The University of Northern Iowa Athletic Department announced it is looking to sell the naming rights for the UNI-Dome for the first time in the facility’s 50-year history.
The indoor stadium on the Cedar Falls campus is home to UNI football and the Iowa high school football championships. It has hosted concerts, home shows and many other events and was the host of Panther basketball and volleyball until a separate facility was built.
UNI president Mark Nook told the Board of Regents at their recent meeting that NIL and revenue sharing have had a big impact on the school’s sports budget. “It’s a chaotic time in athletics, especially at the Division one level, and it’s a little easier at Division two and three, but it’s still a complicated landscape at the moment,” Nook said.
Nook didn’t mention the naming rights to the UNI-Dome at that meeting, but indicated they were looking at a lot of ways to increase sports revenue. “We have put together more realistic revenue growth projections, including the use of the facilities, asset marketing, game day promotions, philanthropy,” he said.
The university has recently invested millions of dollars in upgrading the facility at it hits its 50-year anniversary. That includes wider seating, more restrooms, upgraded infrastructure with a new seating capacity of approximately 12,200 with the ability to reach nearly 20,000 with certain configurations.
UNI’s 2027 fiscal year sports budget is nearly $16.6 million. That compares to $182 million for the University of Iowa and $145 million for Iowa State University.