Lakeshirts Fieldhouse Continues To Be A Boon For Detroit Lakes Community

Detroit Lakes, Minn (KDLM) – The Detroit Lakes School Board on Monday night recognized a number of community members and school employees for their efforts during the Section 8AA boys and girls basketball playoffs.

Aaron Wittrock, James O’Sullivan, Bronson Vinge, Mark Tumberg, Tim Cole, Jeff Tessman, William Hansen, and John Weber were recognized for their extra work in preparing, hosting, and cleaning up following the clean-up of the Section 8AA semifinal and championship games March 8-17 that featured teams from Perham, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Barnesville, Wadena-Deer Creek, Thief River Falls, and Hawley.

“These are games that don’t include (Class AAA school) Detroit Lakes,” said DLHS Activities Director Rob Nielsen. “We had over 2,000 people in our community over those four nights that normally wouldn’t be in our community. They’re buying gas, they’re eating, and spending money in other places while they’re in town. It’s awesome to be able to host these events at the Lakeshirts Fieldhouse. Having this facility here is a huge benefit to our community and we are extremely thankful to have it. People are climbing to try and get here and host their events because of what we have.”

The Lakeshirts Fieldhouse began hosting the 8AA semifinals and championship games during the 2021-22 season after the games were moved from Concordia College in Moorhead. The facility, which also has three basketball courts, an indoor walking track, an athletic trainer room, five video boards, and a golf simulator room, was part of a $27 million expansion project for Detroit Lakes High School. Lakeshirts donated another million dollars on top of that which wasn’t covered by the 2018 school board referendum to help cover costs and got naming rights to the facility.