Shea Stadium (Peoria, Illinois)
# Shea Stadium (Peoria, Illinois)

Shea Stadium is a former baseball stadium located in Peoria, Illinois, less than a mile north of Bradley University and just to the west of the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. Converted to a soccer-specific facility in 2003, it is owned and operated by Bradley University and is the home of the Bradley Braves men's and women's soccer teams.

## History

The property broke ground around 1968 and opened as a baseball facility in 1970 for Bradley University Braves baseball. Its name was chosen to honor Bradley athletic director and baseball coach John "Dutch" Meinen. It served as the home field for Bradley baseball for 32 years, from 1970 to 2001, and the home field for the Peoria Chiefs from their first game on April 19, 1983 to 2001.

The baseball field was renovated twice: once in 1982, and once in 1992 when it was given a $2.2 million overhaul. The facility was renamed Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field on June 6, 1992, in honor of the Chiefs' owner.

After the teams moved to O'Brien Field for the 2002 season, the university began to look for other uses for Meinen Field, eventually settling on its current setup as a soccer-only facility. It was substantially reconfigured, with a few remnants of its baseball days remaining: the old press box; most of the first-base seating area, which now forms the main seating area for the soccer field; some of the light standards; and the concession stands and some other outbuildings on the property.

On October 25, 2002, Meinen Field was renamed Shea Stadium after Tim Shea, a Bradley University alumnus. The first Bradley soccer game at the newly renovated Shea Stadium was in August 2003.

On June 10, 2008, Shea Stadium played host to two Major League Soccer teams in a U.S. Open Cup qualifier when the Chicago Fire played against the Columbus Crew in front 3,829 people, the largest crowd ever to see a soccer game at Shea Stadium.

On January 23, 2020, the USL League Two announced that Peoria City would start play in the 2020 season in the Hartland Division of the Central conference, but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peoria City will, after two years of delay, will began play in the Deep North Division of the Central conference. Their first game was on May 14 at Shea against Minneapolis SC Which ended in a 2-2 draw.

