Drake Stadium

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Drake Stadium is a stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. It is primarily used for the Drake Relays, and is the home field of the Drake University Bulldogs. It opened in 1925 and currently holds 14,557 people. A large scale renovation of the stadium was completed in 2006. In February 2006, the football field at Drake Stadium was named in honor of Drake alumnus and football great, Johnny Bright.

Drake Stadium has seen the Drake Bulldogs win ten conference championships in football, while advancing to nine college football bowl games. As part of the stadium renovation an artificial surface was installed for both football and soccer.

Drake Stadium is also the home to the Drake Relays one of the premier track and field meets in the country. Thousands of high school, college, and professional track athletes come to Drake Stadium in late April to compete in one of the largest track meets in the United States. The stadium also hosts the Iowa boys and girls high school track state championships.

The 2005-06 renovation project improved many aspects of the stadium. The surface area of the stadium was flattened (previously the infield sat several feet lower than the track surface). It created a reconfigured track to meet NCAA, national and international standards, improved seating, and added a "safety lane" on the outside of the track for athletes (in the old configuration, fans could easily make contact with a competitor in lane 8). In addition, a new scoreboard with video screen was placed at the northeast corner of the stadium.

After the renovation, the stadium began to host some home football games for Roosevelt and Dowling high schools, renewing an old tradition.

Drake Stadium will be the host for the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships[1] in addition to the 2010 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships[2]. The renovated stadium is considered a contender for more future prestigous events, such as the U.S. Olympic Trials.[3]

v • d • e Football stadiums of the Pioneer Football League Brown Field (Valparaiso) • Butler Bowl (Butler) • Campbell Football Stadium (Campbell) • D.B. Milne Field (Jacksonville) • Drake Stadium (Drake) • Jayne Stadium (Morehead State) • Richardson Stadium (Davidson) • Torero Stadium (San Diego) • Welcome Stadium (Dayton)

v • d • e College football venues in Iowa Division I FBS Big Ten Kinnick Stadium (Iowa) Big 12 Jack Trice Stadium (Iowa State) Division I FCS Missouri Valley UNI-Dome (Northern Iowa) Pioneer Drake Stadium (Drake) Division II Northern Sun Eischeid Stadium (Upper Iowa) Division III IIAC Ash Park Field (Cornell) • Bill Buxton Stadium (Simpson) • Carlson Stadium (Luther) • Chalmers Field (Dubuque) • Clark Field (Coe) • J. Leslie Rollins Stadium (Buena Vista) • Rock Bowl (Loras) • Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium (Central) • Walston-Hoover Stadium (Wartburg) Midwest Rosenbloom Field (Grinnell) NAIA Great Plains City Stadium (Dordt) • Elwood Olsen Stadium (Morningside) • Korver Field at De Valois Stadium (Northwestern) • Memorial Field (Briar Cliff) Heart of America Huntsman Field (Graceland) Mid-States Brady Street Stadium (St. Ambrose University) • Mapleleaf Stadium (Iowa Wesleyan) • Oskaloosa Community Stadium (William Penn) • Williams Field (Grand View) Indep. A. David Bolstorff Stadium (Waldorf)