The university started a football program from nothing, and the owner of the New Orleans Saints paid for the stadium to hold it. Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium, at 4301 Broadway Street on the University of the Incarnate Word campus in San Antonio, opened on 1 September 2008 - funded by the San Antonio-born NFL owner and his wife, whose gifts also launched the Cardinals football program itself. The venue is a true multi-sport facility: home to UIW football, men's and women's soccer, and track and field, with an eight-lane Olympic-standard all-weather track ringing the artificial-turf field. The adjoining 16,000-square-foot Benson Fieldhouse holds the weight room, training areas, locker rooms and coaches' offices. It opened with 3,000 seats and doubled to 6,000 in 2010 with the addition of the north bleachers, as the young program jumped to the Lone Star Conference and then to Division I's Southland Conference. Six suites crown the original south stands, two press boxes top the north side - housing KUIW radio and UIWTV - and the record crowd of 6,498 packed in against Houston Baptist in November 2016. The original Hellas Matrix turf was replaced with FieldTurf Classic HD in 2018. The football story written here has been remarkably fast: from a first game in 2009 to FCS playoff runs and nationally ranked seasons within about a decade, the stadium's Saturday crowds growing with the program. Soccer and track fill the venue's calendar through spring, plus high-school events and community fixtures. The campus location on Broadway puts the stadium beside the Witte Museum and Brackenridge Park, ten minutes north of downtown San Antonio; parking spreads across campus garages with game-day shuttles. An intimate, well-built home for one of college football's youngest success stories.

Type: Stadium / Arena

Address: 4301 Broadway, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78209

Website: https://uiwcardinals.com

Capacity: 6000

Opening Date: 01/09/2008

Serves Food

Outdoor Area

Accessible