PEORIA — The Illinois High School Association Class 1A and 2A baseball state finals were forced out of Dozer Park in June of 2025 by a Peoria Chiefs scheduling conflict.
The tournament moved to Champaign as an emergency solution, and now it doesn’t appear to be coming back.
The IHSA board of directors has finalized a multi-year deal to put the 1A and 2A baseball state finals at Illinois Field in Champaign through 2030.
“We are disappointed to see the 1A/2A State Finals leave Peoria after years at Dozer Park,” said Chiefs general manager Jason Mott, who operates the pro team and other events that are booked at Dozer Park. “Dozer Park is the premier baseball stadium in the state of Illinois and should be where State Championships are played.
“We understand the IHSA was looking for a turf location and we wish them the best in their next chapter.”
The move to the home venue of the Fighting Illini signals the end of an event hosted in Peoria at Dozer Park since 2011. The tournament co-existed at Dozer – the home park of the Midwest League Peoria Chiefs – for 15 years.
“We are proud to host the IHSA Class 1A/2A Boys Baseball State Tournament at Illinois Field through 2030,” said Jayne DeLuce, president & CEO of Experience Champaign-Urbana, in a release put out by the IHSA. “After welcoming the tournament in 2025, it was clear that this championship belongs here at the University of Illinois. With 31 Big Ten titles, Illinois Field is home to a remarkable legacy of Fighting Illini baseball. Now, high school athletes will have the opportunity to compete on that same iconic field —creating unforgettable moments of their own. We look forward to welcoming the teams, their families, and fans, and delivering a brilliant experience both on and off the field.”
Eureka High School finished third in the Class 2A tourney last spring. The team got there by knocking out a powerful Illinois Valley Chillicothe team in the sectional title game. IVC is among the Peoria area teams that have legit hopes to reach state in 2026.
“I would say a little disappointed is how we feel about this (site shift),” IVC head coach Josh Hofer said. “If we’re lucky enough to get there, it would have been neat to play in a state tournament right in your backyard. Would have been cool for our players to get to the finals in a stadium you’ve watched games in all their lives.
“It’s gone now. But the state tournament will be exciting for teams wherever it is.”
Illinois Field was built in 1988 and seats about 5,000 — making the complex older and smaller than Dozer Park, which opened in 2002, seats about 8,000 and just completed a seven-figure renovation of its playing surface in the fall.
But the IHSA was left in a crisis last spring during its tournament when it discovered the Chiefs had Midwest League home games scheduled at Dozer Park during the June 6-7 dates that were also reserved for the high school finals.
Major League Baseball would not relent on a re-scheduling plan, and the Chiefs – the high-A farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals – played as scheduled.
The IHSA solution was to move the 2025 tournament to Illinois Field in Champaign, and now it has signed on to stay there.
Around the horn
The IHSA board approved a two-year extension with the Peoria Civic Center to keep the Speech State Finals at the facility through 2027 and 2028.
(This story has been updated to add new reaction)
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA moves baseball state finals from Peoria to Champaign
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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