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The home of Wake Forest Football is Groves Stadium, considered to be one of the most beautiful stadiums of its size in the nation. The facility, now nearing completion of its third decade of service, has undergone a $1.5 million refurbishing during the past two years which has added significantly to both its appearance and utility heading toward the year 2000. And more improvements are currently in progress, too. Bridger Field House, which has housed locker room facilities for both the home and visiting teams since the stadium opened, is being completely re-construction its present site at the north end of the playing field. A $7.5 million new Bridger Field House will be in place there for the 1997 season. Dedicated on September 14, 1968, in a 10-6 loss to rival N.C. State, Groves Stadium represents an extensive fund-raising effort undertaken by the college during the mid-1960's which, for all practical purposes, made possible Wake Forestıs continued membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The stadium, which has 31,500 permanent seats and one of the finest natural grass playing surfaces in the Southeast, is located between Reynolds and Deacon Boulevards, one mile from the center of the Wake Forest campus. It also is part of the athletic center of Winston-Salem which includes the modern 14,500-seat Lawrence Joel Coliseum, home of the ACC champion Wake Forest basketball team, as well as Ernie Shore Stadium, where the professional minor-league baseball Winston-Salem Warthogs play each summer. The most modern technology available is also present at Groves with its state-of-the-art scoreboard and computerized message center at the south end of the playing field. The scoreboard, a very popular item with Deacon fans, was installed just two years ago. A five-level press box, which houses the athletic department and university box seat areas, as well as a media facility, is located on the west side. Colorful pennants representing all nine ACC schools fly from atop both seating areas. The history of Groves Stadium can be traced back to the original home of the university in the eastern North Carolina village of Wake Forest. When the school announced its planned move to Winston-Salem in 1948, the Groves family, led by Henry (the original stadium's primary benefactor) and his brother Earl, made an additional financial commitment to insure that their family name would remain on whatever new facility that the football program would construct. The new stadium, however, remained only a dream for nearly two decades. The actual cost of the campus' relocation to Winston-Salem was much greater than first anticipated, and more pressing physical needs in academic areas took precedence. The Deacons had scheduled frequent dates in Winston-Salem's Bowman Gray Stadium in the years preceding the college's move and made that 16,000-seat facility their permanent home in 1956. Winston-Salem philanthropist Charles H. Babcock donated a 77-acre plot of land for the building of a new stadium, but each time that the project seemed about to become a reality, other needs would emerge. Finally in 1966, a fund-raising campaign was initiated. And while the $1.5 million raised was less than half of the total price tag, construction began the following year. After dropping its opening contest in Groves to N. C. State, the Demon Deacons played Clemson to a 20-20 tie the following Saturday (9/21/68). Their first victory in the facility had to wait until after three straight road dates, when on October 26th of that season, Wake defeated North Carolina, 48-31. Wake Forest has compiled a 57-88-4 record in Groves Stadium. That mark includes two undefeated home seasons, which not surprisingly are two of the finest overall years in Deacon football history. Wake was 4-0 in Groves during its ACC Championship season of 1970; the 1979 squad improved that figure by one win to 5-0 on its way to a Tangerine Bowl bid. Perhaps the most dramatic Groves Stadium victory also occurred during that 1979 season when the Deacs rallied from a 38-20 half-time deficit to defeat Auburn, 42-38. That game marks the only time that two nationally ranked teams have met in Groves. In 1987, Wake Forest and N.C. State, the same two schools that met in Groves Stadiumıs first game, played the 100th contest in the facility's history. This time the Deacs came out on top, 21-3. In 1990, a Groves Stadium milestone-of-sorts was reached when the University of Virginia became the first #1-ranked team to appear there.
Original Groves Stadium The stadium was named in honor of Henry H. Groves, Sr., who passed away in 1985. It was his generous gift that made possible the construction of that structure, which would be the site of some of the finest moments in Wake Forest athletic history. Here the legendary coach D. C. "Peahead" Walker led the Deacons to many memorable victories before standing room only crowds. The Deacs played their final game in old Wake Forest in 1955 before the school moved to Winston-Salem. But the old Stadium had not seen its last action. In 1957, the facility was sold to Wake Forest High School (now Wake Forest-Rolesville High) for the sum of $10 and became the home of high school football and other community events. It was later renamed Trentini Stadium, in memory of the late Tony Trentini, a Wake Forest football player and 1956 graduate, who later returned to serve as the high school team's coach. The current Demon Deacons returned to the original Groves Stadium themselves this past spring, staging a Saturday scrimmage there before an enthusiastic group of former players and alumni.
Directions By car:
From I-40 Bypass (eastbound):
From I-40 Bypass (westbound):
From U.S. 52 (northbound):
From U.S. 52 (southbound):
By air: The Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem is available to charter and private aircraft as well as some commuter flights. By rail:
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP November 13, 2004 - There are two dominant things that hit you as you make your way to Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University... first of all, just look at the name of the city and you know you are in the middle of tobacco country. Non-smoking section in a restaurant? HAH! Well, maybe we're exaggerating. Second, bring your Bible because just church talk is pretty standard around here... flip the AM dial and 9 out 10 channels have some sort of religious programming going. Had enough holy roller talk? OK we park and car and walk into Lawrence Joel Coliseum, time enough to tour the concourses, take some pics and scout out some cool memorabilia. So what's going on in there? Some church convention! Aaarrgghhh! We are outta here. But we're getting ahead of ourselves...To find the venue, you pass downtown and the Wake Forest campus, then head up University Pkwy about one mile, and you will come up to Groves Stadium and the college's basketball venue, Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Built in 1968, Groves Stadium seats just over 31,500 with sideline seating decks and chair back seats running along each sideline. On the west side is a five level press box and suite seating, and a fieldhouse in the north end zone. In the south end zone is a large lawn seating area and a scoreboard and video board. On this day the lawn areas was put to good use, as the rival Tar Heels were in town playing a game with bowl implications. As a result a stadium record crowd of over 37,200 bought tickets to see this game, and the house was packed. Besides lawn seating, a couple of other elements make the seating bowl here unique and special. Both end zones are bordered by hedge rows. Also, a platform separates the grandstands from the seating bowl, and the cheerleaders use these platforms to entertain the crowd close up and personal. Atlantic Coast Conference competition is better known for basketball, yet don't tell that to the fans who were here, a decidedly bipartisan crowd and the visiting NC fans especially were loud and boisterous. Their efforts didn't go unrewarded, as the Tar Heels took a 24-10 lead by the 4th quarter and seemed to be coasting to a win. The Deacs came roaring back to tie the score, but North Carolina took the final drive to the end zone, scoring the go ahead touchdown with 36 seconds left and hanging on to win. Final score... North Carolina 31, Wake Forest 24.
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