McLane Stadium

McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas that is owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named Baylor Stadium, the facility's name was changed to McLane Stadium in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business magnate Drayton McLane, Jr., who provided the lead gift in the fundraising campaign for the stadium construction.[8] Baylor's first game at McLane was played August 31, 2014, with the Bears defeating SMU 45–0.[9] The stadium has a capacity of 45,140 spectators and was designed to be expandable to a capacity of 55,000 as future needs require.[10] McLane Stadium replaced Floyd Casey Stadium as the home field for the Baylor Bears football program.[4]

For the similarly named baseball stadium, see Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium at John H. Kobs Field.

McLane Stadium
McLane Stadium south end zone construction photo July 16, 2014
McLane Stadium
Location in Texas
McLane Stadium
Location in the United States
Location1001 S M.L.K. Jr Blvd. Waco, Texas 76704
Coordinates31.5582°N 97.1157°W / 31.5582; -97.1157
OwnerBaylor University
OperatorBaylor University
Capacity45,140[1][2]
SurfaceMatrix Turf (2014–present)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 15, 2012[3]
OpenedAugust 2014
Construction cost$266 million
ArchitectPopulous[4]
Structural engineerBuro Happold[5]
Services engineerM-E Engineers, Inc.[6]
General contractorFlintco/Austin Commercial[7]
Tenants
Baylor Bears (NCAA) (2014–present)

Events
McLane Stadium before its inaugural Baylor game.

The first college football game in McLane Stadium was a 45–0 Baylor win over SMU, in the 2014 season opener, on August 31, 2014.[9][11] The Bears followed up their first victory with a 70-6 win over FCS opponent Northwestern State.

In addition to sporting events, Baylor and the city of Waco plan to use the venue to host concerts and other community events such as The Gathering[12] (a local gathering of churches on Palm Sunday). The stadium features the Baylor Club, a dining and event space located on the stadium's west side.[13] The Baylor Club ballroom offers floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the field and panoramic views of the Brazos River and Waco.

Features
McLane Stadium video board

The stadium is located on the north bank of the Brazos River, one of a few major college football stadiums (along with Neyland Stadium, Husky Stadium and Heinz Field) where fans can arrive at the stadium by boat. Fans can "sailgate" in the Baylor Basin, a cove that adjoins the stadium.[14]

The stadium contains 39 suites, 74 loge boxes, 1,200 outdoor club seats, 3,000 seats for the Baylor Line< student group, and 6,700 total student seats.[15]

Video board

The stadium includes a large high-definition LED video board behind the south end zone. The board has an area of 5,029 square feet, ranking it as the 13th largest college football video board in the nation as of April 2014.[16]

McLane also features ribbon displays around the stadium's horseshoe configuration, measuring 1,254 feet in length. To complement the video board, Baylor released an in-game mobile app that enables fans to stream live footage, watch game replays from a variety of angles, and access current game statistics. To accommodate usage of the app, the stadium is outfitted with free Wi-Fi.[17] The video board from Baylor's previous football stadium, Floyd Casey Stadium, was installed at the university's baseball field, Baylor Ballpark.[18]

Locker room
McLane Stadium locker room

Baylor constructed a 7,500-square-foot home locker room.[19] Designed as an oval in the shape of a football, the facilities feature over 120 cherry wood lockers.[19] Additionally, the center of the room's ceiling features a large illuminated "BU" logo.

McLane Stadium attendance records

Single Game Attendance

RankAttendanceDateOpponentScoreEvent
150,22311/16/2019OklahomaL, 34–31ESPN College GameDay
249,87511/14/2015OklahomaL, 44–34ESPN College GameDay
349,10911/23/2019TexasW, 24–10Clinched Big 12 Championship Game berth
448,12911/5/2016TCUL, 26–22
548,09312/5/2015TexasL, 23-17
647,93412/6/2014Kansas StateW, 38–27ESPN College GameDay; clinched Big 12 title
747,57411/1/2014KansasW, 60–14Homecoming
847,26410/12/2019Texas TechW, 33-30 (2OT)Homecoming; first home game in series since 2007
947,17911/22/2014Oklahoma StateW, 49–28
1046,80310/11/2014TCUW, 61–58

Season average attendance

RankAvg. AttendanceSeasonHome RecordTotal Attendance
146,71020146-0280,257
246,16020154-2276,960
345,83820164-2275,029
445,51720196-1318,621
543,83020170-6262,978
641,33620184-2248,017
Totals 44,915 – 24-13 (.649) 1,661,862

See also

References
  1. http://stadiumdb.com/stadiums/usa/mclane_stadium
  2. Cherry, Brice (August 29, 2014). "55,140 Seats: McLane Is Right-Sized for Baylor, Waco Market". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  3. Cherry, Brice (September 15, 2012). "Baylor-Sam Houston Notebook: Florence Shows Flashes of RG". Waco Tribune-Herald. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. Hill, Jerry (November 5, 2011). "On-Campus Stadium Getting a Closer Look". Baylor Bear Insider. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  5. "Baylor University Stadium". Buro Happold. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  6. "Collegiate Sports Project Descriptions". M-E Engineers, Inc. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. Copeland, Mike (July 28, 2012). "Key Aspects of Proposed Baylor Stadium Presented at Chamber Banquet". Waco Tribune-Herald. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  8. Dennis, Regina (December 31, 2013). "Name of New Baylor Football Stadium Changed to McLane Stadium". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  9. "No. 10 Baylor opens stadium with 45-0 win over SMU". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 31, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. Ubben, David (March 13, 2012). "Baylor Closer to On-Campus Stadium". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  11. Wixon, Matt (March 5, 2014). "Aledo Will Play Cedar Park in First Game at Baylor's New McLane Stadium". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  12. Copeland, MIKE. "The Gathering returns Sunday to McLane Stadium". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  13. http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Baylor-Club/Our-Story/General-Information
  14. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Will-sailgating-become-new-Baylor-tradition-5667435.php
  15. "Baylor Stadium - Stadium Facts". Baylor University. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  16. http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2014/04/baylor-taps-daktronics-for-mclane-stadium-video-display/
  17. http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/081814aab.html
  18. http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/baylor/football/baylor-ballpark-to-receive-part-of-floyd-casey-stadium-scoreboard/article%5B%5D dcb2b713-9b99-5397-9755-f4abea7a0eba.html?photo=1
  19. http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/baylor/football/baylor-prepares-to-awe-recruits-with-nearly-complete-mclane-stadium/article_d4339f2d-7585-52b2-bf8a-c9b341fa7660.html
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