This entry is part of Park Views, an Asheville Parks & Recreation series that explores the history of the city’s public parks and community centers – and the mountain spirit that helped make them the unique spaces they are today. Read more from the series and follow APR on Facebook and Instagram for additional photos, upcoming events, and opportunities.
Memorial Stadium is a treasure chest full of fond memories for those who watched football or kicked a soccer ball within the iconic landmark nestled along the western slope of Beaucatcher Mountain. Originally dedicated to honor the fallen of World War I, the nearly century-old stadium is adjacent to McCormick Field and Beaucatcher Overlook, Mountainside, and Oakhurst parks, creating a contiguous complex with a baseball stadium, rectangular sports filed, hiking trails, playground, and grassy areas to connect with nature just steps away from Biltmore Avenue.
‘The Prettiest Stadium in the Carolinas’
“That Asheville is in need of an athletic field for football, track, soccer, and other events, relieving McCormick Field except for South Atlantic Association baseball, is a question that is occupying the minds of many local sport lovers,” began a Sunday morning article by the Asheville Citizen on April 4, 1926. The need was quickly filled as Memorial Stadium opened the following year.
With 14,694 inhabitants in 1900, Asheville was the third largest city in North Carolina and would grow to 50,000 by 1930. During this short-lived, rapid growth spurt, a city of parks, plazas, and parkways was envisioned in the first comprehensive city plan. A spending spree brought an unprecedented number of publicly-funded projects such as Recreation Park, Asheville Municipal Golf Course, McCormick Field, Memorial Stadium, and several others.
Long before the roar of crowds filled the air, the land that became Memorial Stadium was a rugged hillside with topography marked by steep ravines and a flowing stream. Workers used earth removed during construction of McCormick Field and other materials to level the stadium area and Memorial Stadium was officially dedicated before a crowd of 6,000 on October 7, 1927 with a football match between Presbyterian and Wake Forest colleges. O. Max Gardner, a prominent figure who would later serve as North Carolina’s governor, delivered the dedication, cementing the stadium’s role as a vital community hub. The stadium was dedicated to the 63 Buncombe County veterans lost in World War I.
The epic economic boom of the 1920s ended in a cataclysmic bust. In 1930, local banks failed, saddling Asheville with $41 million in debt – more than the debts of Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, and Winston Salem combined. To prevent further liabilities, no new debts could be incurred unless they were approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. For this reason, the municipal investments in the parks and recreation system remained largely stagnant for the following decades.
Memorial Stadium served as a versatile community cornerstone for the next two decades, hosting horse races, dog shows, football games, concerts, festivals, rallies, and more. Following the end of World War II, calls to honor veterans of both wars were answered with a brick arch at the entrance to the stadium and expanded 3,600-seat capacity. While the original vision for double arches and statues was never fully realized, the single archway remains a poignant reminder of the sacrifice.
Local growth and development was slow as the City of Asheville maintained its commitment to pay off its pre-Depression debts, which officially took place on July 1, 1976. However, in the years leading up to that proud moment, much of the East End/Valley Street and Southside neighborhoods that bordered Memorial Stadium were demolished and residents displaced through urban renewal projects, redlining, and the construction of South Charlotte Street.
The stadium for years was the home of both Stephens-Lee High School Bears and Lee Edwards/Asheville High School Cougars. Memorial Stadium originally housed a cinder track used by the schools that was converted to artificial surface as technology changed. By the 1980s, the track became a community recreation amenity as the stadium was no longer in use for competitive running.
Civic Pride Saves the Stadium
With only modest renovations since its rededication in 1949, Memorial Stadium began to be viewed by some as a liability with too many challenges to fix. City Council began exploring both investments and divestment in the city’s park system in 1995, debating construction of a youth sports complex at Richmond Hill Park or selling that property to raise money for streets and water lines to attract a large office park.
When a group of physicians approached the city officials with a plan to purchase Memorial Stadium for $1.4 million to build a medical park, councilors seriously entertained the idea. The potential sale of the stadium sparked strong community debate, highlighting deep emotional connections residents held with the space.
Community members who lived near Memorial Stadium thought losing one public park to finance another in a different part of the city was an unsustainable solution to Asheville’s long-term recreation needs. After nearly four hours of public comment, City Council decided not to sell the stadium and directed APR to prioritize community investment projects from the vision plan and explore general obligation (GO) bonds for funding.
Memorial Stadium in the New Millennium
APR scaled down the initial $57.3 million plan to an $18 million bond package that included improvements to the stadium and adjacent Mountainside Park. During a May 1999 election in which a mere 13.7 percent of registered voters participated, the parks and recreation bond referendum narrowly failed by just 357 votes. However, renewed community interest led to the formation of the Memorial Stadium Taskforce.
That group recommended resurfacing the field with artificial turf and removing the track in 2003 to accommodate several sports teams, as well as festivals, concerts, and other special events. The turf was primarily paid for through donations, grants, and the Asheville Splash, a minor league now-defunct women’s soccer franchise.
After Asheville voters approved a $17 million bond referendum in 2016 to improve parks and recreation facilities, APR began planning for the redevelopment of Memorial Stadium in preparation for its centennial anniversary. Completed in 2025, the Memorial Stadium renovation included the return of a walking and running track, new artificial turf, sidewalks along field ends, and replacement of the restroom and storage buildings.
Known as one of the best atmospheres available in a publicly-owned sports park, this investment means the venue continues to stay true to its long-standing intended use, accommodating multiple sports and providing public wellness opportunities for all Ashevillians.
Mountainside Park
Asheville Housing Authority (AHA) approved construction of single family homes and duplexes for medium-to-low income community members at the base of Beaucatcher Mountain in 1971. Plans for Mountainside Apartments changed substantially by the time they opened several months later as a collection of apartment buildings. Though APR advised community partners on a children’s playground for apartment residents as early as 1972, development of nearby Mountainside Park began a few years later.
The City of Asheville acquired property at the northern end of Memorial Stadium on Hunt Hill Place in the 1940s, leaving in place a substantial natural area between the stadium’s end zone and the Hunt Hill property that housed various government offices over the years. In 1975, APR began working with groups to use federal Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) funds to improve and develop parks throughout the city including a new park next to the stadium’s ballfield.
The new park opened in 1978 as Mountainside Park with a diamond ballfield, playground, picnic tables, and open 
shelter that was mostly used by neighborhood families. It quickly became a supervised summer playground site, the precursor program to APR summer day camps. When City Council discussed the possible sale of Memorial Stadium in the 1990s, the Mountainside Park site was excluded from negotiations with a portion of potential profits from the sale earmarked for improvements to the playground. Following the decision to keep Memorial Stadium, Asheville GreenWorks built a new playground in the park.
The Mountainside Apartments property changed hands many times over the years. AHA eventually bought and renovated the apartments, but found it hard to attract tenants. Deed restrictions were blamed for blocking redevelopment and they were torn down in 2006 and 2007 after rebranding as McCormick Heights. A private developer later secured the property for construction of the Retreat at Hunt Hill.
Since 2020, Mountainside Park has received many improvements including playground updates and new swings, trike track, redesigned entry plaza, benches, paved walking paths, more lighting, trees for natural shade, and drainage improvements. City officials conveyed the northern municipal property on Hunt Hill Place to KL Training Solutions in 2023 to house its youth programs My Daddy Taught Me That, My Sistah Taught Me That, and My Daddy Taught Me That Jr. in order to support the community’s vision of providing career and college readiness through enrichment opportunities.
Beaucatcher Overlook Park
Faced with dwindling green space at the arrival of the new millennium, the City of Asheville began acquiring more land for parks and greenways to increase social well-being and preserve the natural beauty of the city. Around 80 acres were secured for multiple APR projects between 2002-2008, including 30 acres for Beaucatcher Overlook Park through the help of Trust for Public Land and the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund.
Memorial Stadium and Mountainside Park already included portions of the western slope of Beaucatcher Mountain and the creation of an expansive overlook park along the mountain can be found in the City of Asheville’s first comprehensive plan. The forested slope with previously-inaccessible public views of downtown and the surrounding mountains allowed the plan’s vision to be realized while preserving a substantial urban forest which was becoming increasingly rare within the city.
Beaucatcher Overlook Park features a natural surface trail that connects Mountainside Park to White Fawn Gap, the former site of an 11-million gallon reservoir that served as the city’s main water storage until the 1950s which may also become its own overlook park in the future. Planned greenway connectors and Nasty Branch Greenway will reunite the Southside neighborhood with Memorial Stadium, a connection that was severed by multiple urban renewal initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s. Beaucatcher Greenway is another planned connection to lead from Memorial Stadium to the historic – and reputedly haunted – Helen’s Bridge.
But, where does the word “beaucatcher” come from? In the 19th century, boys and girls went to separate schools on opposite sides of the city and young couples would meet on the mountain’s trails to “catch their beaus.” That’s how the mountain got its name, according to local legend.
Oakhurst Park
Planning for the Oakhurst neighborhood began in 1923 and many of the homes still date to that decade. Located between Biltmore Avenue, Mission Health’s campus, and Beaucatcher Mountain, residents have long enjoyed access to Memorial Stadium, McCormick Field, and Mountainside and Beaucatcher parks.
Oakhurst neighbors approached APR in 2017 to discuss a small park that was part of the neighborhood’s original design, but had been mostly used for parking during sporting events and concerts. Recognizing the importance of 
access to parks and outdoors spaces in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, parks and recreation crews added native plants and trees, installed picnic tables and benches, and revitalized the grassy slope near Memorial Stadium’s entrance to complete the neighborhood’s original vision when Oakhurst Park opened in 2020.
Do you have photos or stories to share about Memorial Stadium, Beaucatcher Overlook Park, Mountainside Park, or Oakhurst Park? Please send them to cbubenik@ashevillenc.gov so APR can be inspired by the past as we plan our future.
Photo and Image Credits
- Aerial view of Memorial Stadium (bottom left) and McCormick Field (right center) looking north toward downtown Asheville in the 1950s. Courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
- An estimated 6,000 fans showed up for a football match between Presbyterian College and Wake Forest College to fill Memorial Stadium on opening day in 1927.
- A layout from the APR archives shows a baseball/softball diamond, four-lane cinder track, and grandstands.
- The City of Asheville was saddled with Depression-era debt for decades, but an investment in Memorial Stadium and recreational facilities was seen as an essential element to stimulate the local economy, preserve local culture, and support the community’s quality of life as seen in this Asheville Citizen-Times photo from January 20, 1949.
- Faced with increased demand, but no increase in budget to properly care for an expanding park network, City Council debated selling Memorial Stadium to build a sports park in the Richmond Hill area and improve other facilities. As seen in this Asheville Citizen-Times article from January 26, 1998, councilors relented after public backlash and a task force was created to preserve the stadium.
- A fundraising campaign was launched to improve the stadium entrance and enhance the war memorial, but the vision remains unclaimed.
- Asheville City Soccer Club played home games at Memorial Stadium for many years before relocating to UNC Asheville.
- A synthetic track, turf replacement, grandstand preservation, new restrooms and storage, expanded plaza, circulation improvements, and major playground enhancements were completed in 2025.
- This aerial view from November 18, 1998 shows Memorial Stadium with natural turf. McCormick Field received a major renovation in 1992 and many thought it was time to do the same with the stadium. The stadium’s west grandstand was removed in the 1980s and eventually replaced with metal bleachers from The New Asheville Motor Speedway when it was reimagined as Carrier Park. Courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
- Asheville GreenWorks’ predecessor Quality Forward worked closely with APR for many years to improve access to recreation spaces including Mountainside Park, highlighted by Asheville Citizen-Times on October 30, 2004.
- View of Asheville from Beaucatcher Mountain, circa 1889. With 14,694 inhabitants in 1900, Asheville was the third largest city in North Carolina and would grow to 50,000 by 1930. During this short-lived, rapid growth spurt, a city of parks, plazas, and parkways was envisioned in the first comprehensive city plan. A spending spree brought an unprecedented number of publicly-funded projects including Recreation Park, Asheville Municipal Golf Course, McCormick Field, Memorial Stadium, and several others. Courtesy of University of North Carolina Asheville Special Collections.
- Friends of Beaucatcher Overlook Park envision greater connections between Memorial Stadium, the former White Fawn Reservoir, and surrounding neighborhoods, as seen in this Asheville Citizen-Times article from April 11, 2017.
- The Oakhurst neighborhood plan from 1924 shows a planned park surrounded by Buchanan Avenue and Buchanan Place.
- APR crews added gravel, picnic tables, waste and recycling bins, and native landscaping to transform the grassy slope into a true public park.