Amon G . Carter Stadium Amon G . Carter Stadium is an open - air football stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth , Texas . It is the home stadium of the TCU Horned Frogs football team . It was named after Amon G . Carter , a prominent Fort Worth businessman , newspaper publisher , and city booster . It has several popular nicknames , the most popular being " The Carter " and " Hell ' s Half Acre " ( a reference to the site in Fort Worth ' s wild west past , which was located near the stadium , as well as the difficulty opposing teams have winning in the stadium ) . The stadium recently underwent a $ 164 million reconstruction project , which began immediately after the 2010 football season and was completed before the beginning of the 2012 season . History . Planning and construction . In 1923 , TCU received a generous donation from Mary Couts Burnett , the abused widow of a wealthy and well known Texas rancher . The Burnett donation constituted the egg for TCU ' s endowment . One condition of the Burnett donation was that a portion of it would be used for the construction of a new library , and it was decided to build the Mary Couts Burnett Library where the school ' s athletic field , Clark Field , was then located . The removal of Clark Field necessitated the construction of a new field for athletic competition , especially in the sport of football . TCU played its first season of football in 1896 , and since then had built a reputation of excellence garnering national attention , and joined the Southwest Conference in 1923 . In 1928 , the school received a generous gift from local newspaper magnate and philanthropist Amon G . Carter , and in 1930 , the school opened Amon G . Carter Stadium , where the TCU football team still plays . Amon Carter stadium was constructed from 1929 to 1930 with an original seating capacity of 22 , 000 . The stadium hosted its first football game on October 11 , 1930 , when TCU defeated the University of Arkansas . In the 1930s under head coach Dutch Meyer , the Horned Frogs won national championships in 1935 & 1938 . Expansion . The first expansion of the stadium took place in 1948 , with construction raising the capacity by 8 , 500 to a total of 30 , 500 . In 1951 and 1953 , 2 , 500 and 4 , 000 more seats were added which raised capacity to 37 , 000 seats . An upper deck , topped by a two - story press box and highlighted with a large stylized " TCU " , was added in 1956 . This brought the stadium ' s capacity to 46 , 083 . In 1985 and 1991 , improvements were made to the seating . This involved replacing the old seats in the lower bowl with aluminum bleachers . The upper - deck seats were later replaced in the same way . This reduced the stadium capacity to 44 , 008 spectators . In 1992 , the artificial turf , which had been in place since 1973 , was replaced with natural grass . In 2002 , the David E . Bloxom , Sr . Foundation helped install a new scoreboard and videoboard . New club seats and luxury suites were added prior to the 2008 season , increasing capacity to 44 , 358 . Renovation . In August 2010 , TCU announced a $ 105 million reconstruction of the west side and north end zone of Amon G . Carter Stadium to better enhance football fans ' experience , upgrade amenities , and transform the historic Fort Worth icon into the " Camden Yards " of collegiate football stadiums . Work on the reconstruction , which is funded completely by donor support ( no bonds nor debt ) , began with the implosion of the west stands on December 5 , 2010 . It was fully completed in 2012 and cost a total of $ 164 million . Features . Attendance . Aside from reduced - capacity sell - outs that occurred during the 2011 season during reconstruction , Amon G . Carter Stadium most recently sold out for the October 24 , 2010 TCU vs . Air Force game ; the announced attendance was 47 , 593 . Previous sell - outs occurred on September 25 , 2010 against Baylor , against the Utah Utes in 2009 , and then on September 16 , 2006 when TCU defeated Texas Tech 12 – 3 . Prior to the sellout against Texas Tech , the last sellout at Amon G . Carter was on November 17 , 1984 , when the 12th - ranked TCU fell to 10th - ranked Texas in a regionally televised contest on ABC . The attendance at the 1984 Texas game was listed as 47 , 280 . The highest ever recorded attendance at Amon G . Carter was 50 , 307 , which occurred in 2009 against the University of Utah . The 2012 home season is the first time an entire season is sold out at Amon G . Carter Stadium . Playing surface . Since 2003 , the stadium ' s playing surface has been named W . A . " Monty & Tex " Moncrief Field , usually shortened to Moncrief Field , after W . A . " Tex " Moncrief Jr . and his father W . A . " Monty " Moncrief Sr . . The naming came following a $ 3 million donation by Tex to the football program . Usage . Armed Forces Bowl . The Armed Forces Bowl , previously the Fort Worth Bowl , has been played annually at Amon Carter Stadium since 2003 . The bowl game was temporarily moved , however , to SMU ' s Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas for the 2010 and 2011 bowl seasons due to the reconstruction . An earlier bowl game , the Fort Worth Classic , was played in Fort Worth at the predecessor to Amon Carter Stadium in 1921 . TCU Horned Frogs . Amon Carter Stadium is the home field of the TCU Horned Frogs football and soccer teams , and is located on the TCU campus .