The boys high school basketball state finals are returning to their original home.
The Illinois High School Association’s board voted to move the tournament from Peoria to Champaign on Monday. The University of Illinois’ State Farm Center, which completed a $170 million dollar renovation in 2016, will host the finals. Champaign hosted the finals for 77 years before the move to Peoria.
“We see this as the passing of the torch from Peoria to Champaign-Urbana,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said. “It is bittersweet because there is incredible passion for high school basketball within these two communities.”
Peoria took the tournament in 1996 and held off a bid from Champaign in 2015. The new contract with Champaign is for three years.
“Peoria was definitely good to us but it will be good to go to Champaign,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “It’s a great facility. The attendance will go up just because people want to see something new. The economy kind of hit Peoria. With all the stuff to do in Champaign that will give it a boost. As a coach, if I don’t happen to make it down there I would go just to see the new atmosphere.”
The Champaign-Urbana community and the university were more heavily involved in this bid.
“We are ecstatic to welcome the [tournament] back to its original home,” Jayne DeLuce, President of Visit Champaign County said.
Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman was a major supporter of the drive to take the tournament back from Peoria.
“We are thrilled with today’s news that the state finals will return home,” Whitman said. “We look forward to showcasing the state’s flagship university.
Public sentiment has been swinging towards Champaign for awhile. The Sun-Times has conducted two surveys with coaches and several Twitter polls with fans recently.
In April of 2017, 112 coaches responded with 60 preferring Champaign, 48 preferring the tournament stay in Peoria and four who were indifferent to Peoria or Champaign.
Another survey was sent out this past winter with the results significantly different. Of the 90 responses, 61 chose Champaign while Peoria garnered 29 votes.
In a Twitter poll this week, 82 percent of 4,066 fans said they would prefer the tournament move to Champaign.
We’ve done this before but it is important to have this fresh on the minds for tomorrow’s IHSA board vote. Where should the state basketball tournament be held?
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) June 14, 2020
Attendance has been lagging for several years in Peoria due to multiple factors. The switch from two to four classes alienated some die-hards and the Peoria downtown was hit hard by the great recession.
“I have enjoyed the time that we played in Peoria,” Young coach Tyrone Slaughter said. “They were tremendous hosts. But this should help attendance. Going to Champaign, where it all started, and the refurbished arena will be a huge positive.”
Slaughter has supported moving the finals to the Chicago area in the past.
“Lets see how this goes,” Slaughter said. “If this is successful than we can support it and if not the next move would be to come this way. If Champaign does not work maybe the next step is to bring it to the most populated city in the state where basketball is king. “
The IHSA will debut a new format next year with all four classes playing semifinal and championship games on the same weekend. The tournament will be held over three days, from Thursday through Saturday.
The girls state finals will remain at Redbird Arena in Bloomington-Normal, which has hosted the event since 1992.
