- Cessna Stadium
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Cessna Stadium 
Former names Veterans Field Location Wichita, Kansas Opened 1969 Renovated 1996 Owner Wichita State University Operator Wichita State University Surface grass Capacity 31,500 Tenants Wichita State University Cessna Stadium, located in Wichita, Kansas, is the home of the Wichita State University Shocker track and field and soccer teams with a 30,000-seat capacity. Originally constructed in 1969, and renovated in 1996, Cessna Stadium was built over the site of the Shockers' former home, Veterans Field.[1]
Wichita State University rededicated the facility on April 16, 2002 to mark the end of the seven-month, $1.3 million construction that included adding an eighth lane and resurfacing the track, reconfiguring the infield event layout, and building separate locker rooms for the Shocker men's and women's track and field teams. The first event in the renovated facility was WSU's annual K.T. Woodman Track and Field Classic, which is scheduled every April.
One of the most modern and complete football facilities in the nation at the time of its completion, Cessna Stadium was home to Shocker football until the program's termination in 1986, and is still the venue of the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championship, the Shockers' annual K.T. Woodman Track Classic, as well as several Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Championship meets. The stadium has also played host to numerous Kansas State High School Football Championship games; the Shrine Bowl, Kansas's high school all-star football game; Pittsburg State-Mesa State Division II football game; and numerous High School City League football games.[2] Cessna is used by Kapaun Mount Carmel High School as its home field.
Wichita State University football suffered a setback after a plane crash on October 2, 1970 when one of two planes carrying players, staff and fans to a football game at Utah State University crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado. Many were injured, and 31 people lost their lives.[3] Sixteen years later, Wichita State University discontinued its football program in 1986.
On October 1, 2006, as part of their A Bigger Bang Tour, The Rolling Stones performed their first-ever concert in Wichita, held at Cessna Stadium, which was set up to accommodate 35,000 to 40,000 fans. [3]
See also
References
College football venues in Kansas Division I
FBSBig 12 Division II Mid-America Carnie Smith Stadium (Pittsburg State) • Lewis Field (Fort Hays State) • Yager Stadium (Washburn) • Welch Stadium (Emporia State)
NAIA Heart of America Liston Stadium (Baker) • Pioneer Stadium (MidAmerica Nazarene) • Raven Stadium (Benedictine)
Kansas Collegiate Adair-Austin Stadium (Friends) • Lindstrom Field (Bethany) • Thresher Stadium (Bethel) • Salina Stadium (Kansas Wesleyan University) • McPherson Stadium (McPherson) • Peoples Bank Field (Ottawa) • Saint Mary Field (Saint Mary) • Joel Wiens Stadium (Tabor) • Smisor Stadium (Sterling) • Richard L. Jantz Stadium (Southwestern)
Independent Haskell Memorial Stadium (Haskell Indian Nations)
Cessna Stadium • Great Bend High School Memorial Stadium (Wheat Bowl) Coordinates: 37°43′18.12″N 97°17′43.87″W / 37.7217°N 97.2955194°W
Categories:- College sports venues in the United States
- Track and field venues in the United States
- Soccer venues in Kansas
- Music venues in Kansas
- Defunct college football venues
- Sports venues in Wichita, Kansas
- Midwestern United States sports venue stubs
- Kansas building and structure stubs
- Sports venues in Kansas
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