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In the six decades since Memorial Field was dedicated, it has hosted hundreds of events at which thousands of memories were made.
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The sun sets at UW-L’s Veterans Memorial Field. The stadium will be demolished in June to make way for the construction of a new stadium. The first phase of the project will cost $16.6 million. Tribune file photo |
For Pat Zielke, former mayor of La Crosse, the memories date back to the 1940s, when the site still was fairgrounds. He’d slip under the fence to watch horse racing.
John Satory, owner of Satori Arts-Gallery in downtown La Crosse, was on the city council when a controversy over renaming the stadium and field pitted local veterans and the city against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
For UW-L track athletes Jenny Manderfeld and Sammy Groth, the venerable facility is not just any stadium — it was a Holy Grail of sorts when they were in high school, trying to qualify for the WIAA state track meet at UW-L.
“It was the nine-lane red track everyone talked about,” said Groth, who attended Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee and now works on campus for the summer break. It was the track that sent chills down their spines when they set foot on it, finally ready to race at state.
That experience eventually brought the pair back to UW-L to be part of the track team.
Seeing the place that has produced eight years of memories for Manderfeld — four from state track meets while she was at Kenosha-Bradford High School and four in college track and field — is bittersweet. “It is sad to see it go, but it is a pretty big deal for everyone to get a new complex,” she said.
For her, like so many others, there is a mix of sadness and excitement as the old facility gives way to the new.
The beginning
The stadium did not always look as it does today.
In the late 1800s, the site was buzzing with horse racing, animal barns, a Ferris wheel and youngsters eating cotton candy. It hosted the La Crosse Interstate Fair for 66 years, after the fair association first leased the site from the city in 1890, according to a written history of the Memorial Playfield by Anita Taylor Doering.
Zielke said he enjoyed the harness racing at the track. “That was one of my favorite things — to watch the sulkies,” Zielke said.
After the 1956 fair, the association chose a new site near West Salem, Wis.
The original grandstand was replaced by the association in 1924, according to Doering’s research. That structure is the only remnant of the old fairgrounds, Satory said. The stadium, scarred with cracked cement and crumbling walls, once was home to hot dog concessions, locker rooms, 4-H exhibits and much more.
Memorial Field in ’48
The fairgrounds were dedicated Oct. 16, 1948, as Memorial Field — by the city-controlled Board of Education, to honor those who died in the military — during a game between Aquinas and Central high schools in front of 6,000 cheering fans, according to Tribune archives.
For many years, the city council and parks department maintained the stadium and athletic field. In 1981, the city agreed to a 99-year lease of Memorial Field to the university.
Zielke, mayor from 1975 to 1997, recalls when the city sold the stadium property to the university for $1 in February 1988, after stadium repairs became unavoidable.
“We didn’t have the money to make the improvements, so we thought it would be good to turn around and let them operate it,” said Zielke.
Part of the agreement was that high schools and the public could continue to use the facility, Satory said.
Mike Desmond, UW-L development officer and a 1971 Aquinas grad, recalls being proud at home games because, unlike other high schools, his team played on a nicer, larger, college-style athletic field.
“It was the atmosphere of playing at a college facility. It made it feel like it was really important — especially at intracity games, where we had huge crowds,” said Desmond. “It was a tremendous atmosphere for a 17-year-old kid to be playing in.”
A lot of memories
The stadium became home to big games, world-class athletes, band concerts and other events.
Roger Harring, who became UW-L head football coach in 1969, played a big role in many of those memories. He racked up 261 wins and three national NCAA Division III championships in 31 seasons.
Current UW-L football coach Larry Terry said the stadium has been a big part of his life ever since he was “a field rat around the facility as a kid,” helping his father, Bill, then an offensive line coach. Later, Terry played football and ran track at UW-L. He has coached football at UW-L since 1988, and has been head coach since 2000.
Among Terry’s top memories: beating Ohio powerhouse Mount Union College in December 1992, which sent the Eagles to sunny Florida on their way to a national title.
“They were a good team, and we upset them here,” said Terry of Mount Union.
Another great moment was defeating University of South Dakota, a NCAA Division II school, in September 2003.
Terry also recalled when UW-L beat St. John’s in 1996 in one of the most memorable comebacks in school history. La Crosse trailed 30-8 in the third quarter before rallying to a 37-30 victory.
The WIAA state track meets have been memorable, too, Terry said. Attendance at the first state meet in La Crosse in 1990 was 9,928. Attendance for the two-day meet 19,046 last year, said Marcy Thurwachter, WIAA assistant director.
Naming controversy
Not all the memories are glorious. The stadium was mired in years of controversy earlier this decade over its name.
It began when UW-L officials announced Sept. 9, 2000, the name would be changed from Veterans Memorial Stadium to Roger Harring Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Veterans protested. The coach’s name was removed, at his request, but later placed on the playing field. Veterans again objected, citing a 1988 agreement that required UW-L to maintain the stadium name. A series of lawsuits and appeals followed.
Eventually, a compromise was reached to rename the entire athletic complex Veterans Memorial Field, with the stadium itself carrying Harring’s name.
“I think there were misunderstandings with people at that time, and I think that has changed dramatically with the veterans involved with the facility now,” said Harring.
The future facility
This stadium long has been a window into La Crosse, Harring said, and in recent years the view hasn’t been very appealing.
“The condition now doesn’t speak highly of the community, so we are in dire need of this,” Harring said.
The $16.6 million first phase of the project includes a concourse and west-side grandstands, track, football field and intramural fields, lighting and the Veterans Hall of Honor.
Some memories will fall along with the wrecking ball in a few weeks, Satory said.
“But we’ll be creating new ones,” he added. “There is a time for everything.”
KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.
New Construction timeline
june 2008: Contractors take over the site of the new sports complex June 9 and begin preparing it for demolition. Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field will be torn down soon after, likely over three to four weeks. At the same time, contractors will tear up the track and field. Construction of the new grandstands will start after demolition is completed and rubble is taken away.
FALL 2008: The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles will play its 2008 home football games in Winona, Minn.
May 1, 2009: Sufficient construction should be completed to use the new complex.
JUNE 5-6, 2009: The WIAA state track meet is the first scheduled event for the new complex.
Aug. 1, 2009: Stadium should be finished, including landscaping.
Fall 2009: UW-L returns to play games at Veterans Memorial Field sports complex.
Fundraising progress
Campaign started: Fall 2005
Money raised: $16.75 million, covering $16.6 million in Phase I projects, leaving $150,000 to apply to Phase II
Money needed for Phase II: $5.1 million total, $1.6 million for the first priority of east-side bleachers, which may be scaled back to a $1.2 million project, and $3.5 million for locker room and strength center.
$1 million gifts: Don and Roxanne Weber; Logistics Health Inc.; Dave and Barb Skogen; Marge Reinhart, the widow of Reinhart Cos. founder D.B. Reinhart; and a group of anonymous local alumni.
The history of Memorial field
1885: The city of La Crosse buys the land Memorial Field now occupies for use as a public park.
1890: The La Crosse Interstate Fair Association obtains use of the site for its annual event.
1914: La Crosse State Normal School (now UW-La Crosse) leases the athletic fields. As part of the deal, the city insists the college grant use of the field to city schools for events.
Oct. 29, 1914: La Crosse Normal School football team plays first game on site against Superior.
1916: Normal Athletic Field, a joint effort between the city, college and state is completed. The project included an athletic field enclosed within a large horse-racing track.
Oct. 21, 1916: La Crosse Normal School hosts its first homecoming football game as Normal Field is dedicated.
1924: The stadium grandstand structure that is still in use is constructed for $38,235, with a seating capacity of 4,000. Original plan called for a roof over the structure, but it was never carried through.
Oct. 16, 1948: After two years of improvements and two years of debating the name, Memorial Field is dedicated in honor of veterans of all wars. Improvements include new bleachers that bring the seating capacity to 6,500, a scoreboard and light towers. A crowd of 6,000 attends as Aquinas edges Central 13-12 in a football game as part of the event.
1949: Track and field facilities are constructed at a cost of $14,000.
1957: Final La Crosse Interstate Fair is held there.
1963: Grandstand restoration project is implemented to try to stop the deterioration of the cement at a cost of $28,000.
1978: Energy-efficient lights installed at field for $23,339.
1979: University of Wisconsin Board of Regents rejects
UW-La Crosse’s bid to buy Memorial Field Complex from city for $2.29 million.
1984: The football field and track are redone at a cost of $286,000. Work includes installation of drainage tiles, the reseeding of the football field and an all-weather track surface.
1986: Memorial Field plays host to the NCAA Division III national track and field championships.
Feb. 25, 1988: City sells stadium complex to UW-La Crosse for $1. After the sale, the state invests about $1 million in renovations.
1988-99: New Orleans Saints hold training camp at Memorial Field complex.
June 19, 1989: WIAA votes to hold annual state track and field meet at Memorial Field.
June 1-2, 1990: WIAA state track and field meet is held at Memorial Field for the first time, drawing 9,928 spectators.
2000: UW-La Crosse renames the complex Roger Harring Veterans Memorial Stadium, after the school’s all-time winningest football coach. It is a move that angers area veterans groups and begins a battle that will involve several court challenges over the next few years. Harring’s name was taken off the facility at his request, and the playing field was then named Roger Harring Field.
June 2004: UW-L announces plan for new football and track stadium to be financed primarily through private donations.
Dec. 9, 2005: University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approves compromise to rename the entire athletic complex Memorial Field, included in which is Roger Harring Stadium.
Feb. 1, 2008: UW-L Foundation Board approves Phase I of new UW-La Crosse stadium complex project, which will include construction of a 6,000-seat stadium featuring an artificial playing field for football and a high-tech surface for track and field. The project should be complete in time for the 2009 WIAA state track and field meet and the 2009 UW-L and high school football seasons.
May 30-31, 2008: WIAA state track and field meet will be held for last time at the current Memorial Field complex.
June 7, 2008: Actor Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band will perform as part of the Veterans Memorial Ride. It is the last event scheduled for the stadium before it is torn down to make way for the new facility.
RESEARCH: Denis Downey, La Crosse Tribune
Sources: La Crosse Public Library Archives, UW-La Crosse Archives, La Crosse Tribune archives
