Maryland Terrapins Football - Home Stadium

Home Stadium

During its first few decades, the football program had only one poorly suited athletic field on which to play and practice and had no dedicated facilities such as locker rooms. Former coach and contemporary university president Dr. Harry C. Byrd allocated funds for the construction of a stadium in 1915, and it was completed in 1923. The Board of Regents voted to name it Byrd Stadium in honor of its main advocate. The stadium's capacity was 5,000. During this time, it was common for Maryland to play its better-drawing games in larger stadiums in Washington, D.C. or Baltimore.

In 1950, that small field was replaced by the identically named but much larger Byrd Stadium, which was constructed at the cost of $1 million. The new stadium had an initial capacity of 34,680, which has since been upgraded to 51,055 through extensive additions. Shortly after its construction, the stadium hosted its dedication game against Navy, which Maryland won 35–21. That same year, the new field held its first and only bowl game, the Presidential Cup Bowl, which featured Texas A&M and Georgia. In 2006, the University of Maryland became the first school to sell naming rights to its field. The home field was officially branded "Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium" in a 25-year, $20 million contract. In 2008, Chevy Chase Bank was bought out by Capital One, and the stadium was renamed Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.