September 30, 2017
Johnny Unitas Stadium (Capacity: 11,198)
Towson, MD
Towson Tigers vs Villanova Wildcats
Final Score: 9 – 24
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The annual football trip that I take with my brother took us to the Old Line State, where we began in Towson, Maryland, a community about 7 miles north of Baltimore. With a population of 55,000, Towson is one of the area’s largest suburbs and the center is quite busy commercially with a four-level shopping mall and plenty of surrounding stores and commerce. For a suburb, there’s also a surprising number of high-rises. The local University is a big one as the state school has around 22,000 students and is most known for their teaching program. Athletics has made a steady rise through the ranks, starting at Division III in 1969 and rising to I-AA (now FCS) in 1987. They became part of the CAA ten years ago and have a couple of playoff appearances, including a showing in the 2013 Championship game as they were led by Terrence West. Their football stadium originally seated 5,000 when it first opened in 1978 and when the school embarked on a three-year renovation at the start of the century, a new stadium was essentially created and capacity was more than doubled.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
While campus is south of the Towson’s center, the athletic section that includes the basketball arena and football stadium is even further south. On either side of this portion of campus are medical facilities. It takes less than 10 minutes to get downtown and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from once there. For visitors looking to make a day in Towson, there is the Hampton National Historic Site. A tour of the largest private residence built in its time is long-winded and boring at times, but it is part of the National Park system for those that like to see all of those. Also keep in mind that Baltimore and the attractions of the Inner Harbor can be reached in 30 minutes.
Location Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
There is friendly interstate access to Towson via I-83 and I-695, but the location is not right off the exit. Needing to go a bit deeper into town, it’s easier to use Bosley Ave and avoid the center of Towson and the traffic circle. Football events are well patrolled by police organizing traffic and that lends to minimal frustration when heading out after the game. The parking though is a problem as we arrived 40 minutes before kickoff to find that the two general admission lots were full. And this was with a game at maybe 25% capacity! Cones blocking the entrance meant we had to find the Union Garage with little signage and that was a healthy 10-minute walk away. That garage was large enough for this event and probably most other games. Full sellouts would be an issue.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Exterior
Most people will enter from the north side of the stadium and the hillside architecture means there is not much to walk into as entrance occurs at the top of the seating bowl (though the entry plaza is nicely done and decorated). Fans will see the low backs of the interior concession buildings and these are made of brick. There is also signage for Towson University and Unitas Stadium. There may be some season-ticket holders that enter from the other side and this is a more traditional look as the lower elevation lends to a look up at the back of the seating bowl and press box, which is mostly brick and labelled nicely. An interesting feature is that on this side, people on the sidewalk can look over a railing and to the concourse slightly below.
Exterior Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Concourse
Staying on the south side, the partially-covered concourse is well lit and aesthically pleasing thanks to a lighter colored brick and periodic flower beds. A small team store joins a couple of concessions stands in this area. An outdoor walkway that takes a lengthy route around the outside of the stadium goes around the east end and leads to the completely exposed north side. That walk makes for an unusually pretty stroll in a sports facility as it is outlined by pink flowers. The use of plants, shrubs and flowers throughout the stadium is a welcomed feature. Eventually, the walkway on the other sideline runs out and the west end of the stadium is inaccessible.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food
Each concession stand offers a varied set of food choices and they are all pretty good. The highlights: Buffalo Wings and Pulled Pork at one, Loaded Mac & Cheese with meat toppings at another, Traditional offerings plus local favorite Pit Beef at The Tiger Pit and finally a Pride of Baltimore Stand that sells Crab Cake Sandwiches and Pretzels. It’s the best menu I’ve seen at the FCS-level so far. Plus, there is a tent on the track in the east end that features food from The Green Turtle along with beer selections.
Food Ranking: 7 out of 8
Interior
The seating structure offers little in the way of ambiance, but there are a couple of noteworthy touches. The stadium is built into a hill, so the sideline seating looks a little more natural. One side is a set of no-nonsense metal bleachers which extend from goal line to goal line. It’s a similar extension on the other sideline with the seating doubled and it is split in the middle by a walkway (that joins with the concourse due to the terrain). Bleachers are also the seat type, except for a small set of yellow chairs near the top middle. A four-story press box extends above the seating bowl. The track that goes around the field felt like it set the stands even further back than other similar places I’ve been to (and pictures confirmed that). It really didn’t help the atmosphere. End zones are left open and what I did like was the black mulch laid on the hilly open space behind the east end. It looked good and the little Tiger logo was a nice touch. At the other end, a glass building houses offices with space for an outdoor patio to schmooze donors and/or recruits.
Interior Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
At ground level in the west end, a sufficient black scoreboard features a video screen that fills a good portion of it. The video is clear enough and every time I wanted to see a replay, it was shown. Another rare, nice touch is the closed captioning at the very bottom. Game information is on the right side, though the operators were a little slow in keeping up. At the top is a school wordmark with logo, while on the sides and bottom are advertisements. The other end actually has two basic scoreboards, one on the track and the other at the top of the concourse promenade. The former is the old board used before they got the video one, so instead of throwing it out, they just added it to the track.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
The Wall of Excellence is clearly visible on the promenade towards the south stands and each board features the year of achievement that a sport won a conference championship or made an NCAA appearance. It’s a pleasant little area of recognition. The Tigers saved their greatest accomplishment for display on the front of the Field House. That is where a large “2013 NCAA FCS Football Finalist” banner lies.
Displays Ranking: 2.5 out of 6
Cost
Parking and programs were free, two things not always the case for CAA programs. Tickets weren’t bad either as they were $15 – $20, with a discount if bought in advance. The food prices were on the higher end, but that was because of so many specialty items. Many of the snacks and drinks were $3 – $4, which was not terrible. A cheeseburger cost $7.50.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
I was less than impressed with the crowd as my estimate put attendance at near 3,000. For a large school and their town’s mid-sized population, it was a disappointing turnout. Attendance has declined the last few years and the team dropped to 10th in the CAA attendance standings last year. The team did have better turnouts during their recent successful seasons, however the playoff game they hosted in 2013 only had an attendance of 4,621.
Fan Support Ranking: 3.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The people that were at the game I saw did little for atmosphere as they were quiet, with the exception of a loud cheer or two during a score. Those that did make a difference were the Towson Marching Band as their performance before the game and at halftime was entertaining. Post-play tunes also were good, but the in-house PA needs to stop with force-feeding music after every play when the band is taking a break.
Atmosphere Ranking: 5 out of 14
Other Stuff
A scary incident occurred in the 4th quarter when Justice Pettus-Dixon appeared to have a significant injury and remained down for 10 minutes before being taken by ambulance. Thankfully, he was ok and released from the hospital later that night. Seeing something like that live is horrible and we were happy to hear the news that he was not seriously hurt……That news however, did not come for two days thanks to Towson’s crappy athletic department. In the days of social media, you would think reporting that good news to fans should happen quicker. Their front office also failed to answer my emails before the stadium visit and their “Gameday” webpage remained stuck on 2016……The stadium is named after Johnny Unitas because he took up efforts to find a sponsor name just before his untimely death shortly after the stadium opened. The school decided to honor him with the name and they used fundraising to make up for the would-be proceeds. Unitas had three children that attended Towson….The stadium is also home to track and lacrosse, a strong program that reached the Final Four last year……The track is not only used for a food/drink tent, but also some hospitality sections can be found here. It is also a good area for the kids play zone.
Game
This one was not pretty as the teams combined for a total of seven turnovers. Villanova went to the half with a 7-6 lead and then Towson came out with a 17-play drive that only finished with a field goal. The Wildcats countered as Drew Kresge banked a 46-yarder off the upright. The game turned in the 4th quarter, when Villanova recovered fumbles in their own end and then scored offensive touchdowns the very next play. It was a 24-9 win by the end. Towson’s Jabari Greenwood caught 10 balls for 78 yards.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
