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, was designed by architect A. R. Melander, is constructed on monolithic concrete, and has a seating capacity of about 1,350. The sculpture design on the facade was done by Evelyn Raymond, a WPA artist and instructor at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and it carries figures of seven stalwart men engaged in various sports. Construction began in January 1941 and had advanced enough to permit football games to be played in the fall of 1941. The project began before the United States entered World War II and months before the attack on Pearl Harbor as an emergency program to absorb idle labor and aid the construction industry in general. The Sports Stadium was built at an approximate cost of $38,000, with seventy-five percent borne by the WPA and the school district paying less than $10,000. Its frontal view has almost returned to its original appearance, though the 1942 stadium had glass windows. The Sports Stadium is a permanent facility that was thought to be an extravagance when built.

International Falls, Minnesota · United States