Public School Stadium located at Denfeld High School in Duluth opened in the 1930s. Now, the Public School Stadium Re-Naming Committee has submitted a formal proposal to rename the stadium.

Otherwise known as PSS for short, the stadium is used for football, soccer, and track, and has a seating capacity of 3,000. According to the Denfeld Alumni Association, before the stadium was built in the 30s, games were held at Athletic Park, currently where Wade Stadium is. Exploring more on the history, the first-ever game held at PSS was the Denfeld Hunters taking on the Morgan Park Wildcats.

Fun fact, PSS was also used for home games of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the 50s and 60s. The stadium has gone through numerous changes throughout the years including a remodel when the stadium reopened for football in 2001.

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I graduated from Denfeld years ago, and I have fond memories of the stadium. Here's a look at the stands at PSS:

Denfeld High School posted on their Facebook page the news that due to Duluth Public Schools policy 810, "Naming Rights and Naming School Facilities," the Business Services Department has to notify the public that a naming rights request was submitted for the stadium.

However, this also means that naming rights requests for PSS is open for submission for all. Meaning if you think it should be a different name, you have until 4:30 pm on April 10th, 2023 to submit your idea to Brett Mensing at brett.mensing@isd709.org.

The re-naming request happened to be a four-year plan dating back to 2019 when the  Public School Stadium Re-Naming Committee submitted a proposal to rename the stadium “Walt Hunting Stadium - Marv Heikkinen Field”.

If you went to Denfeld, odds are the name Walt Hunting sounds very familiar. Walt Hunting was a long-time teacher and coach at the High School. It's also where the school got its nickname, the Hunters. He also coached the Hunters to an undefeated season in 1927 and claimed the unofficial state championship.

Marv Heikkinen is also in the Denfeld Hall of Fame, as he served as a Social Studies teacher from 1964 - 1996 and also coached football as well as track and field. He was a finalist for Terrific Teacher of the Year in 1991, and coached the football team two northern Minnesota championship games in the 70s and two state tournament births.

The formal committee that submitted the proposal for the name change is:
  • Tom Tusken - Current Denfeld Principal and educator of 25+ years
  • Tom Pearson - Current Defeld Activities Director and educator of 30+ years
  • Joe Vukelich - Creator of Denfeld Alumni Association and educator of 30+ years
  • Alanna Oswald - School Board Member and  20+ Year Volunteer Advocate for West Duluth/Equity
  • Tim Doyle - Hockey Day MN leader, former Denfeld coach, past PTA President, and 15+ year Western Duluth Volunteer
  • Denfeld "GOLDS" Diverse Student Leadership Group
While I understand the request for the name change, it's going to be weird getting used to calling PSS something other than PSS. However, it is a great way to honor the two individuals for all they've done for the school and to have a history as a part of the school's legacy.
It's a very complex process to go through to rename the stadium and included multiple meetings. The Committee also stated that people reach out with suggestions to honor distinguished student-athletes, coaches, or teams of Duluth Denfeld, Duluth Central, and Morgan Park high schools. You can see the full post here.

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