WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM

The 89-year-old War Memorial Stadium has long been a part of Aggie traditions and activities, even though the landmark arena has only recently come under A&T’s official ownership.

Built in 1926 as a monument to local soldiers who died in World War I, the stadium’s strongest identity is as a much loved ball arena.

By 1930 it had become home to the city’s minor-league baseball, whose teams continued playing there through the years until the city’s new stadium opened in 2005.

A&T’s baseball team also began playing at the stadium in the 1930s and continues playing there today. The Greensboro Red Wings, a Negro League team, also played in the stadium in the late 1940s.

Meanwhile, generations of the A&T football family packed the stadium each year for Homecoming and other football games until 1981 when Aggie Stadium opened.

War Memorial, just one block north of campus, still basks in a Homecoming halo, as the site of the annual FanFest open-air vendor and entertainment locale. The stadium’s grounds include tennis courts and a student commuter lot.

A&T is buying the facility from the City of Greensboro in spring 2015 for about $2.5 million, and plans to make $5-to-$6 million worth of improvements – new locker rooms, restrooms, press box, and seating up to 1,000 fans – over the next five to six years. City officials are contributing $.1.5 million to the effort.

The renovation will also preserve the arena’s most distinctive feature, its pylons -- the three-arch entrance, designed by architects Harry Barton and Leonard White in a classical Modern style that conveys authority.