Illinois Field is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

venue in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, home to the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

team. It is located in the sports complex at the University of Illinois near the

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

border. It is a short distance east of

State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...

and Memorial Stadium.

History

Illinois Field was constructed at its current location in 1988. The first game played there was a victory for Illinois over

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-County (United States), county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of ...

on March 24, 1988. Prior to this, the home of Illinois baseball was located farther north on campus at the intersection of Wright Street and University Avenue, which is now part of the engineering campus. That site, also known as

Illinois Field Illinois Field is a baseball venue in Champaign, Illinois, home to the University of Illinois Fighting Illini baseball team. It is located in the sports complex at the University of Illinois near the Champaign- Urbana border. It is a short dist ...

, had been in use since 1884. Illinois Field was originally known as Proano Stadium, after University of Illinois graduate Lou Proano. Proano was the then-CEO of a major cutlery company. However, the university was forced to rename the stadium Illinois Field in 1991 after Proano filed for bankruptcy. Several significant renovations have taken place since the new stadium was built. First, in 1996, the clubhouse was renovated and expanded to twice its original size. Second, in 1999, lights were added to allow for night games. Illinois also won the first night game in Illinois Field history on April 27, 1999 against Illinois State. Third, in 2007, the grass playing surface was replaced with a synthetic FieldTurf surface that mimics natural grass without the maintenance requirements. While Illinois Field has served as the home field for the University of Illinois Baseball Team for the past 20 years, it has not always been an exclusive relationship. In 1994, Illinois shared the premises with the Champaign-Urbana Bandits, a minor league team in the short-lived

Great Central League The Great Central League was a short-lived baseball league of four teams that played baseball in the upper Midwest of the United States in . The league and four teams were owned by Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota ...

. In 2007, the city of Champaign, the University of Illinois, and the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

discussed expanding the field and to allow the sale of alcohol at games to accommodate for a new minor league franchise. The talks quickly ended. Illinois Field hosted the 2015 Men's NCAA Regional where the local Fighting Illini won the championship, and the 2015 Super Regional. Additionally, Illinois Field has served as the location for two

Big Ten baseball tournament The Big Ten baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. H ...

s, in 1998 and 2005.

Features

Playing field

Illinois Field has a FieldTurf playing surface which covers the entire playing field with the exception of the pitching mound. The field's dimensions are symmetric with a distance of 330 feet down the lines, 370 feet to the gaps, and 400 feet to

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

. There are also two

batting cage A batting cage (or tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting. The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required but ...

s and a

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

with two mounds down each foul line. The dugouts for both teams are in-ground.

Stands

The stadium part of Illinois Field features bleacher seating for 1500 spectators. These seats wrap around the foul territory behind home plate from first-base to third-base. Additional space for another 1500 spectators is available on the grass areas located down the foul lines. Temporary seating can also be installed in this area for big games or events, like the Big Ten Tournament. Attendance Records:Illinois Field
Retrieved March 3, 2008. *single game: 5,214 fans on May 8, 2009 *weekend series: 8,202 fans on May 8–10, 2009 *season average: 1,270 fans per game in 1990 *season: 17,722 fans in 2005

Clubhouse

Down the left field line at Illinois Field there is a building that serves as the clubhouse for the Illini team, coaches, and staff. The clubhouse contains space for a variety of functions for the team. The main feature of the clubhouse is the team locker room. Other parts of the clubhouse are a coaches’ locker room, training room and a player's lounge that also serves as a recruiting lounge. The player's lounge also contains video equipment that allows players and coaches to watch film.

Press box

The

press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...

at Illinois Field seats 25 people and is located above the permanent seating section behind home plate. This facility is used by any media members,

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

s and game day staff. Radio broadcasts of games are broadcast from the press box. The Wall of Fame, located behind the press box, honors past Illinois Baseball greats.

Concessions

Illinois Field has a concession stand inside its building; this feature is behind the press box to create a concourse area. While the concession stand serves the typical ballpark food items, like hot dogs and nachos, there are also several cart vendors at various games that sell specialty items. For apparel and other merchandise sales, a trailer is operated by a local sports apparel store during games.

References

{{Illinois NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox College baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini baseball venues Minor league baseball venues Sports venues in Champaign–Urbana, Illinois Tourist attractions in Champaign County, Illinois Buildings and structures of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois Sports venues completed in 1988 1988 establishments in Illinois