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The Castle

S.B. Ballard Stadium

S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, VA, home of Old Dominion. Capacity 20,118. Opened October 3, 1936 (original stadium).

S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, VA
S.B. Ballard Stadium, Norfolk, VAPhoto: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Capacity
20,118
Opened
1936
Surface
AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D
Roof
Open air
Elevation
10 ft
Home team
Old Dominion
Old Dominion here
65–⁠38 games on file since 2009

Biggest games here

From the games on file here, 2009 on: title and postseason games, meetings of two ranked teams, upsets by our pregame Elo ratings and the biggest swings in CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Crowds season by season

Average and biggest crowd at S.B. Ballard Stadium by season, 2009 to 202610k15k20k25k2009: 19,782 a game over 7 games; biggest 19,7822010: 19,782 a game over 7 games; biggest 19,7822011: 19,818 a game over 6 games; biggest 19,8182012: 20,026 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,0682013: 20,118 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,1182014: 20,118 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,1182015: 20,118 a game over 7 games; biggest 20,1182016: 20,118 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,1182017: 20,130 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,1882018: 19,633 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,5322019: 18,234 a game over 6 games; biggest 21,9442021: 15,966 a game over 6 games; biggest 18,3632022: 20,232 a game over 6 games; biggest 21,9442023: 17,847 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,0172024: 20,272 a game over 6 games; biggest 22,2082025: 18,583 a game over 6 games; biggest 20,8952026: 21,141 a game over 3 games; biggest 21,944200920112013201520172019202120232025

Biggest crowds on file

22,208Virginia Tech at Old Dominion2024
21,984James Madison at Old Dominion2024
21,944Norfolk State at Old Dominion2026
21,944East Carolina at Old Dominion2024
21,944Virginia Tech at Old Dominion2022

Bars are each season’s average crowd, dots its biggest (the record in orange), the dashed rule today’s capacity. Attendance is on file for most games from 2001 on.

Weather on game day

Coldest kickoffs

Hottest kickoffs

Kickoffs: the NOAA report nearest kickoff from the closest weather station (NOAA NCEI Integrated Surface Database).

The stadium’s history

Former names
Foreman Field (1936–⁠2009)
Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium (2009–⁠2018)
Opened
October 3, 1936 (original stadium)
Architect
Ellerbe Becket (2009 renovation)
S.B. Ballard (both renovations)
Surface over the years
AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D
Renovated
2009, 2019

From the stadium’s Wikipedia article, S.B. Ballard Stadium.

Recent games here

Oct 15, 2026Georgia Southern 23, Old Dominion 15
Sep 26, 2026James Madison 46, Old Dominion 20
Sep 19, 2026East Carolina 20, Old Dominion 17
Sep 5, 2026Old Dominion 31, Norfolk State 10
Nov 29, 2025Old Dominion 27, Georgia State 10
Nov 13, 2025Old Dominion 33, Troy 0
Oct 25, 2025Old Dominion 24, App State 21
Oct 4, 2025Old Dominion 47, Coastal Carolina 7
Sep 27, 2025Old Dominion 21, Liberty 7
Sep 6, 2025Old Dominion 54, North Carolina Central 6
Nov 23, 2024Marshall 42, Old Dominion 35
Nov 16, 2024James Madison 35, Old Dominion 32

Pouring rights

PepsiCo has the stadium’s soft-drink pouring rights. Official source.