Edor Nelson Field, the outdoor athletic field on the Augsburg campus, is home to the Auggie football, softball, men's and women's soccer and lacrosse teams.
Prior to 1984, Augsburg's football, soccer and softball teams played at various sites throughout the Twin Cities. The football team called Parade Stadium home before the football stadium across downtown Minneapolis from the campus was demolished in the 1980s. |
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Previously a half-size practice field for the football team, the Augsburg field was renovated in 1984, as part of a major college capital campaign. The college raised $650,000 for the initial construction project, though the eventual cost, including land purchases, was over $1 million. It was dedicated during the Auggies' home football game against Hamline on Sept. 22, 1984.
The field squeezes into one city block, between 24th Avenue South and 23rd Avenue South along Butler Place. The first artificial-turf surface installed on the field came from the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome in 1984, and the last AstroTurf-brand surface was used from 1993 to 2004. |
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In the summer of 2004, the college replaced the AstroTurf with Sprinturf, a "next-generation" surface, as part of a $400,000 field project. The playing surface looks, feels and plays like natural grass, but it is safer and far more durable than older-style artificial-turf surfaces. The infill features a mix of rubber and sand to give the field a natural feel. More than 150 fields throughout North America have Sprinturf surfaces.
In 2006, as part of the college's Kennedy Center construction project, new bleachers were installed on the field, raising the seating level and enabling fans to have a better view of game action. A new press box was installed at the field in 2008. |
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The field was originally named Anderson-Nelson Field, named for former Augsburg basketball coach and athletic director Ernie Anderson '37 and for former Augsburg football and baseball coach Edor Nelson '38. In 2001, the field was renamed Edor Nelson Field, after the college renamed the Si Melby Hall basketball court in Anderson's honor.
A native of Dawson, Minn., Edor Nelson earned Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame honors as both a student-athlete and coach. As an athlete, he was a multi-sport star in football, basketball and baseball. After serving his country in World War II -- including six months of imprisonment in a German prison camp -- he returned to the United States, earning his master's degree at the University of Minnesota in 1947. He taught and coached for three years in Lamberton, Minn., and returned to Augsburg in 1946. He coached football from 1947 to 1969 and coached baseball from 1946 to 1979, also coaching hockey and wrestling at Augsburg for a short time in the 1950s. |
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| Edor Nelson Field is unique among Minnesota colleges and universities for its versatility, as a home for four Augsburg sports teams. To maximize its versatility, the college installed an air-inflated dome, purchased from the Yeadon Corporation, to cover the field during the winter months. A new dome from Yeadon was installed in the winter of 2006. For more information on the dome, click here. |
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| Every fall after Augsburg fall sports complete their home seasons, student-athletes and coaches from all Augsburg sports teams assist in the installation of the dome, and in the spring, the teams gather again to assist in taking the dome down. |
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| The dome and the artificial-turf surface make Edor Nelson Field a valuable asset for the college. The facility is used constantly, not only by Augsburg athletic teams, but also by numerous community groups, such as intramural teams, walkers and indoor soccer leagues in the winter months, golfers who use the domed field as an indoor driving range, track and field athletes and baseball/softball players in the early spring, and amateur and semi-pro football teams in the summer. |
WATCH THE DOME BEING SET UP AT EDOR NELSON FIELD (2010) |
