Scheumann Stadium

The Scheumann Stadium, formerly known as the Ball State Stadium, is in Muncie, Indiana. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Ball State University Cardinals. The stadium opened in 1967, and has a capacity of 22,500 for football games.HistoryAnticipating rapid growth after transitioning from a teacher's college to a large state school, the Ball State University Board of Trustees approved construction of a new athletic stadium one mile north of campus in 1965. The stadium was completed in 1967 with a capacity of 16,000 for football. It replaced the previous stadium closer to campus, on University Avenue across from Ball Memorial Hospital. The site is now used as a band practice field. A grandstand on the south end of the stadium was added in the 1990s, increasing the capacity to 22,500. In 2005, the stadium was renamed after Ball State alumni and benefactors John B. and June M. Scheumann.TodayIn 2007, the stadium completed a $13 million renovation. Planned improvements included new lighting for night games, enclosing the north end zone with lawn seating to create a 22,500-seat horseshoe-shaped venue, new concession stands, a facade update using brick, a larger press box, and private luxury suites. On August 29, 2013, a new video board was installed. Another video board was installed at Worthen Arena.For a time, notable Ball State alumnus David Letterman jokingly campaigned via his television program to have the stadium named for him. When the naming was given to the Scheumanns for their donations to the university, the mayor of nearby Indianapolis, Indiana (Letterman's childhood home), Bart Peterson joked that the city would rename the I-465 Beltway as the "David Letterman Expressway".