Northern Iowa is set to begin the 2025 college football season at home on Saturday. However, the UNI-Dome remains under construction with less than 72 hours until kickoff.
As a result, the Panthers are forced to practice under the most bizarre conditions.
They spent all of Wednesday going through college football drills as construction drills, hammers and saws caused a ruckus throughout the stadium. It was a truly strange sight to see.
Northern Iowa renovated its football stadium.
The UNI-Dome was first built in 1976 on the campus of University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It holds a maximum capacity of 16,324 during the football season and even transforms into a softball field during the early spring.
UNI chose to renovate its dome for the first time in nearly 50 years during the offseason. The project aims provide a state-of-the-art facility for student-athletes as well as a first-class experience for fans.
There are 10 main upgrades at the focus of the project:
- Wider seats.
- Wider aisles and the addition of handrails.
- A new elevator.
- Premium seating options in the lower bowl.
- Expanded suite level.
- New club seats in the northwest and southwest corners.
- New terraces, aka “party decks.”
- A meeting room in the lower terrace aimed to improve game-day flexibility.
- New restrooms.
- Sound system updates.
The dome itself will stay the same but it’s going to be much nicer. It was time for a facelift.
Will the UNI-Dome be ready?!
Phase one of the renovation is complete. The meeting room is built and the UNI-Dome now features a new Teflon-coated fiberglass roof.
Everything else is still in progress…
Northern Iowa is schedule to host Butler to begin the college football season at 1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday so the clock is ticking to get everything done. The work must be finished by early morning on game day at the very latest.
As a result, it is a scramble to get it all done.
The Panthers were forced to practice in an active construction site with just two days until their season is going to begin. Construction workers made quite the ruckus as they ran through their Wednesday drills.
At Northern Iowa’s football practice. It is the strangest scene.
— Jim Nelson (@Nelley13) August 27, 2025
Loud music and …. Grinders, saws, drills and hammers clanking, sawing and riveting as construction crew races to finish UNI-Done renovations before Saturday’s home opener with Butler @UNifootball pic.twitter.com/3CniSkcVHf
This is not the first time that a college football team is forced to play in a stadium that is not finished but the work is usually put on pause during games. And most programs have a separate field on which to practice.
Not Northern Iowa! I have never seen a team practice in an active construction zone. This is a first for me.
The post Northern Iowa Football Team Forced To Practice In Active Construction Zone Amid Noisy Ruckus appeared first on BroBible.
Northern Iowa Football Team Forced To Practice In Active Construction Zone Amid Noisy Ruckus
Pinoy Human Rights
0 Comments