CEFCU Arena, formerly known as Redbird Arena, is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...

, on the campus of

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

. Built in 1989, the building is notable for its use of a

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...

-coated roof that gives off a "glow" during night events. Three

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference wh ...

athletic teams use the facility as their home court: men's basketball,

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

, and women's volleyball. The arena was renamed CEFCU Arena after the school and CEFCU agreed to a 10-year naming rights deal.

Sports

Illinois State is one of just 10 college volleyball programs to draw more than 250,000 fans in the last decade. Students who enjoy men's basketball and sit in the student section often paint their faces red and wear red T-shirts and become part of "Red Alert", the official student spirit group of Illinois State athletics.

Amenities

CEFCU Arena boasts new scoreboards installed during the 2006-2007 basketball season. The center-hung scoreboard has four-sided HD video boards. They were initiated at the Bradley game when the court was named after ISU great Doug Collins. For the 2011-2012 basketball season an HD video board between opposing benches courtside was installed. It was funded and named after sponsor Frontier Communications Company, that also provided new black leather chairs for players and coaches.

Miscellaneous

CEFCU Arena has hosted a variety of

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

events. It has been the home of the girls'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

tournament since 1990 and the girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

tournament since 1992. It has also hosted the dual team portion of the state

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

tournament and in 2006 hosted the inaugural state competitive

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

meet.

References

External links

Redbird Arena (RBA)
{{Missouri Valley Conference basketball venue navbox College basketball venues in the United States College volleyball venues in the United States Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball Basketball venues in Illinois Volleyball venues in Illinois Wrestling venues in Illinois Sports venues in Bloomington–Normal Sports venues completed in 1989 1989 establishments in Illinois

Sports

Amenities

Miscellaneous

See also

References

External links