W. Dennie Spry Stadium

The newest athletic jewel on the Wake Forest campus is W. Dennie Spry Stadium, which made its debut as home of Demon Deacon soccer in 1996.

The area where the new facility sits isn't new to fans, who have been coming to games off Polo Road for years, but the complex has undergone a complete renovation. Temporary bleachers have been replaced by a permanent grandstand, and the portable scoreboard/public address system has been significantly upgraded.

The biggest change, however, is the addition of lights to both the main stadium and its two neighboring practice fields. This will allow the Deacons to play more games at night, instead of in the middle of the day when most people are still at work.

"Spry Stadium is an outstanding facility," says Wake Forest women's soccer head coach Tony da Luz. "From a training standpoint, the stadium is great for the development of our players. It has a quality surface that is very level and consistent.

"It's going to be a huge benefit for us in recruiting. Players will come to Wake Forest and see our committment to soccer. This stadium represents a 'soccer only' mentality."

Named in honor of W. Dennie Spry, a retired partner in the Winston-Salem law firm of Allman, Spry, Leggett & Crumpler, the new stadium has restroom facilities, lockerrooms for players and officials, concession stand and press box. The stadium has a natural bermuda grass surface.

While watching games will now be more comfortable for fans, the construction of the facility figures to provide a big boost to the men's and women's teams as well.

"With the new stadium we will be able to attract some high quality teams, such as youth national teams, to conduct their training camps and olympic development camps here," says da Luz. "These teams and camps will expose the university to high level players."

What was exciting for the Spry family was having the stadium named for Dennie after his son, Bill, made a significant donation toward the project.

"I am very happy to be in a position where I can do something that will be lasting in nature for the university and will honor my father at the same time," says Bill Spry, who is an investment consultant in Winston-Salem. "I can truthfully say that I've never felt better about doing anything in my life."

Wake Forest has always prided itself on having a family atmosphere and this is only further proof of how tight that bond has become.

"I became aware of the opportunity to be involved with the new soccer complex last summer after talking with Jay about the project," recalls Spry, a Deacon Club member and local youth soccer coach himself. "I wanted the stadium to be completed in the proper way, the way that the university wanted it to be. After discussing the situation with my wife Penny (a Wake Forest law school graduate), we decided to make our commitment."