Brown Field

The first thing you notice at Brown Field is the track. An eight-lane, 400-metre circuit runs around the perimeter, separating the stands from the playing surface. The stadium is not a bowl; it is a rectangle with a ring, a configuration that has remained consistent since the facility opened in 1919. The year of opening is the only date that matters here.

The ground sits on the campus of Valparaiso University in Indiana. It is a working facility, not a monument. It hosts the Beacons in the NCAA Division I FCS, but it also serves women's soccer and track and field. The capacity is 5,000. That is a small number for a stadium, but it fits the setting. The university owns the ground, and Henry Baker Brown, its founder, is the reason it carries his name. He acquired the land before his death in 1917. The stadium has been in continuous use since 1919. The track is the defining feature. It makes the stadium feel like a school sports ground, which is exactly what it is.