Due to a schedule conflict with the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announced that its 2025 Class 1A and Class 2A Baseball State Finals on Friday and Saturday, June 6-7, will be played at the home field of the University of Illinois, Illinois Field, located on the Champaign-Urbana campus.
“Major League Baseball (MLB) scheduled games at Dozer Park on June 6-7 and the Chiefs didn’t catch the conflict until it was too late,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “The Chiefs efforts in working with MLB to remedy the situation ultimately were not successful. We are disappointed because Dozer Park is a wonderful facility, but feel fortunate to have another outstanding facility and host partner in the Fighting Illini athletic department and Experience Champaign-Urbana willing to pinch-hit as hosts.”
Illinois Field, one of the top collegiate facilities in the Midwest, was constructed in 1988 and installed lights a decade later in 1999. The home of the Fighting Illini, which seats over 5,000, added a new video scoreboard in 2015 and a FieldTurf surface in 2020.
“We look forward to Illinois Field hosting the 2025 IHSA Class 1A and Class 2A Baseball State Finals,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director and baseball administrator Sam Knox. “The IHSA has a longstanding relationship with the Illini Athletic Department and Experience Champaign-Urbana and look forward to working together to provide an outstanding state final experience for the players, coaches, and fans.”
Since the first IHSA state tournament in 1940, the IHSA Baseball State Finals have been played at nine different venues around the state. Illinois Field will become the tenth host stadium, while also marking the first time that state baseball will be played in Champaign-Urbana. The University’s State Farm Center is also the current host of the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals and America’s Original March Madness, the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals.
“We are honored to host these athletes and their fans at Illinois Field on the University of Illinois campus,” states Jayne DeLuce, President & CEO of Experience Champaign-Urbana. “As we do for the IHSA Individual Wrestling Tournament and the Boys State Basketball Championships, we will welcome these teams with our signature Midwest hospitality. We look forward to showcasing our brilliant local businesses and experiences in the area.”
Dozer Park has hosted the Class 1A and 2A state tourney since 2011. The tourney’s roots in the Peoria area go back even further, as Peoria and East Peoria have respectively combined to host the event over 50 times at venues that include Tom Conner Field, Woodruff Field, Bradley Field, Meinen Field, and Dozer Park.
"While we are disheartened that the IHSA Class 1A and Class 2A Baseball State Championships will not be in Peoria this year, we know that our counterparts in Champaign will play great hosts to the state finals in 2025,” said J.D. Dalfonso, the Chief Executive Officer of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “As a strong partner with IHSA, hosting numerous state tournaments in the Peoria area, we look forward to the opportunity to welcome the IHSA baseball championships back to Peoria in future years."
