On September 11, 2002, the Blake campus in Hopkins hosted 3,000 students, teachers, parents, alumni and guests for the dedication of the Gordy Aamoth Jr. Memorial Stadium. As the world paused to reflect on the tragic events that unfolded just one year before, so too did the extended Blake community—gathering to honor one of its own, alumnus Gordy Aamoth Jr., and the lives of all victims of September 11, 2001. 

Gordy Aamoth Jr. ʼ88
A 1988 Blake graduate, Aamoth loved athletics and served as the captain of Blake’s football team, played varsity hockey and participated in several other sports at the school. An investment banker at Sandler O’Neill + Partners, Aamoth worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center’s south tower. The construction of the Blake stadium that bears his name was made possible through the efforts of Aamoth’s family and friends.  

Spirit Plaza
Adjacent to Aamoth Stadium lies Spirit Plaza, which features Spirit Rock, nearly 10 tons of dolomitic limestone that was quarried near Mankato, Minnesota. The rock is split by a four-and-a-half foot, 500-pound beam that once secured a portion of the roof of the south World Trade Center tower. The I-beam was a gift to the Aamoth family from the city of New York. The family also donated some of the artifacts it had received from Ground Zero to Gordy’s hometown of Wayzata, which in 2021 dedicated a memorial monument honoring him and the others who died that day.   

A Space to Learn and Reflect
Every spring, Blake eighth graders explore Aamoth Stadium and Spirit Plaza as part of their unit on memorials. They visit the site to observe its design elements and discuss the importance of memorials in our community. 

Since its dedication, Aamoth Stadium and Spirit Plaza have provided a space for Blake community members to remember and reflect, especially each year on September 11. The dedication plaque at Spirit Plaza reads:  

"Spirit Plaza provides a tangible reminder of our nation’s collective strength and resolve. Though loved ones died and a nation was profoundly altered, our spirit remains intact. In the face of loss, we carry on; following destruction, we remember, and build anew."