The anchor of Augustana’s on-campus athletic facilities is Kirkeby-Over Stadium--one of the premiere football venues in NCAA Division II.
President Rob Oliver announced in October 2007 that construction of Kirkeby-Over Stadium would begin soon on the site of the Vikings’ practice field at 37th Street and Lake Avenue. Through the generosity of Kari and Bob Hall, that dream has come to fruition and given the Vikings the on-campus facility they have been missing for half a century.
It was the Halls who were responsible for bringing football back to campus at Augustana. The Halls donated $6.1 million towards the construction of Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
Kirkeby-Over Stadium honors the memory of Kari Hall’s father and mother, Percy Kirkeby and Elizabeth Markley Kirkeby-Over.
Percy Kirkeby graduated from Augustana in 1947. He was a veteran of World War II, having served with the Army Air Corps in Italy. An English major, he was a Rhodes Scholarship candidate, active in debate and speech and was the editor of the Mirror, Augustana’s student newspaper. He was killed in a plane crash in 1951.
Elizabeth Markley majored in sociology at Augustana and graduated in 1944. She was president of the Athenian Society and was a member of the Augie debate squad. She died in 1994.
Kari Hall majored in sociology at Augustana and graduated in 1969. Bob Hall attended Augustana and is currently the equipment manager for the football program.
Kirkeby-Over Stadium was designed by TKDA, a specialty architecture and engineering based in the Twin Cities. The Winkels Group in Sioux Falls managed the project. The facility features a FieldTurf surface in a bowl venue with seating for approximately 6,500, including 2,200 chairback seats. Fans are also able to watch the action from grass berms in the end zones.
Luxurious suites, a spacious press box and private media booths border the west sideline of the stadium. The facility also boasts high definition television monitors in each suite and plenty of connection options for use by media.
The new facility is Augustana’s third on-campus football venue. The College relocated to Sioux Falls in 1918 and built the first field in the late 1920s. It was located behind the current administration building, East Hall and Old Main.
Construction on a new stadium, complete with bleachers and press box, began in 1941 where the Statue of Moses and the Morrison Commons stand today. Augustana began playing its home games at Howard Wood Stadium in 1958.
Kari and Bob Hall have been generous contributors to Viking athletics for many years. Their $1 million gift in 2005 helped build the Hall Football Complex attached to the Elmen Center and near the new Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
Bob’s father and mother, Bill and Irene Hall, were also longtime contributors to Augustana, and their gift in the 1980s helped construct the Elmen Center, in which the Hall Sports Forum is named in their honor. Bill and Irene also provided a variety of other gifts to Augustana athletics which assisted with facility upgrades and continue to assist with on-going annual scholarships and operations. All told, the family has gifted and pledged more than $11.1 million to Augustana.
The Hall Football Complex and Sanford Gymnasium opened in November 2007. The 28,000 square-foot, two-level building is attached to the south side of the Elmen Center.
The addition has improved facilities for the student-athletes and coaches who are part of the Augustana football program, and provides much-needed indoor practice facilities for all of the Viking sports teams.
The first floor of the facility houses the Hall Football Complex. Included are a locker room with 100 new lockers, a large weight room, meeting rooms, offices, training room and many other amenities.
Two regulation-size college wood basketball courts are on the second floor in the Sanford Gym. The gym features a state-of-the-art playing surface and curtains that can separate the courts and baskets that can be lowered under 10 feet for use with youth camps.
Until the Sanford Gym was constructed, the Elmen Center Hall Sports Forum was the only indoor area available for practice, intramurals and gym recreation functions.
Completed in 1989, the Elmen Center measured 84,000 square-feet. In 2003, through the Elmen Center Enhancement Project, 8,000 square-feet were added to the structure.
With the completion of the Hall Football Complex and Sanford Gym addition, the building span is now more than 120,000 square-feet.
Sanford FIELDHOUSE
The Sanford FIELDHOUSE is one of the latest amenities available to Augustana student-athletes. Viking athletic teams will use the Sanford Fieldhouse for various team workouts throughout the school year.
The Sanford FIELDHOUSE is the premier indoor sports facility for local, regional and national athletic training, soccer, baseball, softball, football, co-ed sports leagues and POWER fitness programs. Athletes enjoy 62,000 square feet of professional grade Field Turf®, state-of-the-art training facilities, full amenity locker rooms – all designed to make sports an integral part of staying healthy.
Sanford FIELDHOUSE is also home to Sanford POWER Athletic Enhancement Program, Sanford Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Sanford Sports Medicine Outreach (Athletic Training Program) and the future home of the National Institute for Athletic Health & Performance.
