From wrestling championships to the Field of Dreams game, Iowa is a sports heaven
By Jason Paha
Iowa is more than just a pretty state.
Underneath its picturesque state parks and scenic natural wonders resides a sports-crazed state with a rich history of athletic accomplishments.
Take the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team. The Hawkeyes have captured an astonishing 24 national championships and have featured some of the greatest grapplers in NCAA history. Iowa State wrestling has an impressive resume as well, as arguably the greatest American amateur wrestler of all time: Cael Sanderson (who finished 159-0 and won four NCAA championships from 1999-2002) competed for the Cyclones.
Iowa has also, in recent years, hosted numerous successful events including the AAU Junior Olympic Games, LPGA Solheim Cup, NCAA DI men’s basketball, NAIA Championships and the USA Wrestling Olympic Trials. The Hawkeye State even gained national recognition for hosting Major League baseball games at the iconic Field of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville and the Dew Tour at Lauridsen Skatepark in Des Moines. Couple these events with a wide range of top-flight sports facilities throughout the state and Iowa has established a reputation as one of the best states in the country to host a tournament.
Some of the Top Sports Facilities in Iowa:
- TBK Bank Sports Complex
- McLeod Center
- The Hippodrome
- Prospect Meadows
- Mid America Center
- Highland Park Golf Course
- Wells Fargo Arena and more
Sports Facilities in Ames, Iowa
Iowa State’s $13 million Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility gives track athletes first-rate, year-round practice facilities. The indoor facility includes a 300-meter track with eight 42-inch lanes, making it the largest and one of the fastest indoor surfaces in the world. The complex has hosted 12 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Furman Aquatic Center is a popular swimming facility that offers a variety of programs for people of all ages and skill levels. It features an indoor pool with eight lanes as well as a separate diving well with a one-meter and three-meter diving board. The center hosts swimming events and competitions throughout the year.
Bettendorf/Davenport (Quad Cities) Sports Complexes
The TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf is a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex. It spans 75 acres and hosts outdoor fields for baseball, softball and soccer plus food and beverage concessions. Indoors, you will find basketball courts, a soccer turf field, a high-end fitness center and a full-service two-story family entertainment center with luxury bowling, arcade, laser tag, escape rooms and more.
Home of the St. Ambrose men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse and JV football team, the St. Vincent’s Athletic Complex in Davenport is a recent addition among the SAU Athletic facilities. The complex includes two synthetic turf all-purpose fields with spectator seating, a natural grass softball complex including spectator seating and press box, a concession/athletic training building and a parking lot.
Burlington, Iowa Sports Facilities
The Burlington Regional RecPlex is a state-of-the-art facility and hub for sports and recreation. It is home to five softball/baseball diamonds with three of the fields sporting 300-foot fences with warning tracks, one combination field with flexible fence distances and one youth-sized field. It also houses eight regulation-sized soccer fields, four lighted sand volleyball courts, a 1.2-mile paved walking/biking trail and six station automatic batting cages with softball/baseball pitching machines for all ages.
Also in Burlington resides FunCity Turf, which opened in 2018, and FunCity Courts, opening in 2023. FunCity Turf provides ample indoor turf space for flexible softball and soccer tournaments while the FunCity Courts is a new basketball, volleyball, and pickleball facility.
Cedar Falls / Waterloo Sport Facilities
The UNI-Dome, featured in this article’s main image, is a multipurpose indoor stadium on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls. With a seating capacity of more than 16,000, it provides an excellent venue for football games, track and field events and more.
Also located on the University of Northern Iowa campus, the McLeod Center is a versatile arena primarily used for basketball and volleyball. It hosts UNI Panthers basketball games, as well as other sporting events, concerts and conferences.
Iowa’s oldest entertainment arena, The Hippodrome in Waterloo is a large indoor sports and concert venue that has been the home for Midwest entertainment since 1910. This venue is perfect for concerts, craft shows, circuses, horse shows, rodeos and bull riding, gun and knife shows, monster trucks, conventions and more. The arena floor covers 20,000 square feet and has 234 box seats and 5,200 permanent seats. It also sports 1,800 floor seating with chairs.
Cedar Rapids Sport Destinations
Prospect Meadows is a new baseball/softball complex that opened in 2019 with eight fields and one Miracle Field for those with disabilities. Phase II is under development to include an additional eight fields as well as seating and lights, sound systems, and scoreboards. Once complete the complex will feature 1200 parking spaces and recreational opportunities.
Clear Lake as a Sport Destination
Clear Lake State Park is a scenic outdoor area that offers opportunities for a wide range of sports and recreational activities. It features a beach area for swimming, picnic areas, hiking trails, and boat rentals for water sports such as boating, fishing and kayaking.
Water lovers will appreciate Clear Lake Yacht Club, a hub for sailing enthusiasts. It features sailing lessons, regattas and social events for members and visitors interested in sailing sports.
Council Bluffs for Sports
The Mid-America Center is a multi-purpose arena that hosts basketball, hockey, wrestling competitions and more. It also serves as a venue for concerts, trade shows, and conventions. It features more than 70,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting areas and 2,600 adjacent spaces of free parking.
For a state-of-the-art indoor facility in Council Bluffs, look no further than the Iowa West Field House, which is home to basketball courts, volleyball courts, an indoor track, a turf field and the new Iowa West Wrestling Club.
Des Moines, Iowa Sporting Facilities
A 17,000-seat arena, the Wells Fargo Arena is part of the Iowa Events Center complex. Each year Wells Fargo Arena hosts the Iowa High School State Wrestling and girls and boys basketball tournaments. Three professional sports teams also call the arena home, including the NBA G-League’s Iowa Wolves, the AHL’s Iowa Wild and the IFL’s Iowa Barnstormers. In addition to sporting events, the complex hosts world-class entertainers and is consistently ranked as a top 100 venue worldwide in terms of concert attendance.
Des Moines Golf and Country Club is a private golf club with two championship 18-hole golf courses designed by famous court architect Pete Dye.
Dubuque Sports Complexes
The ImOn Arena is a 3,200 seat, single sheet ice rink and event space that is home to the
five-time Clark Cup champion Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. It is a top-loading facility with additional amenities including concessions on both the concourse and ground levels, luxury boxes on one side, three press boxes on the other, eight restrooms, a lounge with full bar, conference room and lower level meeting room.
Beautifully carved through 85 acres of scenic cedar trees with state-of-the-art snowmaking, Sundown Mountain Resort is one of the best Midwest ski resort destinations and the only Midwest ski resort granted the NSAA Award of Excellence.
Fort Dodge The Harlan & Hazel Rogers Sports Complex is a 100-acre complex with numerous amenities including 11 softball/baseball fields (six with Musco Lighting), three permanent batting cages, 13 soccer fields, 4 permanent concession stands, four permanent restroom facilities, 600+ capacity asphalt parking lot and a Hall of Fame ticket building. The complex has hosted the Iowa High School Girls State Softball tournament for 71 years. The Webster County Fairgrounds are home to the Webster County Fair each July. It features two auditoriums for rent for events and indoor and outdoor arenas for rodeo events. Animal barns, camping and amenities are available on the property.
Sports in Marshalltown, Iowa
Known as The Roundhouse, the iconic Marshalltown High School Roundhouse is home to Marshalltown High School’s basketball and wrestling teams. With a seating capacity of more than 4,000, it has hosted numerous high school and college-level sporting events.
The Marshalltown Community College Athletic Complex offers multiple sports facilities, including a baseball field, softball field, soccer field, and tennis courts. These well-maintained venues host both college and community sporting events. The 40,000 square foot Student Activity Center is the hub and includes a full college basketball/volleyball court with seating for up to 1,500 fans.
Mason City for Sporting Events
The North Iowa Events Center offers year-round indoor and outdoor activities and events including horse, dog and other competitive animal shows. It is also home of the North Iowa Fair and has year-round indoor and outdoor venues available for rent and can host competitive events, home sports and ag shows, motocross, rodeo, fundraisers, kickboxing, concerts and more. A public golf course with 18 holes, driving range, and practice facilities, the Highland Park Golf Course is comprised of two distinct nines. The front nine measures 2,950 yards and has small greens with tight, tree-lined fairways. The back nine measures 3,250 yards and has large greens with long and fairly open fairways.
Ottumwa Beach Ottumwa features two sand volleyball courts, an eight-lane competitive indoor pool, and a fun outdoor wave pool filled with more than 300,000 gallons of water. It also houses numerous indoor and outdoor water slides including one of the largest slides in the Midwest that plummets more than 100 feet. Indian Hills Community College Athletics has various sports facilities, including a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, a baseball field, a softball field and a soccer field.
Sioux City Sports Complexes
The Miracle League of Sioux City provides recreational facilities designed for individuals with disabilities to enable integrated play. The CNOS Field at the Miracle League is exclusively designed to accommodate individuals with disabilities. It’s a rubber surface, so it’s wheelchair friendly. SCHEELS Field is a new 200 foot all turf field that welcomes youth sports, travel teams and other community programs.
Arena Sports Academy features five basketball/volleyball courts, including 18 basketball hoops with height control. It also houses the Arena Dance Academy, a beautiful hardwood dance studio and Scheels Snack Shack, offering Chic-Fil-A, salads, nachos, slushies and more and Chesterman’s Sports Bar and Grill. Chesterman’s has seating with views of all five courts and a full bar and food menu. It also offers baseball and softball club teams from 8u to 17u including a Fall girls softball league that has more than 70 teams participating annually.
Team Iowa, a division of Iowa Travel Industry Partners, is the organization that can help you host an event as it is dedicated to attracting youth, amateur and professional sporting events to Iowa. iTIP consists of a consortium of Iowa sports commissions and convention and visitors bureaus, providing planners with a wealth of options from 85 partner communities across the state. Whether you are looking for a soccer field or a 17,000-seat arena, lean on iTIP to help you find the perfect Iowa sports facilities as well as assist you with hotels, volunteer recruitment, signage and attendance building.
Iowa still has plenty more to offer travelers to the area, so be sure to read about Other Attractions in Iowa and Subscribe to Sports Planning Guide for FREE
