Miles Stadium was a
college football stadium located on the campus of
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of ...
. It was the home field of
Virginia Tech's football team from
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
to
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
, until the new
Lane Stadium
Lane Stadium is a college football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The playing surface of the stadium is named Worsham Fi ...
opened in
1965.
Miles Stadium opened in 1926 with 3,760 permanent seats.
Subsequent expansions increased
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
to 17,000 permanent seats and temporary bleachers.
The stadium's inaugural game was a victory over
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...
on September 25; four weeks later, the dedication game was a win over
rival
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. The playing field was aligned northwest to southeast, at an approximate
elevation of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
.
The stadium's last game was in 1964, a Virginia Tech victory over
North Carolina State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...
on November 7.
The stadium was razed in 1965 and over the next thirty years the large grassy area became known as the "
Prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
." In the 1990s, three new residence halls, Payne Hall, Peddrew-Yates Hall, and New Residence Hall East (together known as the "Prairie Quad") were built on the former site of Miles Stadium.
Of the 95 varsity football games played in the venue, Virginia Tech compiled a record; the most memorable win was arguably was in its final season, the 1964 homecoming defeat of
Florida State on Undefeated FSU was
ranked tenth in the nation,
[ and was the highest-ranked team defeated at Miles Stadium. Virginia Tech did not defeat a higher ranked team until the ]1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
win in the Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
over #9 Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
on New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
.
References
1926 establishments in Virginia
1964 disestablishments in Virginia
American football venues in Virginia
Buildings and structures demolished in 1965
Defunct college football venues
Defunct sports venues in Virginia
Event venues established in 1926
Virginia Tech Hokies football venues
{{Virginia-stadium-stub