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WINSTON-SALEM - The head coach is too modest to call it "The House That Jim Grobe Built." He deflects naming rights to the athletics director and to the players in the Wake Forest football program. And those are good choices.

But in the end, perhaps the most noteworthy development in the $47 million upgrade of BB&T Field came from a fan base that proved atypical in more ways than its small size. It defied the prevailing culture and the current economy with the speedy embrace of a concept that would have been deemed implausible a decade ago.

Today, Wake plays its first game in the shadow of Deacon Tower. The seven-story structure is the most tangible proof of the program's climb from an inglorious past to national relevance.

"There has been a lot of pent-up enthusiasm for the program, as indicated by the premium-seat sales," said Ron Wellman, Wake's AD . "We had no idea how we would do in selling those seats, and we knew we had to sell 75 percent of each seat category for us to go forward financially. We sold over 100 percent in each category, and we did it in two months. That was maybe the crowning moment for me: recognizing how much enthusiasm there is about Wake Forest football - enthusiasm we hadn't even recognized."

The caveat is that Wake wasn't building Ohio Stadium here. It didn't have to win over the world. The venerated, 102,000-seat home of the Ohio State Buckeyes has 81 suites to Deacon Tower's 22 and 2,625 club seats to the 628 at Wake.

But it's all relative in terms of history as well as size. The place formerly known as Groves Stadium is 30 percent as large as The Horseshoe. The tradition gap between Wake and most BCS programs is much greater than bricks and mortar.

And that's why Wellman and Grobe could go public with the plans Aug. 1, 2006 - as the Demon Deacons were coming off three straight seven-loss seasons. Anywhere else in America, that sort of timing would have elicited howls of laughter or - even worse - indifference. At Wake Forest, going 5-7, 4-7 and 4-7 represented progress.

Grobe stood 26-32 after five seasons on the job - an upgrade from the 20-38 mark in the five previous years and the 17-39 in the five years before that. Wake Forest had won four or more games in five consecutive seasons, something it hadn't managed since the 1980s.

"The players should take some pride in the facility because their play has created enough interest to build it," Grobe said. "They're one group that's overlooked in this deal."

Before the 2006 Deacs had played a game, campaign organizers knew they were ahead of projections. When the team stood at 3-0, a record that included a fortunate home victory over an ultimately winless Duke team, the premium-seating options sold out. The really amazing on-field stuff, the first ACC title in 36 years, was still a few months away.

"We hadn't won the championship," Wellman said. "We hadn't gone to the Orange Bowl. Our fans had confidence in Jim's ability to produce a great football team."

The campaign had heavy involvement from the traditional sources, mainly the small but loyal alumni base. It also targeted the Triad business community with some success. Naming rights to selected areas of the tower sold steadily because of the on-field product and the relatively reasonable pricing Wake put forth.

Destruction of any structure makes for more compelling video than the building process, and so it was here. What came down in a matter of seconds was replaced over months. A year ago, fans endured temporary staircases and sawdust. Television crews worked outdoors and the weather mercifully complied.

Now ABC, which airs the Demon Deacons and the Ole Miss Rebels at 3:30 p.m. (WXLV-45), will have a protected, professional environment. It's safe to say Wake won't lose national exposure because of the working conditions it provides.

"When you work with renderings and drawings for so long, you think you have a feel for what it's going to be like," Wellman said. "I was blown away the first time I walked in."

And they're not done. Overhaul of restroom and concessions facilities on both sides of the stadium should be completed in the next couple of years. Bridger Field House, home to some athletics department offices and the stadium's locker rooms, will be renovated, too.

"The athletics department has done a great job with the reconstruction and renovation of all of it," tight end Ben Wooster said. "We're just excited because the seats are filled and the fans are excited about Wake Forest football."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com