Welcome Stadium

Welcome Stadium is a special place where people can watch sports and other big events. It can hold up to 11,000 people, which is like filling a huge school gym many times over. The stadium is located in Dayton, Ohio, a city in the United States.

The stadium is owned and taken care of by the schools in Dayton. It is mainly used by the University of Dayton Flyers football team and many high schools in the area. This means that students and families come together to cheer for their teams and enjoy exciting games.

Because it is a multi-purpose stadium, it is not just for football. Other sports and events can also be held there, making it a very busy and important place for the community.

History

Welcome Stadium opened in 1949 and is where all of Dayton's high schools play their games. Since 1974, it has also been where the Dayton Flyers football team plays. It has hosted many important events, such as the 1961 Aviation Bowl, the Ohio High School State Track and Field finals, and the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Each October and November, it is a popular place for Ohio’s High School marching band finals. It was also once home to the soccer club Dayton Dynamo.

In 2021, plans began to improve the stadium. The first phase finished in 2023. It cost $32 million and included updating the old seating areas, fixing the field and track, and building a new Press Tower. Future plans include adding a large field house and a multipurpose field for community use. In 2019, the stadium hosted a training camp for the Cincinnati Bengals to celebrate the National Football League's 100th anniversary, honoring the Dayton Triangles. The camp was planned to be at Triangle Park, where the NFL’s first game was played, but the plans changed after something unusual was found during an archaeological survey.