The Chick Evans Field House is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

, USA. The arena opened in 1956 and was home to the Northern Illinois University Huskies basketball team prior to the 2002 opening of the

Convocation Center A convocation (from the Latin '' convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Greek ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose, mostly ecclesiastical or academic. The Bri ...

. It was named in honor of longtime NIU athletic director George “Chick” Evans. The building is now used for recreation, housing basketball, indoor soccer, and floor hockey. It is also the base of operations for the university's

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program. In addition some smaller-scale events, such as organizational expos by the Student Association, are still held here. Over the years, the Field House was also used as a concert venue.

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

played there in 1972, The Beach Boys in 1972, Santana played there on February 10, 1973. KISS played there in 1974 ( Kiss Tour '74).

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

played there in 1976. UK band Jethro Tull played there in 1975. Muddy Waters from Chicago played there in 1976.

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his numb ...

in 1976, Rockford's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Cheap Trick played there twice (once in 1977),

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

in 1977, Blue Öyster Cult in 1978, Hall & Oates in 1978,

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...

(with Highland Park's Grace Slick) in 1979,

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...

(from Canada) in 1981 with Kansas, UK's

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

in 1982, The Kinks in 1983, R.E.M. in 1986, UB40 in 1988, Bob Dylan (from Duluth) in 1990, UK's

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

in 1992, Black Crowes in 1993, Chicago's Veruca Salt in 1993, Rage Against the Machine (with Chicago's Tom Morello) in 1993 with

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

, Gin Blossoms in 1994,

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

with The Wallflowers in 1996, Counting Crows in 1997,

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

in 2000, and bluesman B.B. King in 2005.

References

College basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Illinois Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Northern Illinois Huskies basketball venues Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Illinois 1956 establishments in Illinois Sports venues completed in 1956 {{Illinois-sports-venue-stub