University of North Carolina Athletics
Coffee Table Book On Kenan Stadium Released
August 14, 2016 | Football
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A 240-page oversized book with half text and half photos/memorabilia celebrating the 89-year existence of Kenan Memorial Stadium has been released and is available for purchase on-line and in retail outlets.
Football in a Forest—The Life and Times of Kenan Memorial Stadium was conceived, authored, edited and published by Chapel Hill writer and broadcaster Lee Pace, a 1979 University of North Carolina graduate with long ties to the Tar Heel football program.
“I love history, tradition, architecture and aesthetics, and I've long thought Kenan Stadium would lend itself to this type of book,” says Pace, whose Extra Points newsletter and internet feature on GoHeels.com has covered Carolina since 1990 and who's been the radio sideline reporter since 2004.
“Kenan is the Wrigley Field, the Merion Golf Club of college football,” Pace says. “Though the University has literally grown around the stadium over nearly a century, it remains an oasis in the center of campus and figures so prominently in the lives of many in the UNC community.”
Pace tells the chronological story of the stadium from its inception in the mid-1920s and opening in 1927 through modern times. He recruited writers from Sports Illustrated and the New York Times best-seller lists to contribute essays on their experiences in Kenan—including James Dodson, Tony Barnhart, Larry Keith and novelist Jill McCorkle—and the book is richly illustrated with vintage photographs, antique game programs and ticket stubs and dramatic images capturing the excitement of the Tar Heels' 11-3 and ACC Coastal Division championship season in 2015.
Most notable among the images are a series of shots taken by Boone photographer Jordan Nelson from a drone circling the stadium at twilight and dusk during Carolina's home season finale in November 2015 against Miami.
The book retails for $39.95 and is available by mail, phone or on-line orders from Johnny T-Shirt of Chapel Hill by clicking www.johnnytshirt.com or calling 800/554-6862. It is also available at Johnny T-Shirt's retail store on Franklin Street and at UNC Student Stores and Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. It is available in Raleigh at Quail Ridge Books in North Hills.
The book is being published in conjunction with the Carolina Lettermen's Association, a group of some 1,000 former Tar Heel players, managers, trainers and videographers.
Pace has 25 years of book authoring and publishing experience, and the book was designed by his wife Sue, a 1982 UNC graduate. They have been involved in one or more facets of publishing commemorative books for entities such as Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Pine Needles & Mid Pines Resorts, the Carolinas Golf Association, Secession Golf Club, Forsyth Country Club, Linville Golf Club and Eseeola Lodge, Myers Park Country Club and Blowing Rock Country Club.
