College Stadium, located near modern-day Brewster, Austin, and Rawl buildings, was dedicated on September 15, 1949. It featured a twenty-two-by-eight-foot scoreboard controlled electronically from the press box constructed at the top of the permanent bleachers.1 The scoreboard was donated by Mr. R.W. Roberson Jr., owner of the Dr. Pepper plant and WRRF radio station based in Washington, NC.2
The football field sat at the eastern end of the stadium with permanent bleachers including purchasable reserve seats and a student section. The southern side of the field contained temporary bleachers allowing for a further 1,000 spectators used primarily by students.3 The new stadium also boasted 96 lamps focused on various spots on the field that engineers claimed created “the best lighted field in this section of the state.”4 Several buildings, including New Austin, now reside in the former location of College Stadium.5 It was closed after the opening of Ficklen Stadium.
- Other names
- Athletic Field
- Built
- 1949
- Razed
- 1962
- Construction cost
- $25,000
- History
- In November 1948 about 60 leading business and professional men agreed at a meeting that ECTC should have a football stadium and a progressive athletic program to keep in line with other colleges. $8,000 was pledged at the meeting which was presented to Dr. John D. Messick, president of the College.$25,000 was needed to begin the stadium and lighting facilities and consequently a fundraising campaign was initiated. Dr. Messick also thought that the stadium would attract more males to the college since GI Bill enrollments were declining.
By February 1949, 1,500 individuals and 227 business firms had contributed a sum of $25,730.00. The stadium was completed in 1949 with 2,000 seats. It was dedicated at the Cherry Point Marines-ECTC football game September 21, 1949 and was located just north of the area where Brewster building now stands. It was demolished in 1962 following completion of Ficklen Stadium to the south.
Sources
1 “College Stadium Athletic Field,” photograph, 1950-1951, 55-01-0145, https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22873; “New Stadium gets scoreboard,” Teco Echo, Thursday, Vol XXIV, No. 1, June 23, 1949, p. 3.
2 “New Stadium gets scoreboard,” Teco Echo, Thursday, Vol XXIV, No. 1, June 23, 1949, p. 3.
3 “New Stadium Facts Revealed: New Stadium to be one of the best in North Carolina,” The Teco Echo, Friday, July 15, 1949, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, p. 4.
4 “New Stadium Facts Revealed: New Stadium to be one of the best in North Carolina,” The Teco Echo, Friday, July 15, 1949, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, p. 4.
5 “Little Stadium at End of Road,” The Daily Reflector, November 26, 1962; “Goal of 16,000-Seat Stadium for College,” The Daily Reflector, October 9, 1961.
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