For the past three years, the renovation of Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium has been underway, with no signs of slowing down. Every time you observe the area, there’s some big change, some evolution. For newer students, the construction is all they associate with the structure. Sometimes, the lack of parking nearby can be a major annoyance. But nevertheless, the project keeps chugging along.
The demolition of the entire east side of the stadium is already complete in order to make way for a widened soccer field and expanded track. The west side of the stadium is subject to change as well; there’s going to be a pedestrian plaza, locker room area and a new press deck.
An estimated $20.22 million has already been spent, and that’s just the start of it. The second phase of the project could potentially cost $53.9 million.
At this point, looking at the facts of the situation, I figured it would be good to ask: is such a massive infrastructure investment worth it?
And the answer, from me at least, is an unabashed yes.
This says a lot, as admittedly, I’ve always been a bit skeptical when it comes to the big decisions most institutions tend to make. Having such large amounts of power in your local community can be a force for good, but it can equally be a force for stupidity.
My very own school district in Lawrence, Kansas, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on poorly thought-out cost-cutting measures, half-baked construction projects and an invasive monitoring AI program called Gaggle, which landed them in federal court.
It’s seen with Wichita State, too. Walking on campus, it’s very clear which buildings and programs are getting the bulk of the funds, and which ones are not. Shocker Hall feels less like a home away from home and more like a mediocre hotel.
But in this case, the investment seems like an appropriate one.
The stadium in its current state is in absolute disrepair. The seats are rusting, and the grass is in patches. The space clearly isn’t being properly utilized. On a rapidly expanding modern campus, it comes across as incredibly uninviting.
The new stadium is a multipurpose, space-efficient structure that has a lot of potential to host great sporting events for new and old teams.
Soccer could be a huge deal for the university in particular; Wichita already has a state-of-the-art training facility, and the World Cup in Kansas City isn’t too far off.
The way I see it, there’s really no better time to build a soccer stadium. And before you worry about preserving the history of Cessna Stadium, keep in mind that it too, was originally built as an expansion upon Veterans Field in 1969. Building and rebuilding in that same spot is simply part of a larger tradition where we’re acknowledging the importance of the past, and how we got to this point, while also improving upon it for future Shockers to enjoy – and I think that’s just beautiful.
