Despite the standard salutation afforded to all visitors to Kidd Brewer Stadium, The Rock has offered anything but a warm welcome to opponents since it opened as Conrad Stadium on Sept. 15, 1962.

One of the most picturesque settings in all of college football, Kidd Brewer Stadium also stakes claim to being one of the toughest venues in the nation for a visiting team to leave with a victory.

Entering the 2009 season, Appalachian boasted a 196-60-5 record all-time at Kidd Brewer Stadium, including wins in 42 of its last 44 home games.

In addition to Mountaineer victories, Appalachian faithful enjoy one of the nation’s premier gameday atmospheres at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Since the beginning of the 2005 season, ASU boasts an average regular-season home attendance of 23,324, a mark which comes in at more than 140 percent of KBS’s official seating capacity of 16,650 from 2005-07 and 20,150 in ‘08, when a 4,400-seat upper deck opened on the stadium’s east side.

ASU has led the nation in attendance each of the past two seasons. In 2008, a school-record 28,727 fans per game crammed into The Rock for six regular-season contests, including Appalachian’s first-ever crowds to top 30,000 — 30,718 for the home opener versus Jacksonville and 30,931 for a nationally televised Halloween night showdown with No. 3 Wofford. Reserved seating for all six regular-season home games sold out weeks in advance of the home opener.

A multi-purpose facility that is also home to ASU’s field hockey and men’s and women’s track and field progarms, Kidd Brewer Stadium also boasts one of college football’s finest settings for a sporting venue, with ASU’s beautiful, modern campus and the natural beauty of the High Country serving as a backdrop.

Officially opened on September 15, 1962 as Conrad Stadium, in honor of former University trustee and R.J. Reynolds executive William J. Conrad, the stadium was originally constructed with 10,000 permanent seats.

Conrad Stadium was renamed on Sept. 3, 1988 in honor of Kidd Brewer, one of the most successful head coaches in Appalachian football history and a colorful part of North Carolina history. Brewer, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native who served as head football coach of the Mountaineers from 1935-38, complied a 30-5-3 overall mark in his four seasons at the helm of the Apps. An All-American at Duke, Brewer’s 1937 squad was unbeaten and unscored upon in the regular season.

After leaving Appalachian, Brewer started a sales career, but shortly thereafter reported for active duty in World War II. He served as a Naval lieutenant in the Pacific. After the war, Brewer was secretary to U.S. Sen. Josiah W. Bailey (D-N.C.). Upon Bailey’s death in office Brewer served his replacement, Sen. William B. Umstead, as administrative assistant.

Brewer returned to North Carolina and ran for lieutenant governor in 1956. Between campaigns for governor (1964) and state court of appeals (1968), he made a name for himself as a developer, insurance salesman and philanthropist.

The stadium has undergone many face lifts since its construction, but still stands as a beacon to the Mountaineer faithful. The stadium’s track measures at 3,333 feet above sea level for NCAA qualifications.

Seating capacity was expanded from its original 10,000 to 18,000 following the 1978 season. Completion of an extensive renovation and restoration project on the original 10,000 seats in 1995 readjusted the seating capacity to 16,650. A state-of the-art “AppVision” videoboard was added in 1999 and enlarged prior to the 2001 campaign, while Appalachian was one of the initial collegiate programs in the country to install FieldTurf at its football venue in 2003. Prior to the 2008 campaign, the  “AppVision” videoboard was outfitted with a new widescreen display that is nearly twice the size of the previous screen and the aforementioned east side upper deck was accompanied by a new concourse with spacious concessions and restroom facilities.

In 2009, The Rock wrapped up its most extensive facelift to date. Following the 2006 season, the KBS press box was removed to make way for a new 120,000-square-foot stadium complex. The seven-story complex, which opened prior to the 2009 home opener versus McNeese State, houses state-of-the-art strength and conditioning, athletic training and academic facilities to benefit all 20 of Appalachian’s varsity sports, as well as extensive locker rooms, meeting space and offices for ASU football and coaches and centralized offices athletics administrators.

However, the most visible element of the crown jewel of ASU athletics’ $50 million facilities enhancement campaign is the addition premium seating in the way of 18 luxury suites, 500 club seats and spacious Yosef Club and Chancellor’s Box areas which offers spectacular views of the playing surface and campus. The premium seating ups Kidd Brewer Stadium’s official seating capacity to 21,650 for 2009.

Kidd Brewer Stadium has undergone extensive renovations over the past several years, including the addition of a 4,400-seat upper deck on the stadium's east side in 2008.