📍 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
🏈 Home of North Carolina Tar Heels football
Walk through the woods of the campus of the University of North Carolina and you might just stumble upon one of the South’s finest football stadiums. Nearly a century after it first opened, Kenan Stadium is still going strong as the fall stomping grounds of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Though it’s not quite the SEC, a football weekend in Carolina is still a football weekend in the south. The whole state clocks out, turns on the TV and fires up the grill or heads out to the stadium to cheer on their team, whether that’s UNC, State, App or the half a dozen teams in between. Tar Heels fans, especially, make up a large percentage of college football fans in North Carolina and they always seem to turn out on game days in Chapel Hill.
A Brief History
North Carolina Tar Heel football is a long-running and storied program that dates back all the way to 1888. After competing as an independent and drifting in and out of the SIAA, Carolina joined the Southern Conference in 1922. Five years later, the team moved in to the newly-constructed 24,000-seat Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels have competed and succeeded in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953, winning five conference championships and two division titles. As the team has grown over the years, so too has Kenan. Today, it holds around 50,000 rabid Carolina fans.
The Stadium
A quick walk around the concourse of Kenan Stadium venue unveils a mish-mash of architectural styles, a cool blend of the old and new. This unique venue is approaching 100 years old after all, so it’s only fair that it’s seen a number of renovations and expansions. The stadium exhibits some art deco elements and some modern brick too, making Kenan a truly one-of-a-kind and seemlessly beautiful structure. Not to mention that the venue fits in perfectly with its surroundings, tucked into the trees on the UNC campus, not far from the iconic bell tower. On nights after a Tar Heels win, the tower will light up in signature Carolina blue.
Catching a game at Kenan can almost be described as magical. On several occasions, you’ll see the opposing sides of the stadium yell “Tar…Heels”, a tradition employed by Carolina basketball as well as many other schools that place their own twist on the chant. Night games are especially fun, with spotlights dancing around the field and fans using their cell phones to create a starry effect. Before the 4th quarter, the stadium goes almost dark for just a few moments, with the only light coming from the Carolina blue-colored lights that surround the grandstands.
Tar Heel football may be overshadowed by the school’s more successful basketball team, and it may not have the reputation of Alabama or Clemson, but nothing can be finer than gameday in Carolina.
Info Invasion
Parking: The Johnson or Cardinal decks are a 5-minute walk; $20
Nearby Venue(s): Dean Smith Center
Other Notes: You can freely walk around and inside the stadium on non-game days, as many students use it as a campus cut-through
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