Virginia Tech used Miles Stadium from 1926 to 1964; it replaced Miles Field and was replaced by Lane Stadium.
Overall, NC State had a record of 1-4 at this field, going 1-2 when the two were members of the Southern Conference, and 0-2 in their non-conference match-ups.
Date | Opponent | Time | Ranking | Result | Attendance | Length | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/29/1938 | at Virginia Tech | 3 PM | L, 0 - 7 | 3,500 | 60 min. | ||
10/26/1946 | at Virginia Tech | 2:30 PM | AP: 12 | L, 6 - 14 | 13,000-14,000 | 60 min. | |
10/27/1951 | at Virginia Tech | 2:30 PM | W, 19 - 14 | 10,000 | 60 min. | ||
9/18/1954 | at Virginia Tech * | 2 PM | L, 21 - 30 | 9,000-9,500 | 60 min. | ||
11/7/1964 | at Virginia Tech * | 2 PM | L, 19 - 28 | 11,500 | 60 min. |
* Non-conference games
After nearly 3 decades on their original grounds, the Gobblers elected to move on from their first formal athletic field. Work on the new stadium began in the summer of 1923, in conjunction with War Memorial Hall, which would supplement the grounds by serving as a locker room. Like its predecessor, the new stadium was named for VPI stand-out Clarence "Sally" Miles -- the vote to dedicate the field in his honor was unanimous, with fans and alumnis alike noting that the elevated position of Orange and Maroon athletics was "because of him more than any other man." Because of the similarity to the previous field, it was sometimes called New Miles Field in its early years [1].
By late September, the "finishing touches" were being put on the stadium, designed by civil engineering professor R. H. B. Begg. The intent was for the whole plant to be a concrete oval stadium, unlike the "old... rickety stands" at their previous venue. Because the stadium was built on a partially-funded subscription basis, though, the originally-envisioned 12,000-person stadium was not fully complete the first year: concrete bleachers seating 6,000 were installed on the west side of the field, while the east was furnished with 1,000 "rickety" wooden bleachers. There was room for another 5,000 standing patrons [2].
The stadium was improved piecemeal, with construction in 1928 and 1929 adding 500 and 600 concrete seats, respectively, pushing permanent seating to about 7,000 persons. All the seating remained primarily on the west side of the stadium, covering "about two-fifths of the horseshoe," until 1930, when alum Gordon Lefebvre gave $10,000 (over $190,000 in 2025) in funds to construct permanent seating on the east side of the field. The eastern side was fit up with 2,515 seats. A 50-person press box was also added to the east side of the stadium. The move upped total capacity to about 9,500 spectators [3].
Improvements following the erection of the eastern bleachers were few and far between until 1947, when about 7,000 bleacher seats were installed on the east side of the field, with plans for a full concrete replacement in about 5 years' time. The following season, a 1,800-seat concrete section, complete with a press box on top and storage, concessions, and restrooms below, was built atop the western stands between the 25-yard line. The work completed the long-awaited dream of matching the press box on the eastern side of the field. Construction cost a total of $90,000 (over $1.1 million in 2025) [4].
That was the final addition to Miles Stadium, so now is as good a time as any to talk about the field's final capacity. Articles covering the opening of Lane Stadium bandied that the former grounds held 20,000 persons, and while they technically did (once), the actual reported seating of the plant before that game was 16,000 persons, which is much closer to the running tally of 18,300 tabulated from various enlargements above. I'd lean more towards the more conservative 16k number than any other [5].
The fact that the 1947 improvement was the last major renovation to the field is not very surprising: in 1954, Virginia Tech began posturing for a long-term investment in their athletics program, with baseball moving to a dedicated venue (Tech Park) in 1955, and basketball moving to Cassell Coliseum in 1962. The Hokies hoped the work would show their interest in rejoining their old compatriots from the Southern Conference, who abandoned them to form the Atlantic Coast Conference the previous summer. For various reasons, the Gobblers did not join the conference for another three and a half decades.
Even though Miles Stadium "seldom was filled to capacity," plans emerged for the replacement in line with their focus on improved athletics. The Gobblers couldn't elevate their football program without modernizing their homefield, and Miles Stadium's proximity to campus "made it unfeasible to try to expand it along modern lines." Demolition efforts began in November, as soon as the 1964 football season ended; in fact, the November 7th football game against NC State was the venue's final home game. By October 1965, new dormitories were already under course of construction and the field denuded, its old grass transferred to its successor, Lane Stadium [6].
Last updated: 6/27/2025