Roy Stewart Stadium

Roy Stewart Stadium

Location	1401 North State Route 121 Murray, Kentucky 42071
Coordinates	36°37′17″N 88°19′04″W / 36.6213°N 88.3177°W / 36.6213; -88.3177
Owner	Murray State University
Operator	Murray State University
Capacity	16,800
Surface	AstroTurf (1996–2007) FieldTurf (2007–present)
Construction
Broke ground	1972
Opened	September 15, 1973[1]
Architect	Lee Potter Smith Associates[2]
Structural engineer	Ted F. Billington Consulting Engineers[2]
Services engineer	Edward T. Hannan & Associates[2]
General contractor	Clark/White & Congleton[2]
Tenants
Murray State Racers (football, rifle, women's track & field)

Roy Stewart Stadium is a 16,800-seat multi-purpose stadium in Murray, Kentucky. It opened in 1973 and is home to the Murray State University Racers football, rifle and women's track and field teams. Before Racers football left the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) for the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in 2023, the stadium was the second-largest of any on-campus stadium in the OVC; it now lies roughly at the MVFC average.

The seven-floor structure is named after Roy Stewart, a longtime Murray State football coach and athletics director. It features a FieldTurf surface surrounded by a nine-lane track. Inside the stadium are athletic offices, locker rooms and meeting rooms for football and track and field, as well as a training room and weight room. The Pat Spurgin Rifle Range, site of seven NCAA championships, is located at the northern end of the second floor.

The Racers' first mascot, a racehorse named Violet Cactus, is buried at the stadium near the area where the current mascot, Racer 1, begins its trek around the football field before the beginning of each football game, and after each Racer touchdown.^[3]