Dowdy Ficklen Stadium Tickets

The Dowdy Ficklen Stadium is a football field situated in North Carolina. According to estimates, the venue can host over 50,000 people at a time, making it the third largest college football facility in North Carolina. The highest number of crowd (50,610) was present at the venue in October of the year 2011, during a football game of the University of North Carolina. The facility will host many exciting and thrilling football games in the days ahead and this is a chance you would not want to miss if you are a true football lover. Book the Dowdy Ficklen Stadium tickets and be part of the event of your choice.

The Dowdy Ficklen Stadium was constructed in 1962 with a cost of $283,387. The announcement of the construction of a new stadium in place of the existing one was made by president Leo in a meeting. East Carolina University owns and operates the facility and it was named in the honor of James Skinner Ficklen, owner of the E.B. Skinner Tobacco Company in Greenville. The formal inauguration of the stadium was held in September of 1963. At that time, the seating capacity was limited to 10,000.

Dudley and Shoe were the architects of the arena. In 1968, the seating capacity was increased to 20,000 and W.M. Freeman Associates designed the new seating area. In 1970, the stadium was whitewashed by F.A. Miller Company and the lighting system was upgraded with a cost of $450,000 by the L.E. Wooten Company.

In 1977, the seating capacity was increased to 35,000 once again and with this expansion, the field became the third largest stadium in North Carolina. The expansion was carried out with a fund of $2.5 million, which was raised through a campaign. In addition to the seating capacity, a new scoreboard was installed as well. In 1983, the playing surface was renovated and a new drainage system was installed. The sound system was upgraded later in 1988.

In 1991, some renovation and repairs of the sports facility were carried out with a cost of $1.6 million. During 1994, Ronald and Mary Ellen Dowdy from Florida donated 1 million dollars and because of this donation the stadium was renamed to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. A year later, Al and Debbie Bagwell from Virginia donated a huge sum of money and the field inside the facility was named as the Bagwell Field.

In 1998, the seating capacity was again enhanced to 43,000. Later, in 2010, the seating capacity was increased to 50,000 and a new scoreboard, restroom and concession stands were constructed.For the future, it has been planned that the existing seating capacity shall be increased to 58,000 with the addition of a new press box on the stadium's southern side.

Grab the Dowdy Ficklen Stadium tickets now to enjoy all the thrilling encounters of your favorite teams this year.

Boasting to be the third largest college football stadium in North Carolina, Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is home to East Carolina Pirates' football team. This on-campus football stadium has been the site of some of the most exciting college football clashes of the Pirates with other schools. The stadium broke its attendance record in 2011 when 50,610 fans in attendance packed the stadium during Pirates' matchup with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Apart from the regular and post season games of the Pirates, it also hosts the spring training exercises of the university.

The history of the stadium goes all the way back to October 7, 1961 when the plan of a football facility was announced. The aim was to raise the funding amounting to $200,000 for the construction of the facility, however $238,387 was raised within a year, which made it possible for the facility to be built. The stadium opened its doors for audience back on September 21, 1963 with the seating capacity of 10,000. Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium tickets went on sale for the first time for a matchup between Pirates and Wake Forest, out of which Pirates came out on top.

Over the years, several expansions and renovations have been made to the stadium including the early expansions in 1967 and 1968, after which the total seating capacity was increased to 20,000. Originally, the stadium has old lighting system which was also replaced in 1975, and an addition of six lighting towers outside of the stadium was made. Two years later, the seating capacity of the stadium was further increased to 35,000, making it the third largest stadium in North Carolina at that time. During the expansion an addition of the press box was also made that year. On September 13, 2002, an addition of the $13 Million Murphy Center was also made to the west end zone of the stadium. The Center was named after Pete and Lynn Murphy, and it connected Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum with the stadium. The Murphy Center housed academic enhancement center, banquet rooms as well as sports memorabilia.

The overall capacity of the stadium was increased to its current over 50,000 seating capacity during the expansion of the stadium in 2009. In that year, the scoreboard located in the east end zone was removed, and seven thousand seats were added in that place, connecting south and north side seats in a horse shoe pattern. The seating capacity of the stadium is expected to be increased to 58,000 following the near future expansion that has been sanctioned by North Carolina General Assembly. The constant increase in the seating capacity shows the growing fan following of the team as well as the growing demand for the Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium tickets.