The land of Alumni Field (sometimes Alumni Memorial Field) has been used by the Virginia Military Institute since its completion in 1921. It replaced the usage of their Parade Ground as a playing field. It has been called Foster Stadium at Alumni Field since 2006.

At the close of the 2024 football season, NC State had a record of 1-1 at this field.

  * Non-conference games

Though VMI had long played match athletic contests on their Parade Ground, in January 1920 they started looking bigger. Led mainly by Superintendent E. W. Nichols (himself a graduate of the Institute, class of 1878), the school's General Alumni Association presented a fundraising effort for the construction of both an alumni hall and an athletic field, both of which were intended to honor those who fell in the First World War. This was simultaneously impacted by an effort to regrade and expand the Institute parade grounds, though this was unrelated to the stadium construction [1].

Construction got under way around July 1920, with work being done by the Institute's department of civil engineers. Work on the athletic field was initiated before that of the alumni hall, apparently at the request of the corps, and was still in such a state of incompletion in March 1921 that baseball games were forced to be played on a temporary field laid out on the newly-graded parade grounds [1] [2]. Fundraising for the project was made especially easy by VMI's extremely successful 1920 season, where they made an unbeaten and untied 9-0 record, outscoring opponents 431 to 20.

There was some disagreement in period papers as to the cost of the field; most reports claimed a $75,000 budget, though some claimed the project ran up over $100,000 ($1.75 million in 2024) in expenditure. In reality, the budget was lower -- just $63,000, all of which was covered by alumni Lt. Col. J. A. Anderson and Maj. J. G. Allen. The explanation for the greatly overinflated numbers was likely a public misunderstanding of the funding, as the alumni hall and stadium project were often reported on together [3] [2].

Work was finished in the nick of time for the opening of the 1921 football season, allowing the season-opening game against Roanoke to come off as planned; this despite the fact the roughly 2,500-person grandstand (only one set was built, located on the north side of the field) was only "half completed" on September 18th, less than a week before the game. Apparently, much of the delay was due to the fact the location chosen was almost solid rock which required blasting to remove.

After three consecutive home games, the venue was formally dedicated on Oct 15th, 1921, in game against Virginia. The game was huge for several reasons; first and foremost, the Cavaliers had not traveled to Lexington since 1900, and had met in Charlottesville thirteen consecutive times starting in 1904. The Orange and Blue were apparently not eager to leave home for the game, either: UVA athletic directors offered to pay VMI the entire gate receipts for the game if it was pulled off in Lambeth Field, however, the Cadets declined. Further, to this point in the season, neither team had yet been scored upon, with the Flying Squadron racking up 65 points on her opposition, and UVA 70. The stadium was officially christened on October 15th, 1921, with a disappointing 7-14 loss by the home team. Over 7,500 persons crammed the new stadium in what was deemed "The largest crowd that ever witnessed an athletic contest" in Lexington [4].

In 1929, "Princeton type" steel bleachers* were added; constructed for exclusive use by the cadet corps and faculty members, they sat 1,000 persons. Simultaneously, they installed a new press box, a new scoreboard, and a concrete bridge over Lee Highway (now Main Street - U.S. Highway 11 Business) to connect their field to their campus as the highway grew more popular. Another bleacher seat which also sat 1,000 persons was added in November ahead of their game with Kentucky. In 1947, another new scoreboard was installed, as well as a $7,000 (just under $100,000 in 2024) building with "comfort stations" -- I assume this is akin to a field house. VMI officials decided to skip the field house during the field's initial construction, and despite promises one would be added soon, but I've found nothing to suggest that happened until this structure was built in 1947 [5].

That's how things remained until the 1962 season, when the field underwent a serious renovation; the renovation was so major, in fact, that some consider the new stadium a distinct venue from the smaller field. The new stadium had reinforced concrete seats located opposite the old ones, on the south side of the field. The new stands could seat about 6,500 persons, making the total capacity about 10,000 persons. A large dressing room, two public restrooms, and a new press box were also included in the scope of work. The renovation did not begin until mid-summer of 1962, and as such was not completed until well into the season's schedule -- the Cadets opened their season with a "home" game against George Washington in Lynchburg, and did not return home until October 20th, for their sixth game of the season; VMI defeated Davidson 20-7 to inaugurate the venue. Wooden seats were donated in bulk the following January, alongside the purchase of a new electronic scoreboard, completion of work to the press box, and the purchase of a new public address system [6].

The field once again went through a period of relative unchange. A new scoreboard was installed in 1982, and in 1987 ground broke for a new combination press box/field house. In 1998, VMI regraded the field and set it with new Bermuda grass as part of an effort to bolster their football program following an 0-11 season; other work included a refurbished players' lounge, new strength and conditioning equipment, and an upgraded superintendent's suite in the press box. Unfortunately, success was not immidiate: the Keydets didn't cross the 0.500-mark until 2002 [7].

In 2006, the stadium was improved again, receiving new entranceways, new concessions concourses and restrooms, upgraded seating, a new scoreboard, and new locker rooms, called Clarkson-McKenna Hall. The improvements were made thanks to the contributions of P. Wesley Foster, an alumni and former football player from VMI's class of 1956; afterwards, the field was renamed Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium in honor of the Foster's role as the stadium's primary benefactor. Despite the work done, capacity remained identical to before the renovation, with most of the $15 million (over $23 million in 2024) in funding focusing on quality of life improvements [8]. The electronic portion of the video board was replaced once again in 2021 [9].

One element of the field I've left undiscussed thusfar is its multi-use nature, including the track which encircles the field. Alumni Field opened as a multi-sport venue, and largely remains as such to this day. The original cinder track installed in spring 1922 in roughly the same location as the current one, which was replaced with a modern rubberized asphalt track in 1971 at a cost of $30,000 (over $232,000 in 2024), raised by the VMI Alumni Association. In 1986, the track was resurfaced once again; in the process, it was widened from 6 to 8 lanes, and changed to be 400 meters rather than 440 yards. As of 2023, it was expected that the track would need to be replaced again soon, but a formal refurbishment has not been scheduled [9].

Similarly, baseball shared the field for several decades. Though there was some forethought to the layout -- the field was made long enough to prevent the diamond and the gridiron from overlapping -- the combined facilities created somewhat hazardous conditions for spring practice; in 1961, Keydet coach John McKenna joked that "We should have some fancy footwork among our players" in the coming fall because "They've had so much practice this spring dodging fly balls and flying trackmen." His pleas were granted just a few years later, in 1964, when Patchin Field opened [10].

Other renovations may be on the horizon for Foster Stadium: in 2019, it was recommended that the "visitor" section (north bleachers) be removed, "as differential settlement has created maintenance and safety concerns." Similarly, a plan was enacted to replace bench style seating in portions of the stadium with chairback seats in 2019, but was put on ice after the Covid pandemic; as of this writing, it remains on hold [9].

* It's unclear to me exactly what "Princeton type bleachers" means.

Pictures of Foster Stadium