the school record for total attendance again in 2013 with 389,868 total fans, including a seven-game record average of 55,695. On Nov. 16, 2013, 57,211 people wrapped in Maroon and White attended the Alabama game, the fourth-largest crowd in school history.
During the memorable 2014 campaign, the first in the new expansion, MSU set attendance records for single-season total attendance (427,892), single-game average attendance (61,127) and single-game attendance (62,945). The 2014 Bulldogs also tied the school record for home wins as their 7-0 mark matched the 1999 team. The seven home victories also helped State to the first 10-win regular season in program history.
MSU broke total attendance (432,490) and single-game average attendance (61,784) for the third straight year in 2015. That year, the Bulldogs eclipsed 50,000 in season ticket sales for the first time in program history. The previous high for season ticket sales was 45,575 in 2014, and prior to that was 43,894 in 2013.
A sea of Maroon and White in The Junction turned out for the first-ever SEC Nation broadcast in Starkville on the SEC Network prior to State’s thumping of Texas A&M on Oct. 4, 2014. One week later, ESPN College GameDay made its first appearance in Starkville as No. 3 MSU battled No. 2 Auburn in a matchup of the highest ranked teams in the stadium’s history. ESPN personality Lee Corso donned a Bulldog mascot head to a roar from the crowd. Hours later, MSU topped Auburn, 38-23, before a record crowd of 62,945 in the loudest game in school history. The victory ascended the program to its first No. 1 national ranking.
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY
In 2014, MSU celebrated 100 years of Scott Field in conjunction with the expansion and renovation of Davis Wade Stadium, which was built in 1914. Scott Field is the second-oldest on-campus stadium in FBS behind Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.