Big 12 Stadiums, Ranked - Part 1

Five (!!!!!) weeks from now, Viva the Matadors will be in full football season swing, getting ready for the SFA opener at The Jones. NFL players are about to report to training camp, with both the college and professional seasons almost upon us. Until then, we’ll take a look at the other football stadiums in our conference, and because ranking things arbitrarily is fun, we decided to rank them as well. This week we’ll start with the “Trash on the Brazos” stadiums.

10. McClane Stadium - Baylor University

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Real Facts

• Opened in 2014 to replace Floyd Casey Stadium, with an official capacity of 45,140
• Plans are to expand to a capacity of 55,000
• Largest crowd was 49,875 in the game against Oklahoma last season
• Stadium named for Drayton McClane, Jr., a former chairman and CEO of the Astros, and Baylor alumnus who contributed a large sum towards the construction of the stadium
• Stadium sits on the Brazos river and is adjacent to I-35

Fun Facts

• Stadium is smaller than their previous, eliminating the need for a tarp to cover unsold seats
• Has an approximateley 2.42:1 ratio of toilets and urinals to sinks ratio
• Brick walls along the edge of the field were initially made of fake brick, tarp style
• Baylor has never beaten the Red Raiders at McClane
• John McClane is in no way related whatsoever to this stadium

9. Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium - University of Texas

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Real Facts

• Originally opened in 1924, with a capacity of 27,000. Currently can hold 100,119
• Named after coach Darrell K. Royal since 1996, who led Texas to 11 SWC titles and 3 National Championships. Previously named War Memorial (1924-1947), Memorial (1948-1976), and Texas Memorial (1977-1995).
• “Godzillatron” was installed in 2006, and was the largest screen in the world at the time of install, measuring 136 feet by 81 feet, with a resolution of 2064x848
• Biggest crowd was 101,851 in a 48-45 loss to #8 West Virginia in 2012
• The 1st night game at the current stadium was a 20-14 Tech victory in 1955

Fun Facts

• The stadium, much like the campus, is perpetually stuck in a down home country feel vs a “we wish we were a big city program” feel
• The Godzillatron individual pixels are around one square inch each, and more are usually used for advertising over actual game-related information
• DKR rivals Amon G. Carter stadium in Ft Worth for absurdly high seating that can cause vertigo
• University officials petitioned Niantics and Nintendo to make DKR a Pokestop so attendance numbers would increase this coming season
• There is a suite devoted to previous officials that have helped the Horns win in crucial games