Midland Community Stadium (MCS) is located in

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Com ...

and is owned by

Midland Public Schools Midland Public Schools is a public school district located in Midland, Michigan, United States. History The roots of Midland Public Schools go back to the 1872 ''Union High School'', which educated local students until a boiler explosion destro ...

. The stadium is notable because the fan seating is built into man-made earthen hills, and does not have scaffolding type bleachers that are typical for high school stadiums. There is aluminum bench seating for approximately 7,500 (4,000 on the home side; 3,500 on the visitor side), but for the yearly football grudge match between the two cross-town rivals, it is not uncommon for over 10,000 fans to attend.

History

The stadium was built adjacent to Midland High School during the summer of 1958 and dedicated as "Midland Stadium" on Oct. 17 of that year during a win over the Alpena Wildcats. The stadium, high school and Parkdale Elementary were built on the old ''Midland Airfield'', replaced by Barstow Airport. After the city's second high school,

Herbert Henry Dow High School Herbert Henry Dow High School is a public high school located in Midland, Michigan, United States. The school, a part of Midland Public Schools, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and in 2008 was named one of the top 20 High Schools i ...

opened in 1968, the name was changed to Midland Community Stadium because the facility was used by both schools as their home field for football & soccer games and track meets. The stadium was briefly home to the ''Tri-City Apollos'' of the Continental Football League for one season in 1969. The team was so bad that they were known locally as the Tri-City Apollo-gies. The league folded that same year. Nearby

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood University opened as Nort ...

has played at MCS, when ticket demand greatly exceeds the 3,000 seat capacity of their Hantz Stadium.

Improvements

The field was upgraded in 2004 with installation of an artificial surface, AstroTurf XPe, the same product used at many professional and college sports facilities. Very few high school fields use artificial turf due to the high cost. Additional improvements that same year included paving & surfacing, fencing, a new synthetic track surface and audio & video cable installation to simplify setup for broadcast and/or taping of stadium events. In 2021, a $1 million project was completed which introduced all aluminum stadium seating, additional handrails, and wheelchair-accessible seating with partner benches.

References

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External links

Midland Public Schools websiteMidland High School websiteH. H. Dow High School website
Midland, Michigan Sports venues in Michigan Buildings and structures in Midland County, Michigan Music venues completed in 1955 1955 establishments in Michigan