Waldo 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 ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. It 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 has been the home of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has a capacity of 30,200 spectators.

History

The stadium was built at a cost of $250,000 ($4.3 million in 2016), and it opened in 1939 with a 6–0 win over

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

. The cost for Waldo Stadium also included the construction of

Hyames Field Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field is a baseball stadium located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, on the campus of Western Michigan University. It opened in 1939, and serves as the home field for the Western Michigan Broncos baseball pr ...

, the school's baseball stadium directly west of the football field. The stadium is named for Dwight B. Waldo, first president of the school. The location of Waldo Stadium has been home for Western football since 1914. A field, without a stadium or modern seating, existed through 1938, until the construction and completion of the stadium in 1939. It originally included an eight-lane track, which has since moved to

Kanley Track Kanley Track is a track and field complex located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is the outdoor home of the Western Michigan University track and field varsity squad and university clubs. At one time, Kanley Track had been a part of Waldo Stadium, be ...

across Stadium Drive. Financing came through private donations, and those who donated were awarded tickets to the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

game against

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. Over the years, WMU continued adding seating to the stadium. In 1973 the capacity was increased to 25,000, and

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

replaced the natural grass field. A renovation in 1989 pushed the available seats to 30,200. In 1993 permanent lighting was added, and in 1995 the University added 325 club seats to the press box. In 1998 the Bill Brown Alumni Football Center was completed, which created new offices for staff, suites, and upgraded facilities for the team. Waldo Stadium Flooding

In 2013, the athletic department made almost $3.5 million in renovations and upgrades to Waldo Stadium and Seelye Center, the football team's indoor practice facility. Included in the upgrades were: new artificial turf for stadium, new brown and gold turf for the indoor practice facility, a revamped and upgraded weight room, a remodeled locker room, renovated meeting rooms, and a new team lounge and showplace. Additional renovations were made to the stadium complex from 2014 to 2015 including new speakers for the stadium, new scoreboards and video boards bringing renovation costs to $5.7 million since 2013. A $2 million donation for the project was made by 1988 WMU alum

Alec Gores Alec E. Gores (born 1953) is an American billionaire businessman who began making his fortune through leveraged buyouts of technology firms at the firm The Gores Group. He has also been instrumental in popularizing SPACs, beginning in the mid-2 ...

. On October 14, 2017, the Bronco football team was slated to play

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

for homecoming, when rains from a fall storm combined with drainage system failures flooded the field and postponed the game. Also contributing to the flood, Waldo Stadium is considered the lowest point in the city of Kalamazoo. The game was played at 1pm the next day (A possible Sunday first for Waldo Stadium), and the Broncos were defeated by Akron 13-14. It was reported that over 1 million gallons of water were pumped off the field overnight to prepare the field for the Sunday game.

Seelye Center

In 2003, the stadium took on a new look with the completion of the $25 million Donald J. Seelye Center, built by a local construction company, Kalleward Group. The Seelye Center rises eight stories and houses an indoor practice field, weight and fitness rooms, and staff offices. It is located on the edge of the northeast

endzone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

, allowing the Seelye club suites to get a view of the game. The Seelye Center incorporated the existing Oakland Gymnasium into the structure, allowing for a very modern entrance on one side, and a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

style on the other.

Notable visiting opponents

The following is a list of notable programs to play WMU at Waldo Stadium. * Future scheduled opponents

Home field records

WMU Bronco Football Waldo Stadium Records Since 2000

High school football

In 1975, Waldo Stadium was one of the hosts for the inaugural MHSAA Football State Championship in Class A and Class D. Livonia Franklin beat

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

(now Traverse City Central) 21-7 in the Class A title game while Crystal Falls Forest Park defeated Flint Holy Rosary 50-0 in the Class D title game. The finals for all classes were moved to the newly constructed

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

beginning with the 1976 title games. In May 2010, the Kalamazoo Valley Association (a local high school athletic conference) announced that it would be playing an inaugural Kalamazoo Valley Association Football Classic at the stadium.

References

External links

Waldo Stadium - WMUBroncos.com - Official Website of WMU Athletics

Donald Seelye Athletic Center - WMUBroncos.com - Official Website of WMU Athletics
{{Michigan college football venues College football venues Western Michigan Broncos football Sports venues in Michigan Buildings and structures in Kalamazoo, Michigan Sports in Kalamazoo, Michigan Event venues established in 1939 1939 establishments in Michigan American football venues in Michigan