Stadium shared by Drake University and Des Moines (Iowa) district has opened

The Des Moines (Iowa) school district and Drake University have officially opened Mediacom Stadium, a joint project of the two institutions.

We are Iowa Local 5 News reports that the 4,000-seat stadium on the Drake campus will serve as the home field for four Des Moines high school football programs: Roosevelt, Hoover, Lincoln and North. It also will be the home turf for five high schools’ soccer programs, and will be used for other high school activities, like marching band, as needed.

Each school's existing natural grass fields will continued to be used for practice and other activities.

For Drake, Mediacom Stadium will be the on-campus home field for its men's and women's soccer teams. The men's soccer played its inaugural game on the field Tuesday night, beating the University of St. Thomas.

The Des Moines district says the total project cost was $24 million. The school district provided $15 million, and Drake provided the rest.

Drake also will have responsibility for daily operations and maintenance of the stadium.