It’s English v Scottish champions at Kenan Stadium on Wednesday, with a 00:30 (UK) kick-off as Pep Guardiola comes up against Brendan Rodgers.
Ahead of that exciting encounter, we brings you some facts about the venue.
HOME SWEET HOME
Kenan Stadium, located on Stadium Drive in Chapel Hill, is the home of American Football side, North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels, who compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference, have played 96 seasons at Kenan Stadium and in that time, they have won two Southern Conference football championships and five Atlantic Coast Conference football championships.
MOVING ON UP
The previous home of the Tar Heels was a multi-use venue called Emerson Field. The combination baseball/football field was opened in 1916 and named after a university benefactor, Captain Isaac E. Emerson, who was best known as the inventor of antacid Bromo-Seltzer. The venue could only seat 2,400 and by the 1920s it was clear that a bigger home was needed. In fact, when the school played their annual match game against Virginia in 1925, 16,000 fans had to watch from the sidelines. The football team left Emerson for Kenan Memorial Stadium in 1927. Emerson’s site is now home to the University of North Carolina’s Davis Library.
DEBUT DAY
The first ever match at Kenan Stadium took place in November 1927, when the Tar Heels beat the Davidson Wildcats 27-0 in front of around 9,000 fans. Later that month, the stadium was officially dedicated during the 31st annual game between the Tar Heels and the Virginia Cavaliers, which the hosts won 14-13. The stadium was completely full. As a thank you, 200 students wearing blue and white spelled out “K-E-N-A-N” on the gridiron, which was ‘50 yards long and half as high’ according to the Daily News.
BIGGER AND BETTER
Kenan Stadium originally could only house 24,000 fans but it has undergone five expansions over the last 60 years. The upper deck was built in 1963, increasing the capacity to 48,000 and with further work done in 1979, 1988, 1997 and 1998, the capacity shot up to over 60,000. Across the 2000s, progress continued including the installation of a $2 million scoreboard, a $70 million Athletic Centre and the creation of the ‘Blue Zone’ which added a further 3,000 seats. However, the seating capacity eventually reduced back down to 51,000 as bleachers were replaced by seats.
FAN FERVOUR
The largest crowd to see a game at Kenan Stadium—and indeed the biggest to see a game on-campus in the state of North Carolina—was 62,000 when the Tar Heels hosted the Florida State Seminoles in 1997. It was called the ‘biggest college football game in the history of the state of North Carolina’ with the Seminoles coming out 20-3 winners against the previously unbeaten Tar Heels.
SCENIC VENUE
Kenan Stadium is regarded as one of the most picturesque sporting venues in America, surrounded by the Carolina pines that grow in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels official website insists: ‘The thrill of playing in or attending a game there is as exhilarating now as it was when it was first constructed. For scenery, atmosphere and charm, it cannot be surpassed.”
FOOTBALL FEVER
City v Celtic isn’t the first football match to take place at Kenan Stadium. In July 2023, Kenan hosted a friendly game in front of 50,596 between Chelsea and Wrexham in the 2023 FC Series. Mauricio Pochettino’s men won 5-0, goals coming from Ian Maatsen (2) – who transferred to Aston Villa this summer - Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chilwell.
FC SERIES EXCITEMENT
There’s certainly a buzz at the University of North Carolina for this week’s City v Celtic game at Kenan Stadium. “We are thrilled to welcome international soccer fans back to Chapel Hill for this fantastic event,” said Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics at UNC. “The atmosphere for last year’s game in Kenan Stadium was outstanding and we can’t wait to share our beautiful campus and Carolina community with even more visitors from around the world.” “Both of these teams are champions, and we are excited to bring them to a campus that has no shortage of trophies,” added Molly Pendleton, Senior Vice President, Unified Events and University of North Carolina Alumni.
GLORY DAYS
Music icons the Beach Boys, U2 and Bruce Springsteen have all held concerts at Kenan Stadium. The Beach Boys performed in 1980, U2 took to the stage in 1983 for Carolina Concert for Children while Springsteen wowed crowds for over three hours in 2003. Despite a draining concert the previous night in Washington, The Boss performed his usual marathon extravaganza, a 26- song set that began on a very sad note with country singer Johnny Cash’s ‘I Walk the Line’, in honour of The Man In Black who had died that week. Other performers in the stadium over the years include Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982 and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five in 1983.
PRESIDENT POWER
It’s not just sport and music that takes place at Kenan Stadium. It’s also played host to two former Presidents of the United States. John F. Kennedy spoke in front of a crowd of over 32,000 as he accepted an honorary law degree for the University’s 168th birthday in 1961 while Bill Clinton addressed a crowd of over 50,000 in 1993 as he discussed health care reform and family medical leave, among other topics.
USA Tour 2024
City face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.
Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.
All US Tour matches will be broadcast live on CITY+ in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.
For Saturday’s clash with AC Milan, the following countries will also have access to the broadcast if purchasing CITY+ via the Man City App on iOS only: Albania, Cambodia, Georgia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Uzbekistan.
To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.
For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.
Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here.
For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.
