SECU Stadium Guide: Maryland Football, Parking & Game Day Travel

SECU Stadium is the University of Maryland's on-campus football venue in College Park, home to Maryland Terrapins football since 1950. This guide covers everything tied to an actual visit — where it is, how big it is, the 2026 home schedule, what parking really looks like across campus, and why groups increasingly book a Sprinter van or minibus instead of driving in separately and hunting for spots.

1. Where Is SECU Stadium?

SECU Stadium sits at 90 Stadium Drive, College Park, MD 20742, on the University of Maryland's main campus — a little over 8 miles from downtown Washington, DC. It's part of the broader Maryland athletics complex, within walking distance of the Xfinity Center and other university facilities. For the official venue details, the University of Maryland's SECU Stadium facilities page is the authoritative source.

2. Maryland Football Stadium & Capacity

The venue has carried several names since it opened on September 30, 1950, as Byrd Stadium — its dedication game was a 35–21 Maryland win over Navy before a then-record crowd of 43,386. It became Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium in 2006, Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in 2009, Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium in 2015, and finally SECU Stadium in 2022 under a 10-year naming-rights agreement with SECU credit union. Same building, same location, five different signs over 75 years.

Current Maryland football stadium capacity is 46,185, down from roughly 51,800 following a recent renovation that trimmed the seating bowl. It's owned and operated directly by the University of Maryland, College Park — not a third-party venue operator, which is typical for on-campus college stadiums.

3. 2026 Maryland Terrapins Home Schedule

Here's the confirmed 2026 home slate at SECU Stadium so far.

The Penn State matchup closes the regular season and is historically one of the highest-demand dates on the Maryland football schedule — Big Ten rivalry games and marquee non-conference matchups like Virginia Tech consistently draw tighter parking and higher ticket demand than earlier non-conference games. If you're planning around a specific date, knowing which category a matchup falls into is the fastest way to gauge how far ahead to book.

4. SECU Stadium Parking

Unlike a stadium with one dominant surrounding lot, SECU Stadium parking is spread across many designated areas throughout campus, used as wayfinding points on game day — among them the Stadium Drive Garage (adjacent to the stadium), Regents Drive Garage, Terrapin Trail Garage, and Lots Z, 1, 4b, and 9b. Which lot makes sense depends on which gate you're entering through, not just which lot happens to be open.

Parking can be booked in advance through official event parking passes or third-party services like SpotHero — worth doing ahead of a marquee game like Penn State or Virginia Tech, since the closest lots fill first and pricing tends to climb as game day approaches. Lots generally open about four hours before kickoff. The official UMD football parking page maps the zones and permit options.

5. Getting to SECU Stadium

SECU Stadium's campus location means access differs by how you're arriving:

• By car: Multiple approaches into campus depending on your origin — I-495 (Capital Beltway) is the primary regional route from DC, Northern Virginia, or elsewhere in Maryland, with the Campus Drive entrance typically the quickest way in.
• By Metro: The College Park–University of Maryland station, on both the Green and Yellow lines, sits on campus — but it's about a 15–20 minute walk to the stadium, which the university's free Quickbus (Shuttle-UM) game-day service bridges from the station and outer lots.
• By group vehicle: For anyone coordinating more than a couple of cars, a single group pickup avoids the campus-wide parking-lot guesswork entirely.

6. Best Transportation for Maryland Football Games

For solo fans or couples, driving with an advance parking reservation or taking Metro both work well given the campus's transit access. The calculation changes for anyone bringing a group: multiple cars means multiple lot assignments that may not be near each other, and regrouping after a game in a crowd of 46,000 is its own headache. That's the case where group transportation to SECU Stadium makes the most sense — one vehicle, one plan, everyone together.

7. Sprinter & Minibus Transportation for Groups

This is where group transportation earns its cost back. A Sprinter van comfortably fits groups of roughly 8 to 14 — friend groups, extended family, office outings — while larger groups or tailgate-heavy trips scale up naturally to a minibus. It's the same logic behind group and corporate transportation for any event: one coordinated ride removes the coordination problem.

• One pickup point, one drop-off — no caravanning and no losing each other trying to find the same lot.
• Split cost per person — a flat group rate across 8–14 people is often comparable to or cheaper than several cars' gas and individual parking passes.
• No designated driver — the whole group gets to enjoy the tailgate and the game.
• Scheduled pickup after the game — your driver waits at an agreed time instead of competing with thousands trying to exit at once.

Groups coming from across the DMV — Upper Marlboro, Annapolis, DC, Northern Virginia — commonly find that a single pickup point beats everyone driving in separately and trying to meet up once they reach campus.

8. Tailgating & Game-Day Tips

Tailgating is part of the culture around SECU Stadium, concentrated in the lots closest to the venue. A few practical notes:

• Arrive early for marquee games (Penn State, Virginia Tech) — the closest lots fill fast on high-demand dates, and Route 1 traffic backs up well before kickoff.
• If your group is tailgating, a Sprinter van with undercarriage storage can carry coolers and gear without everyone caravanning separately.
• Check the gate assignment tied to your specific tickets before choosing a lot — the closest lot to your gate isn't always the closest lot to the main entrance.
• SECU is a clear-bag facility, so pack accordingly before you head for the gates.

9. SECU Stadium Seating & Map

SECU Stadium's seating is organized into three main tiers, laid out below.

Dedicated student sections (roughly sections 8–16) sit near the band and are consistently the loudest part of the stadium. Separate designated visitor sections are also marked on the stadium's official seating chart, available through the university's ticketing partners.

10. Frequently Asked Questions