News > September 13, 2007

By Martin Rickman | Staff writer

Wake Forest University and BB&T Corporation reached an agreement last week to change the name of Groves Stadium to BB&T Field. The 10-year deal was announced Sept. 5 and was honored between the first and second quarters of the Nebraska game Sept. 8, with Athletic Director Ron Wellman, President Nathan Hatch and chairman and chief executive of BB&T John Allison present at the ceremony.

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Banners now adorn the stadium showing the new partnership with BB&T. (Roger Kirkpatrick/Old Gold & Black)

“This is two leading institutions which are well-respected who are creating a partnership that will be mutually beneficial,” Wellman said. “It sends a strong message about what both institutions want to see and what both organizations believe can happen in this community with this partnership.”

The deal is just another in a long line of steps to increase the profile of the Demon Deacon football team, which capped off its 2006 ACC Championship season with an impressive showing at the BCS Orange Bowl against Louisville last season.

The stadium will be known as BB&T Field in all publications and announcements but will not officially be changed over until the beginning of the 2008 season, which coincides with the new Deacon Tower, slated to be completed in July.

Deacon Tower, which began construction in late 2006, will be seven stories tall and will give the stadium a new press box and a club section, as well as box seats. It is reported to cost around $45-million.

There is also a seat-licensing program being implemented in the Deacon Club for next season, as Deacon Club season ticket holders will have the option to reserve their seat for 15 years and up to 25 years for a donation of between $500 and $2,500.

The stadium, which has already undergone a face-lift on the brick facing as well as an new field surface, also hopes to undergo a dramatic change in the team’s locker room and the parking lot area, as well as the concession stands, which had a difficult time supplying ice and water needs to overheated fans during the Nebraska game.

Just four other Division-I football teams currently have sold their stadium naming rights, including Maryland’s Chevy Chase Bank Field, Syracuse’s Carrier Dome (which also is home to the Orangemen basketball team), Texas Tech’s Jones AT&T Stadium and Troy’s Movie Gallery Stadium.

“When we began the renovation, we knew that we were going to consider naming the field and that the revenue stream from that consideration would be significant and certainly help us renovate the stadium,” Wellman said.

“We talked about what our priorities would be and who we would like to align ourselves with and BB&T was at the top of the list.”

The Groves name has been associated with the Wake Forest football team since 1940, when the stadium was dedicated on the old campus in honor of Henry Groves Sr.

When the new stadium was built for $4-million in 1968, the Groves name was retained.

“The stadium will still be Groves Stadium. We will be playing the games at BB&T Field,” Wellman said.

“The Groves name will actually be more prominent than it already is. There will be a major sign and a brick wall running parallel to Deacon Boulevard, as well as plaques telling the story about the Groves name.”

Wellman said, “There will be permanent BB&T signs throughout the stadium that will fit in nicely. They will be discreet signs that will send a strong message about the partnership.”

“We still have phases four, five and six to renovate the stadium completely and we need funding for that beyond, but this is a major step forward for us.”

BB&T Corporation is a commercial and retail banking company and has its headquarters just across the street from the Reynolda Road entrance.

The company is the nation’s 11th largest financial holding company and has financial centers in 11 states, overlapping with 12 ACC schools.