The Official Site of the Fighting Saints

Nelson Stadium is one of the most premier sporting venues in the entirety of the NAIA.

 The 4,812-seat stadium is proudly named in honor of Warren, and Pat Nelson of Reno, Nev., for their many years of   generosity to Carroll College. The Nelsons were instrumental in building the stadium and have supported generations of   Montana and Nevada students with scholarships to attend Carroll. Warren graduated from Mount St. Charles High School in   1931, and attended Carroll in the fall of '31 before returning to Great Falls to support his family during the depression.   Warren was a member of the 1931 Saints Football team that was unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon.
 Construction on Carroll's first on-campus stadium was "completed" in 2000, immediately becoming the official home of the   recently-formed Carroll Women's Soccer program. While the press box, suites, and façade that can be seen to this day was   not finished, the natural grass playing surface was made available for the Women's Soccer team's six home games in the   Fall of 2000.
 
The Carroll Football team played their inaugural game inside the facility on September 1, 2001. 2,970 Saints fans were on hand to watch Carroll earn a 17-3 victory over NCAA Division II foe, Fort Lewis College.
In total, the Fighting Saints have won more than 80 percent of their football games played at Nelson Stadium (116-26, 81.6%).
Since becoming the home field for the Soccer and Football teams, the storied facility has played host to 24 Conference Champions (Football 15, Women's Soccer 8, Men's Soccer 1) and 28 NAIA Football Championship Series postseason games.
 
HISTORY:

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The Stadium was nearly an afterthought, as original plans for the on-campus facility were simply a practice field behind Guadalupe Hall, and a soccer field by the Corrette Library. The concept of a fully functional stadium wasn't officially presented until after the fact in May of 1994, and the project began to gain momentum.
In 1995, a proposal was made for the excavation of the current site, and within a year – ground was officially broken.
The Stadium was made a reality thanks in large part to the generosity and philanthropic efforts of both Carroll Alumni and the Helena community at large. Over half of the final materials for construction were donated by Alumni and friends.
In the summer of 1998, the stadium grandstand arrived on campus, donated from Montana State University, and was erected later that fall. While the bones of the grandstand came courtesy of the Bobcats, the bleachers also feature repurposed seating from the Seattle Kingdome, the former
home of the Seattle Mariners.
The Stadium project was 100 percent completed ahead of the official dedication during Carroll's homecoming football game against Rocky Mountain College on September 29, 2001.
Once completed, Nelson Stadium featured a seating capacity of 4,812, including general admission bench seating, seat-back bench seating, reserved individual stadium seating, club-level indoor seating, as well as 11 fully furnished suites, coaches' boxes, and media boxes. The scoreboard, also formerly of Montana State, was erected prior to the 2001 season. The Stadium's concourse area featured five separate concession stands, as well as the Saints' Shoppe satellite store.
For 20 years, the venue remained largely untouched, save for cosmetic and equipment updates.
 
RENOVATION:

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In September of 2023, Athletic Director Charlie Gross and President Dr. John Cech announced that with approval from the Carroll College Board of Directors, the Stadium would move forward with an installation of artificial turf and a state-of-the-art lighting system in a multi-million-dollar project. The Nelson Stadium Enhancement Project, and subsequent fundraising efforts, was spearheaded by co-chairs Tom Downey and Dr. John Michelotti.

On April 2, 2024, at a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony, Carroll President John Cech announced that Valley Bank would be the official field sponsor of the new turf following  a significant donation towards the project's fundraising goal.
Construction on the renovation project began in May of 2024, providing the college with  a high-quality practice and game site, an opportunity to address student recreation  needs and pursue emerging sport opportunities, and a new community asset for engagement with Carroll College
This project transformed Nelson Stadium in to a space that allows for greater daily use by student-athletes At current, two-thirds of Carroll student-athletes require the use of outdoor practice areas. The newly laid consistent surface allows for increased  practice efficiencies, as well as a game-speed atmosphere for our teams to prepare on.
The addition of lighting systems to Nelson Stadium has allowed for extended hours of usage to better accommodate the Carroll student-body in meeting recreational needs,   as well as providing growth opportunities for emerging sports.
The new synthetic turf and addition of lighting systems provides the Helena community with a new multi-use focal point within the greater Helena area. Nelson Stadium now has the ability to host high school sporting events on Friday evenings, drawing crowds from Montana's largest communities.
Installation of the turf was completed in August of 2024, featuring a new aggregate and drainage system that allows for quality play and practice in wet and snowy conditions.
A retaining wall was installed on the east side of the stadium flowing into a cement curbing, running along the south side of the field. This curbing and retaining wall have created a new barrier between the playing surface and the existing hillside, while also allowing for the addition of Softball dugouts and infrastructure in the Southeast corner.
Full facility lighting has been erected that allows for night competitions, practices, as well as additional usage in low-light and evening settings, previously unattainable.
Along with the installation of lighting, electrical and technological infrastructure has been installed for streamlined production access for media and in-house operations, enhancing broadcasting capabilities and efficiencies.