Dakota Wesleyan University Athletic Facilities
The World's Only Corn Palace (Basketball)
Built: 1892
Capacity: 3,200
Address: 601 N Main St., Mitchell, S.D., 57301
The World’s Only Corn Palace attracts tourists from across the country and the world each year, particularly during the summer months. However, during the winter months the Corn Palace transforms into one of the best small college and high school basketball venues in the entire country. The Corn Palace, built in 1892, seats 3,200 with stadium seating on one side of the court and bleachers on the other side and both ends. Murals celebrating South Dakota’s heritage, made entirely of corn, adorn the inside of the arena.
In 2004, the Corn Palace was named one of the 10 best places to watch high school basketball by USA Today, and it is featured on nikebasketball.com’s Baller Network.
During the 2014-15 basketball season, the fans in Mitchell regularly packed the Corn Palace to capacity for the men's and women's basketball teams at DWU. The raucous crowds created a one-of-a-kind home-court advantage for the Tigers. The "Corn Crib Crazies" (the official student section) of Tiger basketball often makes life difficult for opposing teams, while helping to create an atmosphere unlike any other for a college the size of DWU.
The Dakota Wesleyan men’s and women’s basketball teams are routinely among the GPAC leaders in attendance. The Tigers enjoy a distinct home-court advantage thanks to their unique and spectacular venue and the support they receive from the DWU campus and the city of Mitchell, which is a bona fide “basketball town.”
The Corn Palace also hosts the annual Corn Palace Classic volleyball tournament, which is hosted by DWU. The event is typically early in the season for the Tigers and brings some of the best NAIA teams from around the region to Mitchell for two days of action.
Christen Family Athletic Center (Volleyball)
Built: 1985
Capacity: 240
Address: 1200 University Dr., Mitchell, S.D. 57301
Built in 1985 and named after Paul and Donna Christen, the Christen Athletic Center is the home to Dakota Wesleyan University’s athletic department, as well as the athletic training and sports management departments.
The wellness center features workout and exercise equipment, available to all DWU personnel, in the weight room, cardio room and Cybex room. It also houses the athletic department offices, several classrooms and a full athletic training facility. Almost all of DWU’s 15 intercollegiate athletic teams use the wellness center for practice and training. The Fosness Arena, named for legendary DWU basketball coach Gordie Fosness, is located in the wellness center. The arena is home to the Tiger volleyball team, who holds all of their home matches in the on-campus facility.
In addition to intercollegiate athletics, the wellness center and Fosness Arena host intramural sports, Fellowship of Christian Athletes gatherings and numerous other events throughout the course of the school year, and numerous youth sports camps during the summer months.
Joe Quintal Field (Football)
Built: 2010 (Current Stadium)
Capacity: 3,000
Address: 501-599 E 11th Ave (Capital), Mitchell, S.D. 57301
Athletic competitions have been held at the site of Joe Quintal Field for more than 100 years. The first football stadium was built in 1943 and played host to home games for DWU and Mitchell High School football. In 2010, a renovation brought increased seating capacity, along with a full concession stand, press box and a great view of the field for all DWU football fans on Saturdays throughout the fall. In the summer of 2018, artificial turf was installed.
Joe Quintal Field sits on the campus of Mitchell High School to the west of the high school building. A new scoreboard with a video screen was unveiled prior to the start of the 2014 season and is used for all DWU home games. The scoreboard is adorned with the DWU logo on one side and the Mitchell Kernel logo on the other.
A full track surrounds the football playing field with jumping and throwing pits for track and field events. DWU track and field uses the facility for practice during the outdoor season.
Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex (Soccer)
Built: 2010
Capacity: 620
Address: 5825 Tower Rd., Mitchell, S.D. 57301
Completed in the summer of 2010, the Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex gives the Dakota Wesleyan University soccer programs a place to call home. It is located north of Mitchell, near the Mitchell Municipal Airport on Tower Road. The men's and women's programs practice on the outlying fields at the complex and play all of their home games on Championship Field.
The complex features 10 soccer fields, including Championship Field – a fully lighted, 80 X 120-yard field with a seating capacity of 620 fans. The complex also includes locker rooms for the Tiger men's and women's soccer teams, athletic training rooms where athletes can receive pre- and post-training treatment, and an officials' room and a two-story press box on Championship Field.
The locker room includes 26 varsity lockers and nine reserve-team lockers, a rehabilitation bike,
surround-sound audio and a flat screen TV. There are public restrooms, a storage area and full
concessions at the new complex, which played host to the 2010 and 2014 South Dakota State
High School Soccer Tournaments.
Directions: From I-90
Exit 330
(West Exit into Mitchell)
Hwy 37 North, Hwy 37 Bypass
Green Pepsi Cola Soccer Complex sign on the right side of road
Follow green Soccer Complex signs
Turn West (left) on National Guard Rd
Turn North (Right) on Airport Rd
Turn West (left) on Industrial Rd
Complex is on the right
Cadwell Park (Baseball, Softball)
Address: Mitchell, S.D. 57301
Cadwell Park, located straight north of the Dakota Wesleyan campus at the intersection of 15th and Minnesota, is the home to numerous Tiger athletic teams. The DWU baseball and softball teams call Cadwell Park their home field.
The DWU baseball team plays its home games both on Drake Field and the beautiful Cadwell Park baseball stadium. Drake has seen numerous upgrades in the past year, with added bleachers, a press box and landscaping, and Cadwell Park continues to be one of the premier baseball venues in the entire NAIA, giving Tiger home games a genuine big-league environment.
The Tiger softball team also plays its home games at the Cadwell Park complex, and as of the fall of 2010, has its own home field on the north end of the complex. Thanks to a generous donation from Dr. Robert McWhirter and additional funds from Dakota Wesleyan and the city of Mitchell, the Tiger softball team has a newly renovated home field complete with a press box, dugouts, scoreboard and new bleachers, fences and lighting.
Wild Oak Golf Course (Golf, Cross Country)
Address: 2500 E 1st Ave., Mitchell, S.D. 57301
Wild Oak Golf Club, located on the east end of Mitchell, is the home course of the Dakota Wesleyan men's and women's golf teams and the Tiger cross country team.
A challenging, picturesque 18-hole course, Wild Oak has hosted fall invitationals for the men's and women's golf teams, as well as one of last season's GPAC men's qualifier meets. The Tigers have enjoyed considerable success on their home course, winning multiple tournaments over the years and even setting some school scoring records.
The Tiger cross country team also hosts home meets at Wild Oak during most seasons. The golf course provides the DWU runners and their competition with a fun, scenic course, but also one with plenty of challenges. Spectators can catch great views of the race from the start/finish area and at several other spots along the course's back nine.
DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex (Track and Field, Wrestling)
Built: Opened in February 2016
Address: 407 West Norway Avenue
Located just to the south of the main DWU campus, the DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex was announced in the fall of 2014 with an official ground breaking. The facility opened early in 2016 and sits just across Norway Avenue from the Christen Family Athletic Center.
The new complex is 85,000 square feet and houses three indoor multipurpose sport courts. The courts are surrounded by a 200-meter track that plays host to indoor track and field events anchored by the Tiger track and field program. The DWU wrestling program also calls the complex home, as the facilities house a wrestling room for the Tigers to conduct practice. A community health and fitness center along with locker rooms also resides for use by DWU athletes and the community as a whole.
DWU and Avera are pleased to commemorate the contributions of two very important Dakota Wesleyan supporters. The building includes the Donna and Paul Christen Community Health and Fitness Center, along with the Glenda and Fritz Corrigan Fieldhouse and Athletic Institute.
