Stadium Central

I just got back from a trip to Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and I was fortunate to be able to visit several stadiums with my very understanding wife. Stop one was Kent, Ohio, home of the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. This town outside of Akron and about an hour south of Cleveland serves as a nice college town that likely rallies around their team from the Mid American Conference. The home of the college football team is Dix Stadium.

The stadium is set in an athletic complex a slight bit off of the main campus. This complex also had a track, baseball field, softball field, and what looked to be an indoor practice facility (possibly the basketball arena). The setting provided for a good deal of parking for tailgating, but the surroundings were nothing to get excited about. I have a preference to on-campus stadiums that are tucked in with the academic buildings, but the availability of parking around the stadium most certainly has benefits in terms of pre-game festivities and accessibility.

The stadium was fortunately open so I was able to gain access to the inside. The stadium has two large grandstands on each sideline along with stands behind the North endzone. The South Endzone has a large scoreboard that appears to be relatively new. A concourse wraps around the field underneath the scoreboard. A very nice pressbox sits atop the West Stands. This pressbox has interesting architecture, especially the curved feature that sits atop it. An interesting aspect of the stadium is the markedly smaller size of the East Stands compared to the West Stands. It definitely had a high school appearance to the East Side, whereas the West Stands had many rows. Chairback seats were placed near midfield in the upper part of the West Stands. The stands were made of concrete, and the concourses were nicely decorated to promote Kent State Football. The stadium appears to provide a nice, albeit unspectacular, venue for watching a college football game.

While I haven't done my ratings in a bit of time, let me give a few for Dix Stadium.

Dix Stadium, Kent State University
Visual Appeal: 3
Fan Friendly: 5
Settings and Surroundings: 2
Quirks: 3
Blend of Classic and Modern: 6
Total: 18