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 Field. The home field of the Virginia Tech Hokies of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), it was rated the number one home field advantage in all of college football in 2005 by In 2007, it was ranked #2 on ESPN.com's "Top 10 Scariest Places To Play." The stadium is named for Edward Hudson Lane, a former student, local businessman, and Virginia Tech booster, while the playing surface is named for Wes Worsham, a university donor and booster.
From 1982 to 2014, Lane Stadium had the highest elevation of any Football Bowl Subdivision stadium in the eastern United States, at above sea level.
History
Beginning
thumb|left|Lane Stadium under construction
In 1963, school administrator Stuart K. Cassell, namesake of Cassell Coliseum, proposed building a larger stadium to replace the 17,000-seat Miles Stadium, and construction began on April 1, 1964.
New video scoreboard
In time for the start of the 2013 season, a new "Hokie Vision" video scoreboard was installed. This board is completely LED and the screen itself would completely contain the size of the old scoreboard. There are four pylons holding up the board: the smaller, center two were used as the pylons for the old board and the outer two (both larger) are used in addition to the original pylons to hold up the new board. This new scoreboard ranks third largest college football scoreboard.
Bleacher replacement
A portion of the East stands' bleachers were replaced in Spring/Summer of 2017.
Frank Beamer statue
During the 2018 season, Virginia Tech unveiled a commissioned statue of former head coach Frank Beamer in front of Lane Stadium's main entrance. The statue was erected to pay tribute to Beamer who coached at his alma mater for 29 seasons, winning 238 games and guiding the Hokies to 23 straight bowl games. The former coach was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
800px|thumb|center|Panorama of Lane Stadium during the "white out" Virginia Tech vs. Austin Peay football game, September 8, 2012
Metallica concert
On May 7, 2025, heavy metal band Metallica performed at the stadium as part of their M72 World Tour, with Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies as show openers. Their song "Enter Sandman" has been used as the football team's entrance to the stadium for twenty-five years. Metallica is the first band to perform a revenue producing concert at the stadium, as well as offering student seating for their show. The band's performance of "Enter Sandman", combined with the large crowd jumping and cheering, generated enough ground movement and tremors to be registered as a small earthquake by the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory.
Statistics and milestones
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" style=";" |Lane Stadium - Quick Facts
|-
|Seasons in Use
|57th Season
|-
|Overall Record
|, Games: 345
|-
|ACC Record
|, Games: 68
|-
|vs. Non-Conference
|, Games: 212
|-
|vs. Ranked Teams
| Games: 46
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style=";"|Milestone
! style=";"|Date
! style=";"|Opponent
! style=";"|Score
|-
| First Game/First Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|October 2, 1965
| William & Mary
| W 9–7
|-
| First Television Game (ABC)
| align=right|October 29, 1966
| Florida State
| W 23–21
|-
| 25th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|October 11, 1975
| Florida State
| W 13–10
|-
| 50th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|October 3, 1981
| Memphis State
| W 17–13
|-
| First CBS Game
| align=right|September 18, 1982
| Miami (FL)
| L 8–14
|-
| First Night Game
| rowspan=3 align=right|November 25, 1982
| rowspan=3 |Virginia
| rowspan=3 |W 21–14
|-
| First TBS Game
|-
| First Thursday Night Game
|-
| First Game Under Head Coach Frank Beamer
| align=right|September 12, 1987
| Clemson
| L 10–22
|-
| First Win Under Head Coach Frank Beamer
| rowspan=2 align=right|October 3, 1987
| rowspan=2 |Navy
| rowspan=2 |W 31–11
|-
| 75th Win at Lane Stadium
|-
| First ESPN Game
| align=right|November 24, 1990
| Virginia
| W 38–13
|-
| First Big East Game
| align=right|September 26, 1992
| West Virginia
| L 7–16
|-
| First Big East Win
| align=right|October 16, 1993
| Temple
| W 55–7
|-
| 100th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|September 22, 1994
| West Virginia
| W 34–6
|-
| Program's 1,000th Game
| align=right|September 4, 1999
| James Madison
| W 47–0
|-
| 125th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|September 23, 1999
| Clemson
| W 31–11
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - First Appearance
| align=right|October 16, 1999
| Syracuse
| W 62–0
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Second Appearance
| align=right|November 13, 1999
| Miami (FL)
| W 43–10
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Third Appearance / Lee Corso's car lightning strike
| align=right|August 30, 2000
| Georgia Tech
| Canceled
|-
| Frank Beamer's 100th Win at Virginia Tech
| align=right|September 1, 2001
| Connecticut
| W 52–10
|-
| Virginia Tech's 600th win overall
| align=right|September 6, 2003
| James Madison
| W 43–0
|-
| 150th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|November 1, 2003
| Miami (FL)
| W 31–7
|-
| First ACC Game and Win
| align=right|September 18, 2004
| Duke
| W 41–17
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Fourth Appearance
| align=right|September 24, 2005
| Georgia Tech
| W 51–7
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Fifth Appearance
| align=right|November 5, 2005
| Miami (FL)
| L 7–27
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Sixth Appearance
| align=right|September 1, 2007
| East Carolina
| W 17–7
|-
| Frank Beamer's 200th overall win
| align=right|September 15, 2007
| Ohio
| W 28–7
|-
| Frank Beamer's First win vs. Bobby Bowden & Florida State Seminoles
| align=right|November 10, 2007
| Florida State
| W 40–21
|-
| 250th game at Lane Stadium
| align=right|November 6, 2008
| Maryland
| W 23–13
|-
| First overtime game
| align=right|September 3, 2012
| Georgia Tech
| W 20–17
|-
| 200th Win at Lane Stadium
| align=right|October 13, 2012
| Duke
| W 41–20
|-
|Consecutive home game sellout streak
|align=right|Nov.1998 - Sep.2013
|W. Carolina
|W 45–3
|-
|50th Anniversary of Lane Stadium
|align=right|August 30, 2014
|William & Mary
|W 34–9
|-
| ESPN College GameDay - Seventh Appearance
| align=right|September 7, 2015
| Ohio State
| L 24–42
|-
| First Game under Head Coach Justin Fuente
| align=right|September 3, 2016
| Liberty
| W 36–13
|-
|50th ACC home game
|align=right|September 17, 2016
|Boston College
|W 49–0
|-
|300th Game at Lane Stadium & 100th ACC game
|align=right|October 20, 2016
|Miami (FL)
|W 37–16
|-
| ESPN College Gameday - Eighth Appearance
|rowspan=2 align=right|September 30, 2017
|rowspan=2|Clemson
|rowspan=2|L 31–17
|-
|100th Sold out game at Lane Stadium It was built in 1963 by a group of cadets, led by Homer Hickam, author of the book, Rocket Boys. "Skipper" was created in an effort to silence the chant of: "Where's your cannon?" by the students of then arch-rival, VMI during the annual Thanksgiving Day game. The cannon was named "Skipper" to honor John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at the same time the cannon was built. As the captain of a PT boat in WWII, JFK was commonly known as "Skipper". In 2015, a custom display space in the new cadet dormitory, Pearson Hall, became the permanent home for Skipper, presenting the cannon in a highly visible location for students, alumni, and visitors to admire when not in use.
- The Highty-Tighties: Virginia Tech's regimental band, the Highty-Tighties was founded in 1892 and is the oldest collegiate band in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is composed completely of members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
- Growley III'<nowiki/>: The Corps of Cadets officially welcomed a new canine ambassador among its ranks in the spring of 2022, a yellow Labrador Retriever, named "Growley III (call sign “Stryker”) who succeeded Growley II (call sign “Tank”). According to folklore, the name, "Growley" originated in the 1930s with the name of the commandant's dog. Cadets would regularly feed "Growley" with portions of their breakfast since food was scarce. Cadets then began referring to breakfast as "Growley", and the morning formation was typically announced as “minutes to Growley”. Today, "Growley III" resides at Pearson Hall West with his two cadet handlers and accompanies the Corps of Cadets to home football games.
- Homecoming Game Traditions:
- Game Ball Run: Started in 1977, the Virginia Tech Army ROTC Ranger Company run the game ball for around campus, ending at the Homecoming Game Spirit Rally on Friday evening.
- Flaming VT: Originating the mid-1960s, during the Homecoming Game Spirit Rally, the Corps of Cadets' Hotel Company lights a flaming VT with a torch. When it first began, cadets would thread rolls of toilet paper soaked in kerosene onto a metal VT shaped frame and run the flaming VT through campus, urging students to join the crowd.
Pre-game
- "Hokie Walk": A tradition where the team arrives in buses and walks to the locker room among the fans, and led by the Highty-Tighties and the Hokie Bird.
- Hokie Village: A game-day celebration near Lane Stadium that started in 2014. It's a family oriented, carnival atmosphere, featuring games, music, and appearances by cheerleaders, the Hokie Bird, and "Skipper".
- Pre-Game Field Show: At every home game, the Highty-Tighties perform the pre-game field show. At least once a year, the Marching Virginians perform their pre-game show, which begins with the band forming the shape of the Commonwealth of Virginia and features the MV's forming several recognizable shapes such as spelling out "VT," "HOKIES," and "TECH."
- Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets march into Lane Stadium and stand in formation on the field during the National Anthem and Rendering of Colors."Skipper" is fired inside Lane Stadium in the south end zone at the completion of the anthem.
- Fireworks: Fireworks are set-off during and after the singing of the National anthem at night games.
Team entrance
- Prior to the team entrance, the cheerleaders start an alternating chant of "Let's Go" and "Hokies" with the east and west stands before the game along with the team walking from the locker room to the tunnel to the song "God's Gonna Cut You Down" By Johnny Cash.
- Enter Sandman: Beginning in 2000, Metallica's "Enter Sandman" is played as the football team enters the field through the tunnel behind the North end zone. As the music begins, The Marching Virginians lead the stadium in jumping in place, which has become known as the "Blacksburg Bounce".
- Hokie Stone: As the team runs out of the tunnel during Sandman, each player reaches up and touches a slab of Hokie Stone, then runs between two phalanxes, consisting of the Highty-Tighties, Marching Virginians, and freshman cadets. On the last home game of the season, senior cadets take the place of freshmen during the entrance as part of the corps of cadet's "Senior Day".
In-game
- Orange Effect: Since 2002, the students have designated one game where all fans are asked to wear orange. The Orange Effect game is always played against a team that does not use orange as a team color (e.g., Syracuse, Miami, UVA, or Clemson).
- Maroon Effect: Added in 2005, The Maroon Effect game is always played against a team that does not use maroon/crimson as a team color (includes regular opponents such as: Boston College or Florida State). The very first (unofficial) Maroon Effect game was in 2002 against the University of Virginia.
- White Effect: Added in 2008. The White Effect game is typically done for an early season game and coincide with the Military Appreciation game, usually against an FCS opponent, where all fans wear white.
- Marching Virginians: The Marching Virginians occupy the field level bleachers, in front of the student section behind the North end zone during the game, and play songs throughout.
- Turkey Gobble: A turkey gobble sound is periodically played over the PA system to rile up the crowd during lulls, most commonly on opponent's third down plays. The turkey gobble is in memory of Floyd H. "Hard Times" Meade, a local boy who was adopted by the corps and became the school's first "mascot" in the late 19th century. Floyd later brought live trained turkeys to games to walk the sidelines during games and gobble on command.
- Key Play: A tradition started in the late 1980s: Virginia Tech fans shake their keys as a distraction during opponent's third down plays, signifying a "key play".
- Growley III: Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Corps of Cadets' canine ambassador, Growley III ('Stryker'), can be seen along the sidelines, in front of the cadet seating section, often chewing on a doll of the opposing team's mascot.
- Halftime Field Show: The Marching Virginians perform the half-time field show at every game. At every field show, the band usually performs up to three songs followed by "Tech Triumph" as they march off the field. The Highty-Tighties perform the halftime show at least once a year.
- Hokie Pokie: The tuba section of The Marching Virginians lines up on the goal line of the north end zone to play and dance the Hokie Pokie ("Hokey Pokey"). This is performed during halftime at select games during the season. Prior to 2017, the "Hokie Pokie" was performed between the 3rd and 4th quarters of every home game.
Scoring plays
- Student Toss: Groups of students, most of whom are seated in the student section in the north end zone, lift up a student (usually female) to toss in the air for every point scored.
- Bench Press: The school mascot, the Hokie Bird does one bench press for every point the Hokies score on a weight bench in the end zone.
- Push-Ups: Freshman cadets complete push-ups on the shoulders of their cadets seated in front of them, completing one push-up for every point scored by the Hokies.
- Flags: Following every touchdown, members of the cheer squad run onto the field carrying six large flags, each with a single letter, spelling: "H-O-K-I-E-S"
- Tech Triumph: After a scoring play, the Marching Virginians will play the fight song, Tech Triumph. During a touchdown, the band will reduce their sound while the team attempts the extra point, returning to normal following the kick.
- Skipper: During the game, Skipper, the cannon is fired behind the north end zone stands of Lane Stadium after every score by Virginia Tech.
- Fireworks: Fireworks are set-off on scoring plays at night games.
See also
- Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech campus
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
- List of American football stadiums by capacity
- Lists of stadiums