Champaign-Urbana Sports Facilities for Events
A facility for every sport and entertainment for all ages sets Champaign-UrbanaIntroduction
CHAMPAIGN-Urbana, ILLINOIS
When it comes to showing off the Champaign-Urbana area, we just can’t help but notice its brilliance. Unexpected outdoor activities in the heart of the Midwest, perfect for exploration, await you. Discovering a flavor from a cuisine you’ve never tried, one of the many reasons we claim the title of Midwest Living’s Greatest Midwest Food Town, will delight you.
Champaign-Urbana is a leader in the local foods movement. Its rich agricultural scene offers exceptional flavors straight from the farm, which led to Champaign-Urbana being named Midwest Living’s Greatest Midwest Food Town. Discover over 40 locally owned bars and restaurants in downtown Champaign, many featuring local ingredients.
Groups looking for a challenge can solve the escape rooms at CU Adventures in Time & Space. Unlike other escape rooms, these challenges are completely designed and created locally by local filmmakers Chris & Anne Lukeman. In one hour, you’ll be immersed in a world filled with unique puzzles to solve.
Find your perfect fall décor at Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch, where you can pick among hundreds of pumpkins and gourds. Stroll the apple orchards for to pick the latest harvest and bring home their award-winning honey! Kids love the activities on hand including a petting zoo, mazes, pony rides, and much more.
Visit Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, a farmstead that produces award-winning goat cheese and gelato. Dine in their in-house restaurant highlighting local ingredients, go for a hike with the goats, and learn about sustainable farming practices.
In addition to seeing a dozen of Santa’s reindeer, visitors to Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch can take their time finding their way through the six-acre Cornfusion maze and finish up at the western-style banquet facility for a BBQ or outdoor weenie roast.
Get a Planner’s Perspective
Don’t just take our word for it, hear what these planners had to say.
“As an event organizer, we saw firsthand how the commitment to excellence shown by the team of Experience Champaign-Urbana elevated the experience and the execution of US Quadball’s National Qualifier event. The way ECU wrapped its arms around our event to create a shared experience for the local community, businesses, and our athletes was equivalent to something one can only describe as concierge levels of service. You can go anywhere to host an event, however, if you want a true event partner, choose Experience Champaign-Urbana.”
— Erron J Toppin, President & CEO of Hit Your Mark Productions, Event partner to US Quadball
Local Champaign-Urbana Activites
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Champaign-Urbana Sports Facility Spotlight
RANTOUL FAMILY SPORTS COMPLEX
Sports Covered: Baseball, softball, soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby
The new Rantoul Family Sports Complex, just north of the University of Illinois, is a state-of-the-art facility in the Midwest. The complex offers all turf fields with eight baseball/softball, two T-ball/Challenger baseball, eight soccer/football/rugby/lacrosse multi-purpose fields, over 800 parking spaces, a splashpad, and concessions.
ACTIVITIES & RECREATION CENTER (ARC) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Sports Covered: Basketball, volleyball, swimming, diving, squash, wrestling, martial arts
The ARC is a 340,000-square-foot on-campus rec center with the capacity to host nearly any indoor sport with its versatile spaces. The space has four gymnasiums that can be converted into 12 basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, three squash courts or 12 racquetball courts. Teams can take advantage of the extensive workout equipment and spaces along with its 35-foot climbing wall and one-fifth mile indoor track. It houses both an indoor and outdoor pool, with diving wells perfect for competitions and a sauna and café great to enjoy afterward.
Dodds Park
Sports Covered: Softball, soccer, disc-golf
ATKINS TENNIS CENTER & KHAN OUTDOOR COMPLEX
Sports Covered: Tennis
Recognized in 1992 by the USTA as the country’s “Most Outstanding Tennis Facility,” Atkins Tennis Center & Khan Outdoor Complex has only gotten better since then. After an expansion in 2009, the complex boasts 20 outdoor and six indoor courts, with six courts containing individual scoreboards and spectator seating. The complex can hold up to 3,800 spectators and has indoor restrooms, a pro shop and a sound system.
STATE FARM CENTER
Sports Covered: Basketball, Wrestling, WWE, Gymnastics
No stranger to large events, the State Farm Center has 15,500 permanent seats, with a max capacity of 16,500 spectators. Its flexible floor space means it’s just as ready to have a Broadway show or rock concert as it is a Fighting Illini basketball game. The arena has hosted the 2019 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball tournaments, the Illinois High School Individual Wrestling State Championships, and much more. The center recently renovated its backstage area so that any event can take full advantage of its expansive full-service kitchen, catering/dining services and locker rooms.
MEMORIAL STADIUM
Sports Covered: Football, events
Historic Memorial Stadium is located on the grounds of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Originally built in 1922, the stadium is dedicated to the university’s students who had died in World War I. Home to Illinois’ Fighting Illini football team, the stadium has undergone multiple renovations and upgrades to keep it at tip top quality, including an incredible new turf field in the Summer of 2022. Permanent seating capacity is set at 60,670. Spectators will have excellent views of the field no matter where they sit, thanks to the stadium retaining its classic architectural design throughout its renovations.
DEMIRJIAN PARK
Sports Covered: Soccer, track and field
Opened in 2021, Demirjian Park is the home of the Fighting Illini soccer program. The park features two fields, one for competition and one for practice, along with a main stadium located between the two fields and the newly renovated track and field complex. Along with the new fields, stadium and renovations, the stadium itself offers state-of-the-art amenities including locker rooms, sports medicine and nutrition facilities, coaches’ offices, video and meeting rooms, spaces for visiting teams and officials as well as lounge and study spaces.
LEONHARD RECREATION CENTER
Sports Covered: Multipurpose
The Patricia A. Leonhard Recreation Center is an indoor facility perfect for getting fit and hosting sporting events. The gymnasium has multiple courts for basketball, volleyball and pickleball tournaments and practices. The indoor track is elevated with windows surrounding the entire facility for great lighting and views. There’s also a weight room available, as well as an indoor playground. The rec center is also a sustainability facility, with a geothermal system that transfers heat through water pipes. This allows warm water underground to heat the facility during the winter months and the reverse to cool during the Summer.
PLAYFIELDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Sports Covered: Multipurpose
The Playfields at the University of Illinois provide additional sports facility needs on the campus for multiple, seasonal event types from March through November. Along with four turf fields for multiple sports, the facility also has three sand volleyball courts, six basketball courts and six tennis courts, all of which are lighted. Being located so close to other major university parks, arenas and stadiums also has the benefit of being used for practice or fun fitness downtime.