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Lewis Field Stadium
Seating capacity: 6,362
Constructed: 1936
Surface: Artificial (New installation in 2025)
Location: Near the corner of Elm Street and Lewis Drive in Hays, Kansas.
Parking: Gameday parking is available in lot outside the north wall of the stadium, along with stalls along Elm Street and Lewis Drive and neighboring streets to the east of the stadium.
NORTH PARKING LOT MAP
TAILGATING GUIDELINES
Lewis Field Stadium is the 6,362-seat home of the Fort Hays State University football team.
New artificial turf was added to the field in the summer of 2025, with the turf surface spanning the entirety of the field to replace the track that had previously surrounded the playing surface. The south end will soon be the new home of the Bickle-Schmidt Athletic Complex, a 20,000-square-foot facility that will house a new locker room, coaches offices, team meeting spaces and a state-of-the-art Sports Medicine area.
In the summer of 2017, over 2,000 new black folding seats replaced old chair back seats and a majority of the bench seating previously on the west side of the stadium, while stairwells widened and handrails were installed. Following the 2017 season, a new video/scoreboard was installed at the north end of the stadium.
The stadium saw several changes prior to the start of the 2013 season. A brand new artificial playing surface was installed, which plays similar to natural grass. A new look for the field included the FHSU Tiger logo at the 50-yardline and black endzones with gold lettering that reads “Fort Hays” in the north endzone and “Tigers” in the south endzone. The old surface had gold endzones with black lettering. Visible just beyond the southeast wall of the stadium is the Schmidt-Bickle Indoor Training Facility, which features a 65-yard indoor field, 5,000-square foot weight room and meeting rooms for the players.
Prior to the 2003 season, a new polyurethane track and lighting system were installed. The new lighting system eliminated shadows on the playing surface. The native limestone structure around the outside of the stadium was refurbished to its natural state in 1993 when 57 years of weathering was sandblasted away.
The east side structure of Lewis Field Stadium was constructed in 1936 and then completion of the west grandstand followed in 1937. The field and stadium structures were built on what was formerly the Golden Belt Fairgrounds. The field and stadium were named in honor of William Alexander Lewis, president of Fort Hays State University from 1913 to 1933.
The first game on the grounds of Lewis Field Stadium took place in 1935 due to a growing need for a facility to seat more fans than what was available at the first football field on campus. The first field was located where Forsyth Library and Tomanek Hall currently stand in present day. The old grandstand utilized for the Golden Belt Fair was the solution for the 1935 season before the east side of the stadium was fully built and operational in 1936. A new concrete grandstand then replaced the old Golden Belt Fair grandstand in 1937 on the west side, bringing the stadium to its full completion.
Lewis Field Stadium is located beside a spacious tree-lined drive and is just a short walk from the campus residence halls and downtown business district. Dressing rooms, concession areas, athletic training facilities, restrooms and equipment storage rooms are located under the grandstands. A complete remodel of the Tiger locker room was completed prior to the 2006 season with carpet flooring and individual lockers.
