STADIUM

The earliest reference to what would become the Stadium was in the May 22, 1911, issue of the ISC Student where it was reported that “The new athletic field is to be equipped with cement bleachers along the west side of the field.” On December 7, 1912, the paper announced that plans for the new field were complete and that a concrete grandstand to seat 5000 people would be built.

The first real description of the project appeared in the Iowa State Student on September 11, 1914:

Permanent concrete bleachers to seat 3,000 are being constructed along the west side of the gridiron on State field and will be completed by November 1. The funds are being provided by the Athletic Council and by gifts from alumni.

The stands to be built this year will be 203 feet long, 64 feet wide, and a little more than 38 feet high at the rear side. When completed this west stand will be 366 feet long.

The front of the stands will come close to the straightaway cinder track at the west margin of the football field. There will be an abrupt, closed wall rising from the ground to a height of 6 feet, 6 inches, the level of the first row of seats. At this 6 feet, 6 inch level there will be a 4 feet walk running the length of the stand in front of the seats and the stairways from the ground level will run to this walk underneath the stand. Above the 6 feet 6 inch level there will be 28 tiers of seats, running back about 60 feet from the walk and going to a height of 38 feet.

The entrance to the stands will be at the ends; no gates or other openings will open from it to the football field or track, making certain that the field will not be overrun by spectators. Underneath the seats will be a wide ground space, 203 feet long by nearly 60 feet wide. About 24 feet of it will be finished off as a concourse for the passage of spectators to the seats above via the stairways, which will be six in number. The remainder of the space will be reserved for an indoor cinder track and for dressing and storage rooms which will be installed later. The seats will be divided into 6 sections, each with its own stairway exit. At the top of the stand, near the middle, a special section is to be reserved for the press, with desks and telephone and telegraph connection.

In making the plans for the bleachers, careful study was made of various successful stands. In general, the seating arrangement will conform to the arrangements in the new stands at the University of Missouri. Each seat ledge will be 28 inches wide, and height to the next ledge will be 10 inches, giving every spectator 10 inches higher seating than his neighbor next below him. Bleacher seats will be installed, consisting of a raised bench of finished planks, set up on blocks. Each spectator will have a 12 inch seat and 16 inch space in front of the seat for his knees.

The cost of the improvement will be $18,000 and the contract was awarded to the Turner Improvement Company of Des Moines. No fence will be erected this year and the old canvas enclosure will be used again.

At the meeting of the Board in October, 1914, that body gave permission to build the bleachers on college property.¹

Another section was added from a balance in the Student Repair Fund providing an additional 250 seats.² Two weeks later the paper would report another section could be financed as a gift from the senior class. The same day the paper recorded some interesting figures:

The first 11 sections cost $18,974 or $1,643.09 each, while the remaining ten sections are to be built at a cost of $1550 each. Each section will seat 280 people or the 21 sections will accommodate 3,640.³

The next week the other three classes pledged funds for two more sections. In November a pledge for the twentieth section was announced by the Ames Commercial club and the Ft. Dodge, Des Moines and Southern R.R.⁴

The last section built in the fall had to be torn out and replaced in the spring of 1915 because of frozen concrete, and additional sections were then built.⁵

On April 10 the paper could say that “the athletic council has secured the funds for finishing the concrete bleachers.” In May the contractor offered to donate one section if the balance of the construction were completed in that spring,⁶ The Biennial Report for 1914-1916 summarized the activities: “New bleachers constructed of reinforced concrete have been built on the west side of the athletic field. Funds for this purpose were contributed by alumni, faculty members, and students the total cost being about $32,000.” That report should have included “friends” among those who contributed.

The first major change in the stadium occurred as a result of the first World War in 1918. At its meeting on March 29 the Board took this action:

$6,000.00 or so much there of as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated from the balance remaining in the Repairs and Minor Improvements Fund to cover cost of the permanent work in connection with the enclosing of the bleachers for the housing of soldiers who will take special automobile work under contract to be entered into with the War Department. It is understood only such part of the work as will remain permanently in place for future use in accordance with plans for utilizing the space under the bleachers for Physical Training work shall be charged to this appropriation.

Action was taken quickly. On April 6, 1918, the student paper described the changes:

Plans drawn up by C.H. Scheman, secretary to the president, have been completed and handed over to Supt. Sloss, who is already working on some parts of the construction. The plans call for the building of walls around the west side and both ends of the large concrete bleachers on State Field with two rows of windows, four feet and twenty feet from the ground. The walls are to be of tile, which is already being hauled over to the location, and the window frames are nearly completed by workmen at the carpenter shop.

The openings formerly used as entrances to the bleachers from underneath will be closed up by doors, giving a dormer effect and will serve admirably as exits. The space afforded by the building of partitions between the pillars and the stairs leading to the exits will give more ample room per man than is provided even at the cantonments. The floors will be of wood, which will be the only part of the building subject to destruction by fire, except the partitions and windows.

Electricity is to be run to the barracks and an abundance of water will be furnished the men. Two or three furnaces are to be installed to guard against cool or damp weather, although they will probably be little used. The furnaces will no doubt be of the same nature as those used in cantonments.

At one end of the structure, two good sized lavatories of the cantonment type are to be erected. They will provide showers, baths and the like with plenty of hot water and will be lighted like the barracks.

The first recorded mention of adding stands on the east side of the field is found in the Iowa State Student on December 19, 1923, where it is said that new bleachers will be built in two years “if plans of the Athletic Council are carried to completion.” On January 9, 1925, a committee of four met to prepare a report on a new stadium.⁷

This is the first time the term “stadium” was used, as opposed to “bleachers” or “grandstand”. The next month it could be reported that architectural plans were to be completed “by the last of the week”,⁸ and in March the Board acted to approve the project

with the understanding that this improvement will not be paid for from funds appropriated by the Legislature, and with the further understanding that the general progress of the work and the supervision of the bleachers when completed will be subject to the authority of the State Board of Education, in the same manner as other improvements on the campus.⁹

The plans at that time showed the existing west stands and the new east stands as two units in a much larger U-shaped stadium. A perspective drawing of the whole structure appears in the March 2, 1925, issue of the Iowa State Student.

The Athletic Council awarded construction contracts for the east stands on April 10, 1925, to F.M. Eller for general work in the amount of $61,900, to Palmer Plumbing Company for plumbing at $5383, and to Capital City Electric Company for electrical work at $584. An option to build a brick enclosing wall under the bleachers was accepted, with funds for that work only provided by the Board of Education.¹⁰

The east stands were dedicated on October 10, 1925, and the combined seating capacity became 14,000. ¹¹

A contract for additional work under the east stands was awarded on July 1, 1930, to Fred Fischer in the amount of $15,668.40 for general construction. Other work brought the total project budget to $24,616.40.¹² The project included construction of “six handball courts, squash courts, wrestling rooms, and locker rooms.” ¹³ The work was completed and approved in November.¹⁴

In the fall of 1931 an agreement was reached between Ames and the College to provide for a fire station to be built under the south end of the west bleachers. At the January 1932 Board meeting $4000 was allocated for the necessary alterations to the Stadium and the work was done by the Building and Grounds department. Work was completed about the first of June 1932.¹⁵ Use for the fire station continued until the fall of 1966.

$1800 was allocated for repairs in the summer of 1934 and the Iowa State Student of September 25 reported that “worn out seats have been replaced.” In the summer of 1939, $10,000 was spent on remodeling the stadium. The press box on the west stands was built and an underground watering system was installed. The first public address system was also used that year.¹⁶

In 1947 the east stands were remodeled to make living quarters for varsity team players.

In 1960 architects were retained and planning started for expansion of the stadium. At that time one scheme proposed was to remove the running track, lower the field by about eight feet and extend the east and west bleachers down to that level.¹⁷ However, that scheme was abandoned. Instead the old press boxes were removed and eighteen rows of seats were added at the top of the east stands and a new press box built on the west side.¹⁸ The construction was completed for the 1961 football season.

By 1965 further increase in the seating capacity was required and the decision was reached to add the south end construction providing an estimated 10,700 additional seats.¹⁹ Construction began in May of 1966. Some seats were available for use that fall but work was not completed until after the football season was ended. The addition brought the total capacity to about 35,000 seats.

The stadium continued in use through the 1974 season. The new south campus stadium was first used in 1975.

The old stadium was razed in 1978.