McLane Stadium: A Modern Icon of Baylor University Football

McLane Stadium, the home of Baylor University Bears football since 2014, represents a significant chapter in the university's athletic history. Located on the banks of the Brazos River, this state-of-the-art facility replaced Floyd Casey Stadium and has quickly become an iconic landmark for both the university and the city of Waco.

From Municipal Stadium to McLane: A Legacy of Baylor Football

Before McLane Stadium, Baylor football had a rich history rooted in earlier venues. Municipal Stadium, built on the grounds of the old Texas Cotton Palace, served as the Bears' home field. The Texas Cotton Palace was a nineteenth-century annual agricultural exhibition featuring Waco’s economic fares and entertainment amenities. By 1936, Baylor Football had outgrown Municipal’s 20,000 seats, and new stadium talks began.

As Floyd Casey preceded McLane, so Municipal Stadium preceded Floyd Casey-or rather Baylor Stadium. The foibles and advances of the fundraising for, construction, and management of Baylor Stadium in the 1950s speak to the investment of Baylor, Waco, and Texas in Baylor Bear football. In the 1950’s alone, Baylor Stadium became both a boon and a burden to Baylor and its supporters across Texas.

The Floyd Casey Era

Home to 64 seasons of Baylor football, Floyd Casey Stadium was demolished in 2016. The stadium was only renamed Floyd Casey in 1988. The stadium held many memories for Baylor fans, but by the early 2010s, the university recognized the need for a modern facility to enhance the game-day experience and attract top recruits.

The Birth of McLane Stadium

In March 2012, Baylor announced plans to construct a new on-campus football stadium along the Brazos River. A leadership gift from Elizabeth and Drayton McLane Jr., their son Drayton III, his wife Amy and their sons Drayton IV, Brooks and Walker, and son Denton, his wife Amy and sons Jeff and Jake, propelled the University to successful fundraising for the stadium. In December 2013, the university announced that the new stadium would be named McLane Stadium in honor of Drayton McLane Jr., a distinguished and generous Baylor alumnus.

Read also: Baylor's Notable Alumni

Construction and Design

Construction began soon after the announcement, transforming 93 acres at the intersection of Interstate 35 and the Brazos River into a state-of-the-art football venue. The stadium's design, spearheaded by the architecture firm Populous, incorporates a horseshoe configuration with a seating capacity of 45,140, including 3,000 standing-room-only seats. A $20 million shade canopy atop the upper deck shades up to 55% of the seats during the day.

Key Features and Amenities

McLane Stadium boasts a wide array of features and amenities designed to enhance the fan experience and provide a competitive edge for the Baylor Bears.

Location: Situated on the north bank of the Brazos River, McLane Stadium is one of a few major college football stadiums where fans can arrive by boat, promoting ‘sailgating,’ which has become a tradition at each game, attracting a flotilla of Bears fans, who take to the water to enjoy the festivities.
High-Definition Video Board: A large high-definition LED video board behind the south end zone provides fans with crystal-clear views of replays, highlights, and game information. McLane also features ribbon displays around the stadium's horseshoe configuration, measuring 1,254 feet in length. A high-quality video display was added to the back of the main video board structure to add revenue opportunities and enhance the South Plaza experience on game days.
Mobile App: To complement the video board, Baylor released an in-game mobile app that enables fans to stream live footage, watch game replays from a variety of angles, and access current game statistics.
Premium Seating: McLane Stadium offers five premium areas: Founders Suites, Premium Suites, Loge Boxes, Bear Heights Club Seating and Terrace Boxes. These areas provide exclusive amenities, including comfortable seating, upscale food and beverage options, and access to private lounges.
Brazos Suites: The south end zone of McLane became even more of a focal point during games, as a premium hospitality clubhouse - the Brazos Suites presented by Magnolia - were added beneath the video board on the Dimmitt Garrison Family Berm, providing a one-of-a-kind experience along with a Berm-view of the action. The space includes three climate-controlled, field-view suites with each accommodating 50 guests. The primary function of this temporary structure is geared toward corporate hospitality, with Baylor Athletics' multimedia rights partner, Playfly Sports Properties, paving the way.
Baylor Club: The Baylor Club delivers the ultimate game day experience for Baylor fans, combining comfort, style and unmatched hospitality. Each game will include the choice of four menus to be offered to the loge box owner in advance of game day and dropped off at the box before the loge box owners’ arrival. Each game, Baylor University suite holders and their guests will enjoy a variety of delicious seasonal menu items on our Chef’s Table, located in the Suite Lounge. A family-style dessert bar will also be available in the Suite Lounge during halftime for a sweet moment during the game. McLane Stadium Founders Suite owners are able to customize their game menu from a vast array of culinary offerings, including seafood, salads, platters and more. A chef attendant will be on call to answer questions and discuss the dishes.
Technology Enhancements: The McLane Stadium production control rooms allow Baylor Athletics Creative staff, led by the BaylorVision crew, the ability to produce broadcasts for many Baylor Athletics events from one centralized location in the east side of the stadium, and available for use by various network television partners to produce their broadcasts. The production control rooms feature two broadcast control rooms and two video board control rooms. The facility will feature isolated suites for audio, replay, video shading and engineering. The latest technologies have been rolled into this new state-of-the-art facility. The fan experience was further enhanced by the addition of new cameras, lenses, and super slow-mo capabilities.
Connectivity: Free Wireless Internet Service is available within McLane Stadium using a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.
Accessibility: Code compliant ramps are available on the east side of McLane Stadium. The ramp to the 100 Level concourse starts at Gate D and travels up to the concourse where you may enter behind Section 124. McLane Stadium provides wheelchair and companion seating with enhanced sight lines on every level. Assistive listening devices are available to hearing impaired fans. These devices are available at Guest Services located near sections 114 and 214.
Family Amenities: The Baby Bear Lounges are newly renovated private spaces where mothers can nurse or pump, and parents can spend some quiet time with their little ones. These air-conditioned rooms are located on the main concourse behind Section 114 - next to Guest Services - and is equipped with comfortable seating, electrical outlets & a changing table.

Game Day Experience

McLane Stadium offers a vibrant and engaging game-day atmosphere for fans of all ages.

Tailgating: Tailgaters get to set up tents all around the stadium grounds, as well as on the shores of the Brazos River, and some even tailgate in their boats.
Touchdown Alley: Located across the Basin Bridge, Touchdown Alley opens three hours prior to kickoff and closes about 30 minutes after kickoff. This area provides local radio and TV station coverage during pregame and has food, beverages, and various activities to keep fans entertained.
Bear Walk: The Bear Walk begins as the team buses roll up about two hours before kickoff; the Bear Walk provides fans with an opportunity to interact with the Baylor football team, with fans forming a pathway for the team to walk through from the buses to the stadium.
Baylor Line: The incoming freshmen in gold shirts, known as the “Baylor Line”, also add entertainment by rushing out onto the field before the players do, running across the field starting at the southeast corner, and forming a tunnel for the Baylor football team to run through when the players come onto the field.
Traditions: One of Baylor’s unique traditions is the Baylor Line - the Baylor Line in their gold shirts rush out onto the field to form a tunnel for the football team to run through, and also provide excitement, support, and stay until after the game, when ‘That Good Ole Baylor Line’ is played by the band. No other stadium can claim that their freshmen raise the game day atmosphere, but here at Baylor the freshman class is very active, and add tons of energy to the game day experience.

Economic and Community Impact

McLane Stadium has had a significant impact on both Baylor University and the city of Waco. The stadium has helped to revitalize downtown Waco, with a boom in development along the Brazos Riverfront. Additionally, college applications and donations to Baylor have increased since the stadium's opening.

Beyond Football

In addition to sporting events, Baylor and the city of Waco plan to use the venue to host concerts and other community events such as The Gathering (a local gathering of churches on Palm Sunday). The stadium also could include a $20 million alumni events center that would provide a home for Baylor alumni on game day and at other times. The McLane Alumni Events Center would be located on the south side of the stadium plaza and would include: a 40,000-square-foot, multi-story glass building, potential for a rooftop terrace and shade canopy, space for meetings and banquets. The facility also would be available to faculty, staff, students and the community for special events.

A Decade of McLane Stadium

The 2025 campaign marks the 12th season at McLane Stadium. BU provided the exclamation point on the debut season by winning a second-straight Big 12 title over Kansas State, 38-27.

Memorable Moments

The first college football game in McLane Stadium was a 45-0 Baylor win over SMU, in the 2014 season opener, on August 31, 2014. The Bears followed up their first victory with a 70-6 win over FCS opponent Northwestern State. The largest crowd to witness a game was 50,223 on November 16, 2019, versus Oklahoma.

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