Scott Stadium Scott Stadium ( officially the Carl Smith Center , Home of David A . Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium ) , located in Charlottesville , Virginia , is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team . It sits on the University of Virginia ' s Grounds , east of Hereford College and first - year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College and the Lawn . Constructed in 1931 , it is the oldest active football stadium in Virginia . Scott Stadium , with a capacity of 61 , 500 , is the 27th largest university - owned college football stadium and is tied with Soldier Field , home of the Chicago Bears , as the 69th largest stadium by capacity in America when including the 31 National Football League professional venues and college stadia " not " owned by any university , such as the Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl . It also hosts other events , such as concerts for bands that can fill an entire stadium , such as the Dave Matthews Band in 2001 , The Rolling Stones in 2005 , and U2 in 2009 . The Virginia High School League held its Group AAA Division 5 and 6 State Championship games at the stadium in 2007 and 2009 . The facility has also hosted the Division I NCAA Men ' s Lacrosse Championship in 1977 and 1982 and the ACC Women ' s Lacrosse Tournament in 2008 . History . Built as a replacement for the old Lambeth Field or " Colonnades , " Scott Stadium bears the name of donor and University Rector Frederic Scott , and held 25 , 000 spectators at opening . The stadium had a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and specifically Monticello Mountain out the south end of the stadium . An artificial turf system was installed in 1974 , making it impossible a long tradition of a mounted Cavalier riding into the stadium with the football team . David A . Harrison III provided a gift allowing natural grass to be reinstalled in the stadium , and the Cavalier has ridden into Scott Stadium every game since 1995 . Another unique feature of Scott Stadium is the Adventures of Cavman , which takes place a few minutes prior to kickoff , on the videoboard . In this computer generated skit , the mascot of the opposing team is causing trouble on the Grounds of UVA , and the Cavalier slays him , then rides to the stadium via the Grounds . After the skit is over , the live Cavalier rides onto the field accompanied by orange and blue fireworks . Stadium expansion projects . 1981 . The first expansion to the stadium ' s capacity came in 1981 , when upper decks and grass hill seating allowed 40 , 000 fans . 2000 . Carl Smith ' s donations helped make the most recent contributions to Scott Stadium in 2000 , filling in the upper deck and south end to allow 20 , 000 additional fans , and installing the pergola , state - of - the - art lighting and gigantic audio / visual tower known as " Hoo - Vision , " as well as a new lighting system placed on towers with " V ' s " built in . The facility ' s official name is a result of this string of donations . 2009 . Scott Stadium received a new scoreboard and a larger video screen , Hoo Vision . Traditions and controversy . Traditionally , males wear coats and ties and females wear sundress es to games , which is also tradition at Alabama , Auburn , Georgia , Ole Miss , Mississippi State , Tulane , and Vanderbilt . Beginning during the 2003 season , however , head coach Al Groh called upon fans to set aside traditional attire for orange clothing . Over the following seasons , many fans took to wearing orange t - shirts with slogans like " Orange Crush , " " Orange Fever " , " Al ' s Idiots " , and " Sea of Orange " . " See image above and notice the orange - colored student section , to the left of where the band was sitting . " The t - shirt movement has been welcomed by many , but ties and sundresses can still be easily spotted at Scott Stadium among students and alumni . Some have compromised by wearing ties with orange dress shirts or orange sundresses . " The Cavalier Daily " , the University ' s daily student - published newspaper , weighed in on the debate in its September 1 , 2005 , lead editorial . " The Declaration " , an alternative weekly news magazine at the University , also ran a feature story on the debate prior to the 2006 home opener . The 2008 season marked the debut of the athletics department ' s " Power of Orange " marketing campaign . Nike released the official orange t - shirt , while orange towels bearing the logo were distributed to all fans at the home opener to achieve an " orange out " . Famous alumni will be utilized at every home game to raise a large Power of Orange flag just before kickoff at the top of The Hill . Notable games . September 8 , 1990 : # 14 Virginia 20 , # 9 Clemson 7 . UVa entered this game with an 0 - 29 record against Clemson . The win was Virginia ' s first - ever victory over an opponent ranked in the top ten . Both goalposts came down when the fans stormed the field ; the first actually fell with 48 seconds still on the clock . The win proved to be something of a watershed in UVA football history in that it set the stage for the 1990 squad to begin the season 7 – 0 , rising to # 1 in the polls for the first time . In addition , in contrast to Virginia ' s historical futility against Clemson prior to the 1990 game , as of 2009 UVA has beaten Clemson eight times ( and tied once ) since that 1990 win , although since 2004 the schools no longer play every year due to the Atlantic Coast Conference ' s expansion . November 3 , 1990 : # 16 Georgia Tech 41 , # 1 Virginia 38 . The Yellow Jackets ended Virginia ' s three - week reign at # 1 in the polls as they overcame a two - touchdown halftime deficit to win on Scott Sisson ' s 37 - yard field goal with : 07 left . Undefeated Georgia Tech would go on to win the rest of its games to take a share of the National Championship . November 2 , 1995 : # 24 Virginia 33 , # 2 Florida State 28 . This nationally televised contest was the first Thursday night game played at Scott Stadium and marked Florida State ' s first loss in an ACC game ( after winning its first 29 ) . In arguably the greatest victory in Virginia football history , FSU running back Warrick Dunn was stopped inches from the south end zone goal line after taking a direct snap on the game ' s final play . Fans stormed the field and brought down both goalposts , a feat not since repeated at Scott Stadium . November 16 , 1996 : Virginia 20 , # 6 North Carolina 17 . With Mack Brown ' s squad poised to clinch a spot in the Bowl Alliance , UVA trailed North Carolina 17 - 3 in the 4th quarter and the Tar Heels were driving for the knockout blow when Antwan Harris picked off a 3rd down pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown . Following quarterback Tim Sherman ' s touchdown scramble on the Hoos ' next drive , kicker Rafael Garcia hit the game - winning 32 - yard field goal with : 39 left . In this installment of the South ' s Oldest Rivalry , Virginia extended North Carolina ' s winless drought in Scott Stadium to 15 years with the 20 - 17 upset . October 15 , 2005 : Virginia 26 , # 4 Florida State 21 . Ten seasons after the 33 - 28 milestone , Virginia ' s 1995 ACC Co - Championship squad was honored in a halftime ceremony . UVA went on to win in a 26 – 21 upset for its first victory over FSU since the 1995 game . Quarterback Marques Hagans threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns , and Connor Hughes kicked four field goals in the victory . Following the game a large part of the crowd stormed the field , with some fans climbing the goalposts . The celebration was marred , however , by the fact that 12 people were injured in a nearly lethal stampede accompanying the rush to the field .