As far as is known, the Chadron State College football field has always been at the same location - along 12th Street at the base of C Hill. College history says that in 1921 “the new athletic field, including a quarter mile track, was completed.”
The field, which is named for Robert I. Elliott, the college’s second president and an ardent football fan, is one of the relatively few that runs east and west.
Apparently temporary bleachers were used prior to 1929, when the Chadron Memorial Stadium Association was formed. Two former standout football players, Orin Weymouth and LaVerne McKelvey, were chosen to head the drive. The Chadron Chronicle reported that the immediate goal was to raise between $4,000 and $5,000. The new stadium had a seating capacity of approximately 1,500, but many of the crowds were much larger than that and fans stood along the sidelines or sat on banks along the south side of the field.
Although a small pressbox was eventually added at the top of the stadium, there wasn’t much change in the stadium until a fundraising drive was launched in 1995 that more than doubled the seating capacity for Eagles fans and added two sets of bleachers for the visitors’ fans on the north side of the field. The expansion also included doubling the size of the pressbox. The pressbox is named in honor of Con Marshall, the longtime sports and news information director at the school.
During homecoming 2000, the rejuvenated facilities were dedicated and named in honor of former CSC standout Don Beebe, who was an NFL wide receiver for nine years and was on the roster of six teams that played in the Super Bowl.
In 2014, engineers alerted CSC officials that the structural integrity of the central stands were failing. In response, the Nebraska State College System approved an $8.6 million renovation of the existing field, main grandstands, and pressbox. In the process a main concourse was created with additional restroom facilities, ticket booth, concessions, and many auxiliary support rooms.
Following an extensive campaign by the Chadron State College Foundation, construction on the upgraded facility began in November 2017, immediately following the Eagles' final home game on the 11th. Work continued throughout the winter, spring, and summer, and the stadium opened in September 2018, after a 10-month project. The first game in the newly renovated stadium was September 1 against Black Hills State, which the Eagles won 45-8.
The stadium lights (the first seen at Elliott Field since the 1980s), the field turf which matches the NFL field in Minneapolis, and all of the amenities make Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium one of the finest football facilities in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
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Con Marshall Press Box and Home Stands
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Football Practice Fields
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The Elliott Field Bell
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CSC Football Hammer
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