Five Star Stadium - Mercer Bears

James Clotfelter
5 days ago
5 min read

Photos by James Clotfelter, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.71

Five Star Stadium 1327 Stadium Dr Macon, GA 31207

Mercer Bears website

Five Star Stadium website

Year Opened: 2013

Capacity: 10,200

Football in the Core of the Peach State

Founded in 1833 and renowned for its doctoral research, Mercer has served the South and is the oldest private institution in the state of Georgia. The Mercer Bears football team has certainly had a strange timeline in its existence, or more accurately, nonexistence. Originally known as the Mercer Baptists, the school first fielded a team in 1891 but did not consistently have a team until 1906. Mercer dropped its team for both World Wars, but unlike the first, it did not reinstate the Bears after the Second World War. It wasn’t until 2013 when the Bears made their return to College Football in the newly built Five Star Stadium, and now in 2025, they find themselves as one of the premier programs in the SoCon.

Food & Beverage 4

The food options at Five Star Stadium are about what you would expect for a college football game. All the basics can be found at the five brick-and-mortar concession stands, two of them on the visitor’s side, and three along the home stand.

In addition to the basics, nestled in the southeastern corner of the stadium is a BBQ smoker with sandwiches and nachos, adjacent to a very popular Kona Ice Truck. Fall Line Brewing has two tents with local draft beer on draft, one smaller one on the away side, and a larger tent on the home end. There is also a wine tent alongside each Fall line tent offering standard pours in addition to frozen wines.

Atmosphere 3

The University puts a solid effort into creating the gameday experience, which begins way before the gates even open.  There is a large green space adjacent to the stadium where the university puts on a sponsored tailgate. The combined effort of fans and local vendors, and the school creates a fun pregame atmosphere for both families and warm keg-drinking college students alike.

Five Star Stadium’s brick facade does a perfect job of blending into the beautiful Mercer campus. The stadium itself is entirely bleacher seating with backs, with two tiers along the home side, and a single tier along the away side. They do the job and provide quality sightlines from any angle. In the endzones are two grass hills, the fans often populate instead of bleachers, with the south endzone providing shade on the sweltering Georgia early-season games. The student section and Mercer band reside on the away side, leaving the home side to alumni and locals alike.

The Bears will play a hype video before the team exits the locker room. It is nothing notable, but it certainly gets the job done. During the game, there will be small promotions sponsored by local businesses, and the music played in breaks is not loud by any standard. It does not feel like the stadium is able to hold in too much noise, as it was pretty quiet during the game, but that could have just been due to the opponent, as the Bears were clearly the dominant team after five minutes of the game.

Neighborhood 4

The Mercer campus is beautiful. Clean orange brick is the foundation for seemingly every building on campus, and there are plenty of green areas and lots for tailgating. All of Mercer’s athletic facilities (baseball, basketball, softball, soccer, etc.) are in the vicinity of the football stadium. The walk downtown is about 25 minutes from the stadium; it is nothing bad, and the sidewalk is well-maintained. If willing to make the walk, Fall Line Brewing in downtown Macon is an excellent before or postgame location. In terms of beer, their black IPA is unique and amazing, and the kitchen in the back makes a mouthwatering Ruben. Downtown is littered with local restaurants, so you will certainly find something that suits your fancy by merely looking at Google Maps.

There is a Hilton Garden Inn right next to the stadium on campus, but no stress if it is fully booked on gameday. Macon is the largest city in central Georgia, so hotels and Airbnb are plentiful. Be sure to check if any events are happening at the Macon Coliseum, as it is home to the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem and many concerts.

Fans 3

Mercer is the largest school in central Georgia, and has a prominent local and alumni support alike. So far this season, the Bears are averaging 9,252 fans per game, putting them at 90% capacity average on the season. Marquee conference games obviously have a larger draw than others. While they do tend to show up in numbers, the fans that do attend are not the loudest in the country by any means. It feels like a very relaxed, family-like atmosphere at the game. On that note, the student turnout was the only disappointing aspect of the crowd. Granted, we shouldn’t knock the crowd on their intensity in this game, because they were playing a far lesser team, and it never really felt like a competition.

Access 4

Getting to and around Five Star Stadium is a seamless process. The campus and stadium are right off I-75 on “Mercer University Drive”. Once you take this exit, there are many street signs that direct you to different game day parking options, all very close to the stadium, and be sure to bring cash, because all parking is $10 and is cash only. On the Mercer athletics website, there is also a parking map if you have a specific parking lot or area in mind.

The stadium concourse is one level, simple and spacious, allowing for easy access to all points in the stadium.

There are three restrooms along the home side at two in the away end, just like the concession stands. Across from a home side concession stand, there is a “Bear Wear” window selling official Mercer apparel.

Return on Investment 4

A Mercer football game doesn’t necessarily have to hurt the wallet; it is very affordable compared to other teams in the state. The SoCon certainly isn’t the premier conference in FCS, but it is far from the worst, and at this moment in time, the Mercer Bears are one of the top teams in the country.

Ticket prices start at $8 for berm seating, $25 for general admission away end, $25 reserved upper, $35 reserved lower, and $35 ADA. If you don’t mind sitting on the berm, the $8 is of great value, but if you prefer a bleacher, then I recommend going for a reserved upper ticket, as the sightlines are great and you get a little breeze.

Concessions are more than reasonable; cheeseburgers and hot dogs are the most expensive at $6, nachos are $5, and smaller snacks, waters, and drinks round out at $4. As mentioned before, be sure to bring $10 cash for parking. It isn’t anything insanely cheap, but for the experience, the price proves to be well worth it.

Extras 2

There is not much in terms of extras for the stadium. It does seem a little strange that the press box is on the away end, which seems to be unique to Five Star Stadium.