The last remaining piece of old Riddick Stadium — the Field House between SAS and Syme halls — will be demolished on March 2.

The Field House was constructed in 1936, and will be demolished due to infrequent use and general nuisance to facilities, Kevin MacNaughton, associate vice chancellor for Facilities, said. 

This building has served as the home for campus police in years past, but has been scarcely used lately.

“As a cost-saving measure, most recently the University has used it to house the construction contractors that built SAS Hall and contractors working on expansions and modifications to the Yarborough Energy Plant.” 

The Field House has little use at the moment as a result of its location — the end of a parking lot — and inconvenience.

“It has now fallen into disrepair and has become a concern as an attractive nuisance. It also stands in the path of the railroad right-of-way and a new thoroughfare being studied to reduce traffic on Stinson Drive and Yarborough Drive,” MacNaughton said.

Having stood for more than 70 years, the Field House has been part of N.C. State’s campus for nearly half of its existence and has served several purposes, but according to MacNaughton, it is time to retire the structure.

Once taken down, the absence of the Field House will open room for other construction projects to take place in the SAS/Park Shops area, MacNaughton said. 

To commemorate the building’s historical and aesthetic significance, MacNaughton said a plaque has been placed near the building.

“To memorialize this old structure and the rest of the historical stadium complex, a plaque has been placed by Facilities along Stinson Drive describing what once stood at that location along with some key historical notes,” MacNaughton said. “This way, future generations will know of its existence.” 

Campus Facilities is also working to preserve certain historical attributes of the Field House to remember its impact.

“We have removed the old block ‘S’ that once graced the side of the building for safe keeping,” MacNaughton said. “Athletics has also scoured the building to recover any key pieces of memorabilia that might still exist.”

“Once removed, site improvements will be made to make it an aesthetically pleasing modification,” MacNaughton said.  

Ryan Breedlove, project manager for the demolition, said the demolition process will begin March 2 and debris will be hauled off during the week of spring break.