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Best Big Game Stadium?

stonedlizard

stonedlizard

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Oct 4, 2009
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Ignore travel, stadium location vs school location, or other general logistics, what's the best Illinois stadium for a big game (10k+ in attendance)?

My thoughts: Soldier Field is cool, but too big. Same applies to Memorial Stadium. ISU seems to have the sizing right and video/scoreboard.

Side thought - How many were at the Morris v JCA game from '05? Amazing atmosphere there...
 
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Wassup13_rivals219252

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Not really a fan of big stadiums for HS football but if I had to pick one I would choose ISU.

Best smaller venue with excellent sightlines has to be Naz.

Wassup
 
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jonathandoe

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Jun 29, 2015
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It might not meet the 10K seating threshold and it is a gritty, no-frills place with its share of warts, but Gately Stadium is a classic worthy of mention. Home of the Caravan and several CPS schools that have periodic times of glory, the site annually hosts some inter-regional playoff match-ups between highly diverse opponents. Probably saw my first game there in the mid-1960s, and it has never failed to produce an authentic HS football experience since.
 
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pjjp

All-Conference
Aug 26, 2001
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Joliet Memorial....seats 10K with excellent sight lines for all. Ample parking with access from two inter-states.
 
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pjjp

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stonedlizard said:
Side thought - How many were at the Morris v JCA game from '05? Amazing atmosphere there...
Click to expand...

I was at that Morris / JCA game in 05. I'd guess it was somewhere around 6 to 7K. The atmosphere was electric. The only other game I've been to that exceeded that atmosphere was the JCA / R-B game in 2001.
 
stonedlizard

stonedlizard

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Oct 4, 2009
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Personally, not a Joliet Memorial fan. Sure it's big enough, just don't think it has that feel I'm looking for for a big game.
 
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Anon1754760634

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May 29, 2001
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Really like NIU for state final games and honestly ISU might be even better now with all the renovations. Joliet is 5 minutes from home so...hard to not like that. Toyota Park could be awesome as well with a big crowd
 
stonedlizard

stonedlizard

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Oct 4, 2009
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EdgyTim said:
Really like NIU for state final games and honestly ISU might be even better now with all the renovations. Joliet is 5 minutes from home so...hard to not like that. Toyota Park could be awesome as well with a big crowd
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Realllllllly want to see a game played at Toyota Park. Could be special with right game and right crowd.
 
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Wild_Mustang

Sophomore
Jul 30, 2010
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ignazio said:
Lane Tech Stadium. Either that or Key Branch Stadium.
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Totally forgot about Lane Tech's stadium. 5 mins from my house, drive by it all the time and every time I do I have to stare at it.

Wrigley Field...always thought it would be beyond special for them to host the State Championships. Can't get any better than that.
 
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USD24

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Wild_Mustang said:
Totally forgot about Lane Tech's stadium. 5 mins from my house, drive by it all the time and every time I do I have to stare at it.

Wrigley Field...always thought it would be beyond special for them to host the State Championships. Can't get any better than that.
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Except they cant fit a full football field in there. Last game in there in 2010 they could only use 1 end zone due to space limitations. I don't know if anything has changed with renovations.
 
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SiuCubFan8

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USD24 said:
Except they cant fit a full football field in there. Last game in there in 2010 they could only use 1 end zone due to space limitations. I don't know if anything has changed with renovations.
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I am not sure if they can now but I think was in the plan at some point...
 
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BigGroff

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stonedlizard said:
Ignore travel, stadium location vs school location, or other general logistics, what's the best Illinois stadium for a big game (10k+ in attendance)?

My thoughts: Soldier Field is cool, but too big. Same applies to Memorial Stadium. ISU seems to have the sizing right and video/scoreboard.

Side thought - How many were at the Morris v JCA game from '05? Amazing atmosphere there...
Click to expand...
stonedlizard said:
Ignore travel, stadium location vs school location, or other general logistics, what's the best Illinois stadium for a big game (10k+ in attendance)?

My thoughts: Soldier Field is cool, but too big. Same applies to Memorial Stadium. ISU seems to have the sizing right and video/scoreboard.

Side thought - How many were at the Morris v JCA game from '05? Amazing atmosphere there...
Click to expand...

Howard Fellow Stadium in Lasalle, Illinois
 
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UlbKA91

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Sep 22, 2015
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USD24 said:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-northwestern-wrigley-field-20160519-story.html
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in the comments section of that Trib article, someone mentions US Cellular as being just as apt a special site for NU because of Fitzgerald, Napoleon Harris, Mike Kafka being south siders. I would actually recommend the Cell for U of I or Purdue because they might bring a larger contingent of tailgaters.

If you're going to use Wrigley, Loyola, Maine South, Stevenson come to mind right away.
 
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Wild_Mustang

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Jul 30, 2010
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mchsalumni said:
You can definitely get better than that.
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Like what? Especially with the renovations they are doing, mainly The Plaza they are building, hotels, etc. That would be prime and perfect for high school football state championships. Probably would be pricey but people would pay. People always pay. Gotta pay to play.

Now, in regards to the field and only being able to go one way....yeah, lol, still don't understand how they didn't figure that out until the day of the game. Pretty comical. There HAS to be a way, there is always a way. The Bears played there in the 60's and they went both ways (that's what she said), so there has to be a way.

I live 2 mins from Wrigley so I'm dreaming that one day they play them there. Highly doubtful but that would be great if they did. I mean, Wrigley Field. Imagine being in high school and saying "I played our state championship game at Wrigley". It would be a huge honor.
 
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UlbKA91

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Sep 22, 2015
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Make one set of more recently added field level seats (plus dugout) moveable - visitor side, preferably and relocate the grounds crew storage areas under the left field bleacher overhang to a different spot. In the Bears' day, they didnt have those padded seats at ground level and the field was shifted accordingly. It worked in spite of the shallow power alleys which were the main complication in the NU-UI game.
 
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mchsalumni

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Sep 24, 2008
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Imagine being in high school and saying "I played our state championship game at Wrigley". It would be a huge honor.[/QUOTE]

^^for you, not everybody^^
 
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Jiggs

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May 18, 2009
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I have been to the three FBS stadiums and the 4 FCS college stadiums in the State of Illinois in the past 4 years and SIU beats them all. Unfortunately it is so far south it is unlikely that a State Championship will be played at SIU. It is a cliche to say their that there is not a bad seat in the house, but it is true about SIU. It opened in 2010 and is a football only stadium which holds 15 K.
 
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Wild_Mustang

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Jul 30, 2010
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mchsalumni said:
Imagine being in high school and saying "I played our state championship game at Wrigley". It would be a huge honor.
Click to expand...

^^for you, not everybody^^[/QUOTE]

I'd say 99% of the people in the state of Illinois would rather play a state championship football game at Wrigley than any other stadium in Illinois.

On a side note, The Strokes just put out a 3 song EP, it's good. Check it out. Threat of Joy is a jam.
 
stonedlizard

stonedlizard

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Oct 4, 2009
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bronco man said:
I have been to the three FBS stadiums and the 4 FCS college stadiums in the State of Illinois in the past 4 years and SIU beats them all. Unfortunately it is so far south it is unlikely that a State Championship will be played at SIU. It is a cliche to say their that there is not a bad seat in the house, but it is true about SIU. It opened in 2010 and is a football only stadium which holds 15 K.
Click to expand...
Oh that's nice!
 
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LHSTigers94

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Oct 25, 2004
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bronco man said:
I have been to the three FBS stadiums and the 4 FCS college stadiums in the State of Illinois in the past 4 years and SIU beats them all. Unfortunately it is so far south it is unlikely that a State Championship will be played at SIU. It is a cliche to say their that there is not a bad seat in the house, but it is true about SIU. It opened in 2010 and is a football only stadium which holds 15 K.
Click to expand...


This is by far the best stadium in Illinois. You would actually see a sold out championship game.
 
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Anon1754760634

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May 29, 2001
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Agree on SIU 1000 percent. I know it was up for serious consideration at one point...even talk of sending smaller classes to SIU but when you do the math and see the amount of small school teams in the state finals and location? NIU works much better in most cases.
 
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ramblinman_rivals165935

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Jul 18, 2001
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stonedlizard said:
Ignore travel, stadium location vs school location, or other general logistics, what's the best Illinois stadium for a big game (10k+ in attendance)?

My thoughts: Soldier Field is cool, but too big. Same applies to Memorial Stadium. ISU seems to have the sizing right and video/scoreboard.
Click to expand...

Surprised nobody has mentioned Ryan Field in Evanston. Big, but not so big so that 10,000 would look lost within its confines. Natural grass, which makes it perfect for a one-off big game, but not necessarily multiple games in one day. Lots of nearby parking. Excellently situated to public transportation.
 
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Thedoctor50

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Jun 10, 2013
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Wild_Mustang said:
^^for you, not everybody^^
Click to expand...

I'd say 99% of the people in the state of Illinois would rather play a state championship football game at Wrigley than any other stadium in Illinois.

On a side note, The Strokes just put out a 3 song EP, it's good. Check it out. Threat of Joy is a jam.[/QUOTE]
I must be part of the 1%, baseball yes, football no.
 
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USD24

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ramblinman said:
Surprised nobody has mentioned Ryan Field in Evanston. Big, but not so big so that 10,000 would look lost within its confines. Natural grass, which makes it perfect for a one-off big game, but not necessarily multiple games in one day. Lots of nearby parking. Excellently situated to public transportation.
Click to expand...

They used to hold the state championship games there.
 
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ramblinman_rivals165935

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USD24 said:
JC was much bigger. In the 80's JC was about 800 boys, more than 2x the number they have now.
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And, in those years, they hadn't yet merged with all-girl St. Francis. So JC's all male enrollment would have been doubled for playoff classification purposes.
 
stonedlizard

stonedlizard

Senior
Oct 4, 2009
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I'm sold on SIU - something about that grassy hill seating option.

From a high school stadium perspective, call me crazy but if the Marian Central could make their away stands just a bit bigger there's something about the po-dunk stadium seemingly out in the woods I've always appreciated. Packed house there would be fun.
 
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