Sports Stadium

Sports Stadium. . , The Sports Stadium was dedicated on Friday, May 22, 1942. Built by the Works Project Administration under school district sponsorship, the stadium measures 178 feet in length and 38 feet in width and the architect was A. R. Melander. It is constructed on monolithic concrete and has a seating capacity of about 1,350. The sculpture design on the facade, see adjoining picture, was done by Evelyn Raymond. Raymond was a WPA artist and instructor at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The design carries figures of seven stalwart men engaged in various sports. , Construction of the sports stadium began in January 1941. Progress of the stadium had advanced sufficiently to permit football games to be played in the fall of 1941. Construction had begun prior to the United States entry into World War II. The stadium project was launched months before the attack on Pearl Harbor as an emergency program to absorb idle labor and to aid the construction industry in general. The Sports Stadium was built at an approximate cost of $38,000. Seventy-five percent of the cost was borne by the WPA and the school district paid less than $10,000 to add the Sports Stadium to its public buildings. , The frontal view of the Sports Stadium has almost returned to its original view. However, the windows on the 1942 stadium were of glass. The Sports Stadium is a permanent facility thought to be an extravagance when built.