Iowa Hall of Pride museum will close this month, but will transition to an online platform

The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced on Wednesday that the Iowa Hall of Pride will be closing its physical location later this month, but the information made available in the museum will now live online.

The Hall of Pride museum, located inside the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines and run by the IHSAA, will conclude its public schedule and operating hours by June 30, and formally close during the 2022-23 school year.

Before that, the IHSAA will transition the Hall of Pride experience into an online platform, called Achieve, that they say will feature some of the same experiences that the physical location offered since it opened in 2005.

"While the Hall of Pride has been a unique space to honor excellence in Iowa's history and education-based activities, we have seen declining attendance at the location in recent years," IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said in a release.

"We believe the best way to serve our member schools and the most students is through Achieve," Keating's statement continued. "The new digital format will make the Hall of Pride's lessons available to anyone, anywhere at no cost."

The 26,000-square foot museum averaged 800 visitors per month from 2015 through 2020, according to the IHSAA. Since reopening in July 2020, following a short closure due to COVID-19, the Hall of Pride has averaged around just 250 monthly visitors.

The Hall of Pride will honor existing field trips and event reservations through June 30. Both the IHSAA and the Iowa Events Center told the Register that there are currently no plans in place for what will fill the museum space once the IHSAA moves out.

The IHSAA's website, meanwhile, averages nearly one million page views per month, and Achieve, which launched Wednesday, plans to carry on the Hall of Pride's mission by honoring achievements and inspiring the future of Iowa high school activities.

The free web hub, located on the IHSAA's website, will feature interviews, student services, and other content previously found at the Hall of Pride. It will also provide digital archives, various Hall of Fame listings, record books for each sport, as well as student programs and other educational offerings for member schools.

"From its inception under Bernie Saggau and Jack Lashier, the Hall of Pride opened with a goal of 'Educating the future, preserving the past, celebrating the accomplishments of all Iowans," Keating's statement continued.

"We are excited to launch the next chapter through Achieve, will will honor the vision and mission of the Hall of Pride and continue to celebrate the incredible student-athletes and individuals who have positively affected Iowa for generations."

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.