Milton Frank Stadium expansions includes state-of-the-art track fields
HUNTSVILLE – A longtime Huntsville landmark has received another facelift and is recognized as one of the top state-of-the- art athletic facilities in the Southeast.
Milton Frank Stadium, the 12,000-seat multi-purpose facility in west Huntsville at Brahan Spring Park, recently celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony to showcase some expansions of the track and field facilities of the locale in conjunction with hosting the 2025 USATF Masters Outdoor Track & Field Nationals. The expansions included new areas for discus, hammer throw and javelin, which are a big part of any track and field event particularly on the national level. Owned and operated by the City of Huntsville Schools, around $750-thousand was spent on the new additions to the facility and was part of a budget totaling $5-million for renovations and upgrades over the last two years.
“Milton Frank Stadium is an iconic space that has served generations of Huntsville athletes and fans,” said Dustin Daehn, Chief Financial Officer of Huntsville City Schools. “The beginning of renovations that began in 2023 marked a bold new era for this facility. These additions are more than new features. They represent our commitment to supporting a complete and occlusive track and field program giving all athletes the space they need to train and compete their best.”
Opened in 1962 as Huntsville Stadium, it was renamed in honor of Milton Frank, a long-time football coach and athletic director of Huntsville High School and chairman of Huntsville City School Board of Education.
The stadium has hosted professional football, college and high school football and an array of other sporting events such as in the 1980’s when both UAH and Alabama A&M men’s soccer teams were ranked No. 1 in the country in their respective divisions and faced one another to a packed stadium. Other memorable events included in the 1960’s extra bleachers were put in the end zone areas to accommodate an overflow crowd to watch the city’s big high school football matchup between Butler and Huntsville. The early 1970’s saw Milton Frank Stadium host high school graduations and rock concerts.
“The throw areas of this expansion opens up a whole new opportunity for us to bring events to Huntsville and while doing so helps fund our schools indirectly,” said Carlos Matthews, Huntsville City Schools Board President and longtime participant in Masters Track and Field and multi-national champion. “The goal is to continue to reach out to bring events here to help fund our schools in ways we didn’t have. I like to call this ‘Milton Frank Fast-Track’ with a football field in the middle of it.”
More than 1,200 athletes from all over the country converged into the area and covered Milton Frank Stadium for the recent Masters four-day competition. A representative of the USATF, Robert Thomas, stated at the ribbon cutting, “We will be back.”
