Evansville’s Reitz Bowl Named Best High School Football Stadium in Indiana

I'll admit, right off the top, that I'm a little biased when it comes to F.J. Reitz High School - my wife is an alumnus, my daughter is currently attending, and my son will attend next year. Just know that this article has nothing to do with my opinion, I am simply reporting the facts - although you could say some of these 'facts' are just the opinion of someone else. Regardless, this is a pretty cool recognition for any Evansville high school to receive, it just happens to be the school I root for. Let's continue.

According to StadiumTalk.com, the Reitz Bowl has been declared the best high school football stadium in the state of Indiana - part of a list of the best stadiums for each state. So, what makes the Bowl, better than any other high school stadium in Indiana? Don't ask me - here's what StadiumTalk.com says...

Aerial views of the stadium show an odd twist of architecture. The "Bowl" side of the stadium isn't a straight wall line, but kind of a squiggly line. This was a happy accident. The foundation of the stadium on the home side was originally meant to be a retaining wall for Reitz High School until a quick-thinking member of the school staff observed it could actually be the beginning of a football stadium.

Construction of the Reitz Bowl began in 1921 - since then it has definitely become one of the signature landmarks for the city of Evansville, especially the west side. Both west side high schools, Reitz and Mater Dei, use the Bowl for their home football games. Young players from the Evansville Junior Football League (EJFL) get the pleasure of playing their championship games - the 'Cereal Bowl' - at the Reitz Bowl. And for the past several years (not counting 2020), the Reitz Bowl has been the home for the annual Drums on the Ohio.

I enjoy learning about the history of our local schools, architecture, landmarks, etc. - things that have been around for a long, long time. Having said that, I thought the video about the history of the Reitz Bowl was pretty doggone neat.

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