West Family Stadium - West Liberty Hilltoppers
- Aaron S. Terry
- 17 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Photos by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.57
West Family Stadium 208 University Dr West Liberty, WV 26074
Year Opened: 1948
Capacity: 4,000
Up, Up, and Away We Go
West Liberty University offers a scenic setting for football with a great home game atmosphere, including a party deck for alumni and bucket-style chairback seats for about half the fanbase. There is no seating on the visitors’ side of the field, but the home side boasts two concession stands, as well as berm seating behind one end zone that I saw a handful of fans enjoying.
Food & Beverage 2
West Family Stadium doesn’t have a wide range of concession options, but it offers a few favorites such as hot dogs with or without chili, nachos, cookies, and packaged candy, as well as sodas and bottled water. There are two concession stands on the home side, both serving the same items, but one is cash-only – the line for the cash-only stand is almost non-existent, while the credit card stand line is very long, so I recommend bringing cash to the game if you want to save time.
Atmosphere 3
West Family Stadium has a great atmosphere with lots of energy coming from the fans. The band, while small, does a great job keeping the fans engaged with its performance before the game, as well as by playing lively songs during breaks in the action. The seats in the center section are all chairbacks, with metal bleachers on both ends of the grandstand. There are also vendors on hand before the game, such as the Army or National Guard, handing out giveaways and souvenirs.
The stadium appears to be well kept up but does show its age a little – for example, there is no video board, just a basic digital scoreboard, and you can see fading on some of the dedicatory plaques.
Neighborhood 1
West Liberty University is about 10 miles up the hill from nearby Wheeling, West Virginia – the Hilltoppers moniker is very apt. As a result, there is very little in the vicinity of West Family Stadium; there are a couple of pizza places, but the closest hotel, Oglebay Resort, is over seven miles away.
However, even once you get down that hill, there are only a few restaurants and hotels in that part of Wheeling. There is a casino and greyhound racetrack on Wheeling Island, an island in the middle of the Ohio River, but the only real civilization is about 20 miles from West Family Stadium – 10 miles down the mountain using Highway 88, and then another 10 miles on I-70, either east to St. Clairsville, Ohio, or west to Wheeling’s city center.
The greyhound racetrack on Wheeling Island is one of only two still operating in the United States, so it may be worth a look if you are in the area. Live racing happens Wednesday through Sunday starting at 1 pm, so depending on what time the football game starts, you may be able to catch a few races before or after.
Fans 3
West Family Stadium has a great fan base with many home fans wearing team gear, but the fan base is a bit mixed, since both the home and visiting fans sit together on the press box side of the field. As a result, you will hear loud cheers even when something bad happens for the Hilltoppers, and you might see as many fans wearing the opposite colors as you will see them sporting WLU black and gold.
Access 2
As mentioned above, you will have to drive about 10 miles up, and sometimes down, a mountain to get to West Family Stadium, with many, many switchbacks, so it won’t be much fun, especially at night. Then, once you get to the stadium, unless you have a pass or get there really early, you will have to park down the hill from the facility and use concrete stairs to walk up to the stadium, some of which are uneven or sloped. But once you get to the stadium itself, there is plenty of room to move around, and the bathrooms are more than large enough to accommodate the crowd.
There are also no assigned seats, so you are free to sit wherever you want, first come, first served.
Return on Investment 4
Tickets to West Liberty Hilltoppers football games are $15, which may be a little on the high side for D2 football, but is by no means exorbitant. I consider attending a game at West Family Stadium a good return on investment – the venue may be missing some of the amenities fans may be used to nowadays, what with the recent revitalization of many sports stadiums, but West Liberty offers an above-average experience compared to other D2 football venues.
Extras 3
The berm seating is a plus, as it offers a way to get closer to the action on the field, and the giveaways before the game are a lot of fun, especially if you happen to be bringing any little ones. The party deck for alums is also a nice touch; note that this is the only covered seating in the facility, so if you are there for a day game and happen to have any connections in that regard, you might want to take advantage.
