Veterans Memorial Stadium is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

owned by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The original Veterans Memorial Stadium facility was built in 1948 and was demolished in 2008 to make way for a new structure which opened in 2009. The new stadium seats 10,000, with around 6,200 seats in the main grandstand. The stadium is primarily used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. It is the home field of the

University of Wisconsin–La Crosse The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UWL or UW Lax) is a public university in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Established in 1909, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. With 9,600 ...

Eagles. The 10-lane, 400 meter track complex has hosted several

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

championships and hosts the

Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. I ...

state high school track and field championships each June. The stadium complex also houses the Veterans Hall of Honor meeting room.

2009 expansion

Veterans Memorial Complex was expanded to increase stadium seating to around 10,000, improve Harring Field and the surrounding track, and provide additional athletic fields for soccer and intramural sports. Officials wanted to attract and retain large events such as the WIAA state track meet, while having the necessary fields and associated structures to support both UW–La Crosse athletic and recreational activities as well as community events and programs. In the past, the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

had used La Crosse's facilities for the team's summer training camp. The university is said to be interested in attracting another NFL team to the campus. The expansion, which had an estimated cost of about $14.5 million, began with demolition of the previous stadium in June 2008. The field and track itself was completed in September 2008, while the entire project was finished in August 2009.

Goals of expansion

Prior to the beginning of the project, the university outlined various goals of the expansion.

Stadium

*Provide

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 10,000 split between the main stadium structure and a “visitors side” seating section. *Develop facilities within the stadium for ticketing, and public restrooms. *Develop space below the stadium seating for a student

fitness center A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...

. *Install new lighting in stadium. *Develop facilities within the stadium for concessions, press box,

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

’s box, corporate viewing boxes filming platform, etc. *Develop space below stadium seating for functions such as athletic training, classrooms, locker rooms, climate controlled storage, etc.

Track

*Construct a new, 9-lane (48”) lighted track with rubberized surface that meets all

and WIAA guidelines for competition track facilities. Utilize a “broken-back” style track layout to achieve faster competition track and to afford ample infield space for field events. *Incorporate long jump, triple jump, and pole vault within the field on the east (“visitors”) side of the football field. In corporate high jump into the south D-zone. *Centrally locate the hammer throw, discus and javelin near the stadium complex area with permanent runways and throwing pads and cages.

Harring Field

*Install new synthetic playing surface within the stadium. This will allow unlimited use of the field and it will also reduce the required number of football practice fields. *Develop one natural turf football practice field immediately adjacent to the stadium to accommodate coordinated, simultaneous practice on both the synthetic and the natural turf fields.

Soccer

*Provide a minimally crowned, irrigated and lighted 225’x360’ natural turf competition field oriented north-south. *Provide an irrigated and lighted natural turf half-size practice field adjacent to the competition field. *Provide spectator seating with an approximate capacity of 300 seats. *Install permanent press facilities, scorers table, score board and public address system. Also provide team benches opposite of the spectator seating.

Student Recreation

*Develop permanent, lighted student recreation fields on north end of Memorial Fields complex.

Tennis

*Provide spectator seating.

Notes

External links

Official Website of Veterans Memorial Stadium CampaignLive Webcam
{{coord, 43.81595, -91.226177, type:landmark, display=title College football venues Buildings and structures in La Crosse, Wisconsin American football venues in Wisconsin Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football Tourist attractions in La Crosse County, Wisconsin Monuments and memorials in Wisconsin Sports venues completed in 2009 2009 establishments in Wisconsin Athletics (track and field) venues in Wisconsin