General | 7/3/2025 4:08:00 PM
July 3, 2025-There are plenty of fireworks at Welch Stadium and Witten Track during the school year. This summer fans will have a chance to catch some fireworks in the sky above Welch Stadium on the Fourth of July. The Emporia community Independence Day fireworks display will again be held on the Emporia State campus on the evening of Friday, July 4.
For those wanting to make a celebration that evening, tailgating is available in Emporia State parking lots beginning at 7:00 p.m. Neither alcohol nor personal fireworks are allowed on campus. Special containers will be available to dispose of hot coals.
Welch Stadium will open at 7:00 p.m. Seating is open on the west side of the Stadium and people who want to view from Jones Field are welcome to sit on the field with blankets. Chairs of any kind, along with sunflower seeds and gum are prohibited on Jones Field and Witten Track to help preserve the playing surfaces. Public viewing is also available on the ESU practice fields on the north end of campus, however the ESU Soccer Pitch will be closed to the public. The two parking lots across Highland Street from the art annex, just north of Wilson Park, are available for handicapped parking and viewing. To view a map of parking for the event, go to
emporia.link/fireworks.
The Emporia Municipal Band will add to the festive atmosphere with its Salute to America concert inside Welch Stadium beginning at 8:00 p.m. The fireworks display will be shot from the intramural soccer fields north of Interstate 35. The fireworks show will begin between 9:45 and 10 p.m. and last approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
Jones Field at Welch Stadium is the home of the Emporia State football team that went 7-4 last season. They will have five home games this fall starting with a televised non-conference game against Minot State on Thursday, August 289 at 7:00 p.m. It will be the fourth straight year the Hornets have opened the season with a home game on a Thursday night. The Hornets are 25-10 over the last three seasons and are one of just two MIAA teams to win at least seven games in each of the last three seasons. Season tickets are on sale now at
esuhornets.com.
Welch Stadium and Witten Track will also play host to the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships May 21-23. It will be the fifth time Emporia State has played host to the D2 National Championships, the most of any school since 1995.
