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Fortera Stadium
In April 2016, Austin Peay State University and Fortera Credit Union partnered to rename historic Governors Stadium as Fortera Stadium.
Ushering in a new era at Austin Peay, the University and Fortera Credit Union entered a 25-year, $2.5 million sponsorship agreement with the dual purpose of expanding the Fortera brand in Clarksville and providing Austin Peay athletics with resources to enhance facilities within the department.
In recent years, Fortera Stadium has undergone a number of renovations and upgrades to create one of the premier college football venues in the FCS. Most recently, a Fortmetco LED video scoreboard was installed to replace the old scoreboard and videoboard at Fortera Stadium before the 2023 season.Â
Installed in 2022, the new turf surface at Fortera Stadium is now known as Maynard Family Field. It features a 40-yard-long State of Tennessee logo with a Governors logo tucked inside and the Maynard Family logo on each 25-yard line. Shaw Sports Turf installed the Legion Hybrid Synthetic Turf, which is the same state-of-the-art turf that is used by a number of major college football programs.
The Bill Dupes Locker Room was completely renovated before the 2022 season. The $750,000 project featured customized and state-of-the-art lockers from Wenger Lockers, brand-new carpet, multi-colored LED lights, a new sound system, and new branding and signage throughout the locker room. The top-of-the-line facility will provide Austin Peay student-athletes a premier place to prepare for and celebrate their success on the gridiron at Fortera Stadium.
These new upgrades were just another step in a series of updates for one of Austin Peay's most iconic facilities.
Fortera Stadium re-opened in 2014 following the completion of a massive $16.9 million renovation that replaced the west side grandstands with a new structure that includes state-of-the-art amenities for student-athletes, coaches, and fans as well as skyboxes, club-type seating, and new chairback seating.
The first floor of the new facility includes the Bill Dupes Locker Room, the new home for the Governors football team. Football student-athletes also have access to new athletic training facilities, and their gear is stowed in a new equipment room.
Fans are able to access the main grandstand from the second level. That area also includes new concession stands and is the home of the Austin Peay Bookstore, which provides fans the opportunity to purchase the latest in Austin Peay athletics apparel every game day.
The third and fourth levels provide club seating and 13 skyboxes, respectively. The skyboxes offer tiered stadium-type seating with up to 22 seats. The 8,000-square-foot Echo Power Club Level seats 386 spectators and is designed to offer catered meals on football game days.
To the south of the new stadium facility is the Blake Jenkins Plaza, which provides an expansive concourse for fans to enter the facility. In addition, the Hendricks Fox Walk of History is located in this area and features the name of every football player to have donned the Governors uniform.
In a separate project, the stadium's east grandstands, while not razed, were renovated to move the stadium's in-game operations into the press box. In addition, space under the east grandstand was renovated for the university's track and field program.
Recent additions to the team facilities at Fortera Stadium include a strength and conditioning facility as well as a nutrition room that opened prior to the start of the historic 2017 season. Austin Peay also opened a state-of-the-art sports medicine and athlete care facility on the first floor of Fortera Stadium prior to the 2018 campaign.
Austin Peay has played football on the corner of Marion and Henry Streets since 1946. The facility originally was named Municipal Stadium when it opened in 1946 due to its construction by the City of Clarksville. The city owned and operated the facility while permitting the University use of the stadium for an annual sum. That arrangement lasted until 1970 when the city conveyed title to one-third of the stadium to the State for the university and signed a cooperative agreement with Austin Peay State University, Montgomery County (to which it also gave one-third of the stadium's title) and the city to form the Municipal Stadium Authority to operate and maintain the facility.
Following the 1993 season, the University agreed to purchase Municipal Stadium from the Stadium Authority and Montgomery County. With the purchase, the University installed a new artificial playing surface and, more importantly, changed the name of the facility to Governors Stadium.
From 1993 until the 2016 construction of Fortera Stadium, the University made several updates to the facility, replacing the playing surface in 1993, 2004, and 2014 while adding a new scoreboard and video board combination on the stadium's south end in 2007.
However, the greatest transformation to the facility since its 1946 construction was approved in 2012 when the Tennessee Building Commission approved a $16 million renovation project, which ushered in the newest era of Governors football.
| Fortera Stadium Timeline |
| 1946 |
Municipal Stadium Opens with seating capacity of 5,500 |
| 1970 |
University gains one-third controlling interest in Municipal Stadium and the stadium is renovated, adding AstroTurf artifical surface to the football field and installing an eight-lane Tartan track surface. |
| 1976 |
Host OVC Track & Field Championships for the first time with Austin Peay winning its only men's track and field title. |
| 1993 |
University purchases Municipal Stadium, renames it Governors Stadium and installs Stadia Turf surface. |
| 2004 |
Stadium and track surfaces replaced with Polytan artificial surfaces (Mega Grass football surface).
Governors Stadium hosts 2004 OVC Track & Field Championships. |
| 2006 |
The NFL's Tennessee Titans use Austin Peay facilities for summer training camp. |
| 2007 |
Daktronics scoreboard and video display installed in south end zone. |
| 2013 |
Tennessee Board of Regents approves $16.9-million stadium renovation project to replace west grandstand, renovate east grandstand and replace both the football and track surfaces. |
| 2014 |
New Governors Stadium facilities open.
Stadium hosts 2015 OVC Track & Field Championships. |
| 2016 |
Governors Stadium rebranded as Fortera Stadium. |
| 2017 |
A sellout crowd of 9,428 watches Austin Peay defeat Southeast Missouri on Homecoming. |
| 2018 |
The largest crowd in stadium history (12,201) watches the Governors down Tennessee State. |
| 2019 |
Austin Peay hosts and defeats Furman in its first-ever postseason appearance. |
| 2022 |
The football playing surface is replaced with Legion Hybrid Synthetic Turf and renamed Maynard Family Field. |
| 2023 |
A state-of-the-art Fortmetco LED video scoreboard is installed in the south end zone to replace the old scoreboard and video board.
Austin Peay hosts its second FCS Playoff game at Fortera Stadium. |
Fortera Stadium Map
