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FACILITIES & DIRECTIONS

EDOR NELSON FIELDEDOR NELSON FIELD
Edor Nelson Field, the outdoor athletic field on the Augsburg campus, is home to the Auggie football, softball, women's lacrosse and men's and women's soccer teams.

In the summer of 2013, Augsburg installed a new FieldTurf Revolution surface for Edor Nelson Field. The new FieldTurf is considered the very best synthetic turf system with unparalleled player safety and turf drainage. A new state-of-the-art Nevco video-scoreboard was installed in August of 2014.

Prior to 1984, Augsburg's football, soccer and softball teams played at various sites throughout the Twin Cities. The football team called Parade Stadium home before the football stadium across downtown Minneapolis from the campus was demolished in the 1980s.

Previously a half-size practice field for the football team, the Augsburg field was renovated in 1984, as part of a major university capital campaign. The university raised $650,000 for the initial construction project, though the eventual cost, including land purchases, was over $1 million. It was dedicated during the Auggies' home football game against Hamline on Sept. 22, 1984.

The field squeezes into one city block, between 24th Avenue South and 23rd Avenue South along Butler Place. The first artificial-turf surface installed on the field came from the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome in 1984, and the last AstroTurf-brand surface was used from 1993 to 2004.

In the summer of 2004, the university replaced the AstroTurf with Sprinturf, a "next-generation" surface, as part of a $400,000 field project. The playing surface looks, feels and plays like natural grass, but it is safer and far more durable than older-style artificial-turf surfaces. The infill features a mix of rubber and sand to give the field a natural feel. More than 150 fields throughout North America have Sprinturf surfaces.

In 2006, as part of theuniversity's Kennedy Center construction project, new bleachers were installed on the field, raising the seating level and enabling fans to have a better view of game action. A new press box was installed at the field in 2008. The field was originally named Anderson-Nelson Field, named for former Augsburg basketball coach and athletic director Ernie Anderson '37 and for former Augsburg football and baseball coach Edor Nelson '38. In 2001, the field was renamed Edor Nelson Field, after the university renamed the Si Melby Hall basketball court in Anderson's honor.

A native of Dawson, Minn., Edor Nelson earned Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame honors as both a student-athlete and coach. As an athlete, he was a multi-sport star in football, basketball and baseball. After serving his country in World War II -- including six months of imprisonment in a German prison camp -- he returned to the United States, earning his master's degree at the University of Minnesota in 1947. He taught and coached for three years in Lamberton, Minn., and returned to Augsburg in 1946. He coached football from 1947 to 1969 and coached baseball from 1946 to 1979, also coaching hockey and wrestling at Augsburg for a short time in the 1950s. Edor Nelson Field is unique among Minnesota universitys and universities for its versatility, as a home for five Augsburg sports teams. To maximize its versatility, the university installed an air-inflated dome, purchased from the Yeadon Corporation, to cover the field during the winter months. A new dome from Yeadon was installed in the winter of 2006.

 

FINDING AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY
Augsburg University is at 2211 Riverside Avenue, in the heart of the Twin Cities, near the Fairview-Riverside Medical Center, the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota, and Mississippi River parkways.

DIRECTIONS TO CAMPUS

35W FROM THE NORTH: Take Washington Avenue exit and turn left off Washington (turns right onto Cedar Avenue), turn left at Riverside Avenue, right at 22nd Avenue South. For Urness Hall: it will be two blocks on your right.  For Anderson Hall:  from 22nd Avenue South, take a right onto 7th Street South one block, then a left onto 21st Avenue South, Anderson Hall will be one block on your right.

I-94 FROM MINNEAPOLIS: Take 25th Avenue exit, turn left at 25th Avenue, turn left at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South. For Urness Hall: it will be two blocks on your right.  For Anderson Hall:  from 22nd Avenue South, take a right onto 7th Street South one block, then a left onto 21st Avenue South, Anderson Hall will be one block on your right.

I-94 WEST FROM ST. PAUL: Take Riverside exit, turn right at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South. For Urness Hall: it will be two blocks on your right.  For Anderson Hall:  from 22nd Avenue South, take a right onto 7th Street South one block, then a left onto 21st Avenue South, Anderson Hall will be one block on your right.

35W FROM THE SOUTH: Follow the I-94 St. Paul signs (move to right lane after each of two merges). Take 25th Avenue exit and turn left at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South. For Urness Hall: it will be two blocks on your right.  For Anderson Hall:  from 22nd Avenue South, take a right onto 7th Street South one block, then a left onto 21st Avenue South, Anderson Hall will be one block on your right.