Downtown Waco mural counts down to McLane Stadium debut

The approaching opening of Baylor’s McLane Stadium has excited more than just the campus community; the buzz is evident all over Waco. But nowhere is that more obvious than at the intersection of South Fourth Street and Franklin Avenue, just a few blocks from campus in downtown Waco.

In 2012, a group of locals (led by Mike Trozzo, BBA ’99) put up a huge mural on the side of a two-story building at this spot (about a block from the Dr Pepper Museum) that featured Trozzo’s “Heisman Bear” graphic with the words “Wacotown: Oh so special.”

“The city was celebrating ‘The Year of the Bear,’ … but there was nothing that was permanent in the city to say, ‘Hey, this happened here.’ So we thought we would put that up on the wall,” says Trozzo,who has helped organize the Wacotown movement. “We want people to appreciate Waco and appreciate their life here, so we thought we would do some random fun stuff, and hopefully people get a kick out of it.”

Last fall, they expanded the project to include a countdown to the opening of McLane Stadium. Each month, a different local graphic artist designs a new number as we count down to the stadium’s opening in August. As an extra bonus, they also added “Big 12 Champs” to the original mural after Baylor football claimed the conference title in December.

Sic ’em, Wacotown!

[This post was prompted by a Bear who wanted others to be able to share in this bit of Baylor pride. Do you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family? Let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]