Fort Dodge, Iowa

A vision of Board of Education President O.C. Pfaff, Dodger Stadium was the product of FDR's Works Progress Administration which put millions of unemployed to work in the wake of the Great Depression, constructing public buildings and roads.

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​​​​​​​​Work began on the stadium in 1939 with workers using 385,000 salvaged bricks from the fire-destroyed Lincoln Junior High building on the corner of First Avenue North and Tenth Street. With an additional 60,000 bricks from a demolished soybean plant, two permanent spectator stands were constructed, as well as Pfaff's recommended 1O-foot high wall around the perimeter of the property. The total cost of the facility was $150,000.  Photo of stadium wall made from reclaimed bricks was taken by Bob Wood.  

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​The football stadium was dedicated October 4, 1940, when the Fort Dodge Dodgers played rival Boone and won the contest, 13-7.

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With permanent seating for 5,000, Dodger Stadium has been the host site for both St. Edmond High School and Iowa Central Community College football teams, Dodgers’ boys and girl’s track and soccer teams and state marching band competitions.

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​Dodger Field/ J.H. Nitzke track has been host for the Dodger Relays and other boys and girl’s track and field meets since 1940. Although running surfaces have changed and school records broken, it remains a prime location for invitational and other large events. During the summer 2010, a new track timing system was installed allowing district meets to continue at the stadium. In 2016, the all-weather track was re-surfaced offering an outstanding venue for regional track meets.​

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The adjacent tennis courts, also part of the original plan, are continuously used for school and community tennis meets. New tennis courts were completed in 2010, then resurfaced in 2019.

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​The Dodger Baseball Field, designed by renowned hitting coach, Lew Fonesca, resembles a miniature version of the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field with its brick ivy-covered outfield walls. The inaugural game played on Dodger Baseball Field was on April 9th, 1942, when the Chicago White Sox played an exhibition game against their rival, the Chicago Cubs. An estimated 8,500 fans — from five states and 75 Iowa counties came and watched that memorable game. That still stands as the largest crowd for an athletic event in Fort Dodge history. In 1993, in honor of the longtime and legendary coach who produced a number of great teams, the baseball field was renamed Ed McNeil Field.

But there’s much more to Dodger Stadium than footballs, baseballs, soccer balls and track cleats used by thousands of athletes over the years.

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​Each May since shortly after the stadium was built, Fort Dodge Senior High has held graduation ceremonies for its seniors and their families inside the stadium. An estimated 25,000 seniors have taken part over those years.

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The Stadium is host to the FDSH Band Invitational there and the state band tournament in the fall, the North Central Area for Special Olympics Iowa Track and Field event; the National Guard, State Patrol and Fort Dodge Police Department use it for physical training testing and youth tackle football games are played in the legendary stadium on weekends in the fall.

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​From 1946 to 1959, an event called The Harvest Festival was held in Dodger Stadium. The three-day festival featured performances by the Karl King Band and featured circus-like acts, motorcycles racing around in a cage, horses diving into a small pool of water and fireworks. In 1947, an estimated 35,000 people attended the festival over the course of three days.

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​Improvements and upgrades to Dodger Stadium have helped keep it one of the iconic sporting venues in Iowa. The west press box was renovated to include separate booths for the press and scouts, scoreboard operators and coach-to-bench communications. A second floor video-taping station assists both the athletic and marching band programs. In 2008, the sod/natural grass on the football field was replaced with new, state-of-the-art synthetic turf (field turf) to improve the quality and durability of the playing field. A new football scoreboard was installed in 2010.

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​Continued improvements to Ed McNeil Field include a digital scoreboard in 1994, new batting cages, lights were installed in 2015, which now allowed for night games and the latest addition has been an elevated, permanent grandstand with seating for up to 300 people, along with improvements for the concession stand and press box.​