SDSU breaks ground on new soccer stadium

BROOKINGS – South Dakota State broke ground on a new soccer stadium on Tuesday afternoon as Jackrabbit soccer will have an on-campus home beginning in the 2027 season.

Dakota Layers Stadium is scheduled to open in August of 2027 and the construction of it is made possible from a leadership gift from Dakota Layers, LLC and the Ramsdell Family. 

SDSU head coach Brock Thompson said this project was a long time coming and the patience that he had to have taught him a valuable lesson.

“It feels a little bit surreal that it’s here because it felt like maybe it was here, maybe it wasn’t. … I would say that I had doubts as we went through the roller coaster of this, or more of you know just some pessimism if I’m being honest and real about it. But I think there’s a lesson in that too of just patience and faith. Honestly, we’re going to end up with a better facility than we would have had if this happened three or four years ago, and that’s because it’s such a transformational gift,” Thompson said.

The Jackrabbits have played home games at Fishback Soccer Park since 2003 and that facility is on the south side of Brookings, which is the opposite side of town compared to campus. It’s only a 10-minute drive from campus, but Thompson said having an on-campus facility will change a lot of things for his program.

“[Having a stadium on-campus] is transformational in so many ways,” Thompson said. “It’s transformational from the way that we can coach and work and be able to watch film and walk a few steps and be on the training field instead of driving across town. From a recruiting standpoint, we’ve built our team really on not showing our recruits our competition facility, with the exception of if they do come to a game. 

“Obviously, Fishback is fine. Fishback is a great environment on game day because our crew does a really good job to brand it and to do some temporary things on game day. But to be able for this facility to be part of a campus tour for a recruit, I think it’s a game changer.”

Senior midfielder Ellie Gusman, who is expected to return for a fifth year and play in the new stadium next season, said playing on campus will make the soccer team feel like they are more a part of the rest of the SDSU athletics family.

“I think it just makes us feel more cared for and makes us feel like SDSU and  the Jackrabbit community feels as though we’re more of an important team. Obviously, it was hard for us being the only team with a field off campus when we have to watch every [other team] get to stay on campus. But also, we’re going to miss Fishback a lot,” Gusman said.

Senior goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart, who like Gusman, is expected to be back in 2027, said she thinks having a stadium on campus should draw more fans to the games.

“It’s going to be so exciting. It’s going to, for sure, draw out some more crowds and some more people, just more students that are walking by. So I think it’ll be good for us to gain that kind of exposure, just so then students don’t have to travel off campus because I know it’s hard. Especially if there’s international students and they don’t have a way there. So I think it’ll just bring a new set of eyes to the game of soccer,” Benhart said.

The Jackrabbit soccer program began in 2000 and was the first program to win a Division I conference title at SDSU. They’ve won 15 conference championships since, including the last three Summit League Tournament titles. Thompson is entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Jacks and he said more than the success that they’ve had on the field, he thinks this stadium is a product of how his team has involved themselves in the community.

“It’s easy for me as a coach to say, like, I think our program has earned this facility, but I also know it takes an investment. It takes somebody to see the vision and believe in it. I’m so grateful that the Ramsdell family and Dakota Layers saw that and felt moved by what our program believes. I think honestly, part of that vision is more than the success we’ve on the field. It’s the way we’ve interacted with the community and the connections that we’ve built in the soccer community,” Thompson said.

SDSU will begin its 2026 campaign on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. with a home game against the University of Manitoba at Fishback Soccer Park.