UND finds time capsule from 1927 as it prepares Memorial Stadium demolition

Workers last week crack open the time capsule found at the site of UND's Memorial Stadium. Photo by Shawna Schill, UND.

By Tom Miller

March 09, 2021 at 7:19 PM

UND's Mike Pieper, the school's associate vice president of facilities, possessed the original architectural plans for Memorial Stadium, which was built in 1927.

Those plans indicated a cavity in the northwest corner of the building, behind the numbers 1927.

So as the school prepares to raze Memorial Stadium for a new development project , construction workers last week took a look at the place UND officials suspected there be a time capsule.

Sure enough, a time capsule from Sept. 21, 1927, was discovered inside a copper pot.

"It took some time to get it out but people were excited to see there was actually something in there," Pieper said.

The artifacts included Grand Forks Herald and Dakota Student newspapers, as well as a UND Alumni magazine. It also included tickets for the first homecoming game in the stadium held against Creighton.

UND President Andrew Armacost, during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon to honor the nostalgia and original intent of Memorial Stadium, said the artifacts will find a new home at Elwyn B. Robinson Special Collections at the Chester Fritz Library.

UND displays the artifacts found in a 1927 time capsule at the site of Memorial Stadium. Behind the table is an artist rendering of the new development project on the site of Memorial Stadium. Photo by Rob Carolin, UND.

By Tom Miller

Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 and 2022.

His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps.

He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, tmiller@gfherald.com or on Twitter at @tommillergf.