Norfolk State University Athletics

Norfolk State University plays its home football contests in the spacious William “Dick” Price Stadium, named for former NSU athletics director and head football and track coach Dick Price.
 
Built in 1997, Dick Price Stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000, and is recognized as one of the largest sports and entertainment venues in Hampton Roads. It is also one of the largest Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) on-campus football stadiums in terms of capacity.
 
The stadium was constructed at a cost of $12.2 million. Located on the southeast end of campus, the stadium has a brick facade, an artificial turf surface, an all-weather, eight-lane rubberized track, a two-story press box and concession areas located throughout the stadium’s ground level.

In the summer of 2018, the stadium’s playing surface underwent a complete overhaul. The natural grass surface, present since the stadium’s opening in 1997, was removed to install a top-of-the-line artificial turf field manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf.
 
The synthetic surface, a Spike Zone Pro 1.75” with Envirofill infill, included updated designs in the end zones, at the 50-yard line, and in the team areas between the 25-yard lines. The new surface allows the team to practice on the field during the season and allows the university to hold more events year-round without damaging the surface.
 
A new drainage system and new conduits were also put in place during construction of the $1.38 million project.
 
In 2012, Daktronics, Inc., installed two new state-of-the-art LED video display boards, one on each end of the stadium. They measure 12 feet 6 inches by 31 feet on the west end, 17 feet by 47 feet on the east end, and are capable of showing large images, video, instant replays as well as graphics, animation, up-to-the minute statistics and sponsor advertisements.

The track at Dick Price Stadium was renovated to include a new world-class surface during the summer of 2010.

The first contest played in Dick Price Stadium drew a record 33,872 fans, as NSU hosted Virginia State in 1997 in the annual Labor Day Classic.

For the fifth time in the stadium’s short history, Norfolk State ranked in the top 20 in Division FCS in attendance per game in 2007. NSU averaged a Price Stadium record 17,220 fans for its six home games, seventh in the nation and first among both MEAC and state FCS programs. NSU also drew two of the three-largest crowds in Dick Price Stadium history that season. The crowd of 27,756 that saw NSU beat Hampton on Oct. 13 was the second largest in stadium history, trailing only the sellout crowd of 34,000 that saw the inaugural game between NSU and Virginia State in 1997. In addition, the crowd of 26,970 that saw the Spartans top Virginia State on Sept. 1 that season was the third-largest attendance figure in stadium history.

NSU has ranked in the top 20 in FCS attendance six times all-together, including 16th in 2011, 20th in 2005, 15th in 2003, 19th in 2001 and 17th in 1998. The Spartans have hosted numerous televised games at Dick Price Stadium since its opening, including most recently on Nov. 14, 2017 against Hampton on ESPNU.

In addition to Spartan home football games, the stadium has also hosted numerous other events and athletic competitions, including the AAU Junior Olympics track and field meets in 1998, 2001, 2006, 2010 and 2015. The event was scheduled for Dick Price Stadium in 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NSU has also hosted high school and collegiate track and field meets at the stadium throughout its history.

Dick Price Stadium is located next to Gill Gymnasium, home to the athletic department’s entire academic center, the NSU Weight Room, the NSU Sports Medicine Department, the football locker room, and the football coaches' offices. Lounge areas for the track and field and other Olympic sports teams are also located in Gill Gymnasium. Locker rooms for the track and field teams are located in the Sports Annex, located just west of the stadium.

ABOUT DICK PRICE

Dick Price is the winningest football coach in NSU history. He compiled a 62-41-4 record over 10 seasons (1974-83), which included three of NSU’s four CIAA championships from 1974-76. His teams finished .500 or better in eight of his 10 years at the helm of the program. Fifty-three of his players went into the ranks of professional football.

Price put his stamp on Norfolk State in more ways than one. He also coached the men’s track team to NCAA Division II national championships in 1973 and 1974, and was twice named the NCAA Division II Track Coach of the Year. He later served as the Spartans’ athletics director from 1989-99. He was inducted into the NSU Athletics Foundation Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He is also a member of the Virginia Sports, CIAA, Hampton Roads, and Hampton Roads African-American sports halls of fame.

Price passed away at age 75 in February of 2009.