DES MOINES, Iowa — As the weather continues getting warmer, people may notice more construction around the Drake University campus. One major project is Mediacom Stadium next to the Knapp Center.

The stadium, which is set to open this upcoming fall, will be shared by Drake and Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS). The district will own it and Drake will manage its day-to-day operations.

It’s been about a year since the April 2022 groundbreaking. Currently, the site looks like it has a lot of dirt with unfinished concrete coming out of it.

Des Moines Public Schools Director of Communications Phil Roeder said the stadium is on time and on budget. While it may not look like a lot of work has been done to the naked eye, crews have been completing the behind-the-scenes work around the stadium’s foundation.

He said the warmer weather will allow crews to continue making progress and people should notice it quickly.

“We’re getting close to that point where if you were to drive by here every week or so from here on out, it’s going to start to look more and more like the finished product and I think even today though you can kind of get a scope of the size and the orientation of it,” Roeder said.

The stadium will host games this fall even if it may not be ready by the opening day of the high school football season.

It will be shared by several Des Moines high schools’ football and soccer teams. Drake’s men’s and women’s soccer teams will also play in the 4,000-seat stadium.