Wade Stadium is a brick ballpark in the West Duluth neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota, built in 1940-41 as a Works Progress Administration project. Crews reused roughly 381,000 bricks pulled from nearby Grand Avenue to construct the park, which opened on July 16, 1941, as the Duluth All-Sports Municipal Stadium before a crowd of 2,500 watching the Duluth Dukes face their rivals, the Superior Blues.
It was renamed Wade Municipal Stadium in 1954 to honor former Dukes owner Frank Wade, and over the decades it has hosted the Duluth Dukes, the Duluth-Superior Dukes, and, since 2003, the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League. The park’s short outfield dimensions, tall fences, and cool lakeside air off Lake Superior have long given it a distinct character among summer-collegiate ballparks.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Duluth Huskies (Northwoods League); College of St. Scholastica baseball
- Location: West Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota
- Opened: July 16, 1941
- Capacity: about 4,200
- Notable fact: Built by WPA crews using about 381,000 reclaimed bricks from Grand Avenue
A Depression-Era Ballpark
Wade Stadium’s construction traced back to a 1938 bond campaign led by Walter Chantigney, who gathered more than 7,500 signatures after a study found Duluth’s old Athletic Park obsolete. The project blended local bond money, state funds, and WPA labor, with Mayor Edward Hatch personally helping cover a cost overrun that pushed the final price to about $230,880.
From the Dukes to the Huskies
After the original Northern League folded in the early 1970s, Wade Stadium sat underused for over a decade and faced possible demolition. A new Northern League franchise revived the ballpark in 1993, and it has remained in continuous use ever since, undergoing a roughly $2.2 million renovation completed in August 2014.
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12 x 10.5 x 6 in. — built to the common stadium clear-bag size. Check your venue's rules.
USB-charged warmers for cold night games — no disposable packets.
Keeps chili hot from the tailgate to the fourth quarter.
Wade Stadium FAQs
Is Wade Stadium still in use?
Yes. It remains the home field of the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League and the College of St. Scholastica baseball team.
How old is Wade Stadium?
It opened on July 16, 1941, making it over 80 years old.
Why was it almost torn down?
After the original Northern League folded in the early 1970s, the park sat largely unused for about a decade, putting it at risk of demolition until a new franchise moved in during 1993.
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Photo: Duluthhuskies / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.