History of Allegacy Stadium
Allegacy Stadium has been the home of Wake Forest University football since it opened in 1968. The 31,500-seat stadium It has undergone several name changes and extensive renovations over the six decades the Demon Deacons have called it home.
It has also played host to three of Winston-Salem’s largest concert events. In 2017, rock band Guns N’ Roses brought their Not In This Lifetime Tour to the stadium with original members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan. Billy Joel, who had previously played Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1999, returned for a stadium gig in 2018. And in 2022 the legendary Paul McCartney made his first appearance in Winston-Salem on the Got Back tour.
The stadium was the result of 20 years of efforts to give Wake Forest football a permanent facility following the relocation of the University from the town of Wake Forest, east of Raleigh, to Winston-Salem on property owned by the estate of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds.
The Demon Deacons played home games at the city-owned Bowman Gray Stadium while the University attempted, repeatedly, to fund a new football stadium. Eventually, the plans finally came together and Groves Stadium was built on a 77-acre plot of land donated by Winston-Salem philanthropist Charles H. Babcock.
In 1998, Wake Forest built Bridger Field House beyond the north end zone. The building houses home and visiting team locker rooms, athletic training and media facilities, ticketing and fundraising offices, and the Snead Room, which serves as a game day VIP club space with seating outdoors just adjacent to the end zone.
The most significant renovations began in 2007, when the stadium’s original press box was demolished to build McCreary Tower, a seven-story facility on the west side of the stadium. McCreary Tower, which opened in 2008, includes the 500-capacity Flow Lexus Club on the fourth floor, the Moricle Suite and luxury suites on the fifth floor, and the press box and President’s Suite on the sixth. Offices, catering facilities, and space for TV, radio and other game-day operations are also part of the tower.
A new video board was built adjacent to the south end zone in 2011. Prior to the 2023 season, new LED lights and FieldTurf playing surface were installed.
The current name, Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, is the fourth for the stadium. The original Groves Stadium name lasted until 2007 when the University entered into a naming rights deal with Winston-Salem-based BB&T bank. When BB&T completed its merger with Suntrust in 2019, the name was converted to Truist Field, the new name of the combined companies.
Located between Reynolds and Deacon Boulevards just one mile from campus, Allegacy Stadium is the largest facility in the complex that includes Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and David F. Couch Ballpark, as well as an indoor tennis center.
