Blakeslee Stadium

Blakeslee Stadium is an American football stadium located on the southern edge of the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus. Primarily used for American football, it is the home field of the Minnesota State Mavericks football —an NCAA Division II team— and hosted the training camp for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1966 to 2017.^[4]

Blakeslee Stadium

"The Blake"
View of the stadium in 2016
Interactive map of Blakeslee Stadium
Address	161 Stadium Road Mankato, MN United States
Coordinates	44.144°N 93.995°W / 44.144; -93.995
Owner	Minnesota State University, Mankato
Operator	Minnesota State University, Mankato
Type	Stadium
Capacity	7,500
Record attendance	7,187 (October 10, 2015 vs. Augustana)[1] 10,000 at Vikings Training Camp
Surface	Natural Grass
Current use	American football
Construction
Broke ground	1961
Opened	1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Construction cost	$80,000[2] ($831,595 in 2024 dollars[3])
Tenants
Minnesota State Mavericks football
Website
msumavericks.com/blakeslee-stadium

History

Overview

Interior view of the venue in 1966

Built in 1962, the stadium holds 7,000 seats and facilitates a variety of events, including marching band performances and drum and bugle corps competitions.^[5]

Mankato State University fans during the conference championship football game

Coach Blakeslee, Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota

It is named after Carlyn P. Blakeslee, who served as a coach, administrator, and Health and Physical Education professor at Minnesota State from 1921 until his retirement in 1961.^[6]

In 2022, the stadium hosted Hockey Day Minnesota, an annual series of outdoor ice hockey games sponsored by the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL) and FanDuel Sports Network North.^[7]

Renovation and replacement plans

Plans for replacing the more than 55-year-old structure have been discussed by Minnesota State University.^[8][9]