Carter-Finley Stadium was opened in 1966 as home to the North Carolina State University Wolfpack football team. The stadium replaced the obsolete on-campus Riddick Stadium . While located on University land, the stadium is a few miles to the west of the academic campus. The 2003 capacity was generally reported at 53,500 seats.

Prior to the 2001 season, the university began a program of modernization of Carter-Finley. The southern endzone was enclosed with seats, and a state-of-the-art football operations center was built. As of 2004, construction is underway of the "Wolfpack Towers", a complex of luxury boxes, club seats, and media facilities.