New Illini soccer and track and field facilities

Status
Not open for further replies.
#1      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Illinois announces plans for new soccer and track and field facilities on the UI campus: Demirjian Park

University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced plans today for the construction of new soccer and track and field facilities on the UI campus. The new complex will be named Demirjian Park, in honor of a lead gift from the Demirjian family of Decatur, Ill. The project, which will be executed in phases with full completion scheduled for the spring of 2021, remains subject to approval by the UI Board of Trustees.

Demirjian Park will feature two new soccer fields, one for competition and one for practice, located directly east of the existing track and field complex, which will itself be renovated. The project's centerpiece will be Demirjian Park Stadium, located between the new soccer fields and the renovated track. The stadium will directly benefit more than 25 percent of the Fighting Illini student-athlete population by housing team facilities for women's soccer, men's track and field, and women's track and field. State-of-the-art amenities will include locker rooms, video and meeting rooms, lounge and study spaces, sports medicine and nutrition facilities, and coaches' offices. It will also contain spaces for visiting teams and officials.

http://www.fightingillini.com/news/...inois-announces-plans-for-demirjian-park.aspx
Click to expand...



----------------------------------------------------------
4:00pm CT

Watch:

http://fightingillini.com/watch/?Live=2389&type=Live
I have confirmed there will be an announcement soon on facility upgrades for some current #Illini programs. One brand new stand-alone facility going up. No... hockey is not involved. Press conference on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/craigwchoate/status/938176367199444992
 
Last edited:
#2      

Bubba Eder

B
Northeast Missouri
Bubba Eder
Been out of the loop, do we believe this to be for basketball?
 
#3      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
I don't know which sport, just posted it here until we know, pardon for the confusion:)
 
#4      

Andman94

A
Andman94
Sounds like baseball is part of this too. Long needed upgrade!
 
#7      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
It's probably for soccer.

I was hoping for a new baseball stadium.
 
#10      

kaptain80

kaptain80
STL
kaptain80
whew

Oh man. Put a little extra info in the title, such as the announcement being about facilities. I saw 'press conference' with no extra info in the list of topics and I thought "oh jeez what happened this time?"

hashtag illinifanproblems

(edit: thanks Dan!)
 
Last edited:
#11      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Illinois announces plans for new soccer and track and field facilities on the UI campus: Demirjian Park

University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced plans today for the construction of new soccer and track and field facilities on the UI campus. The new complex will be named Demirjian Park, in honor of a lead gift from the Demirjian family of Decatur, Ill. The project, which will be executed in phases with full completion scheduled for the spring of 2021, remains subject to approval by the UI Board of Trustees.

Demirjian Park will feature two new soccer fields, one for competition and one for practice, located directly east of the existing track and field complex, which will itself be renovated. The project's centerpiece will be Demirjian Park Stadium, located between the new soccer fields and the renovated track. The stadium will directly benefit more than 25 percent of the Fighting Illini student-athlete population by housing team facilities for women's soccer, men's track and field, and women's track and field. State-of-the-art amenities will include locker rooms, video and meeting rooms, lounge and study spaces, sports medicine and nutrition facilities, and coaches' offices. It will also contain spaces for visiting teams and officials.

http://www.fightingillini.com/news/...inois-announces-plans-for-demirjian-park.aspx
Click to expand...
 
#12      

BRucks

BRucks
BRucks
I believe this family also had the lead gift for the indoor golf facility.
 
#13      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
So happy for the athletes in these two sports, especially Soccer. We have the worst rated facilities in the B10 for Soccer, and a rumor was that Illinois wouldn't be able to host B10's for Track and Field, without upgraded facilities. Plus even with these upgrades, just a small impact in using up new ground.
 
#14      

WhiteRhino

WhiteRhino
WhiteRhino
Nice to see Illinois addressing decades of neglect when it comes to their athletics facilities.

I noticed that the soccer program has been on a downward trend the last few years and this past season was a disaster. Hopefully, this new facility will help them bring in better recruits.

Women's track and field could certainly use a boost as well.
 
#15      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
[YOUTUBE]bX5JqYuP3jY[/YOUTUBE]
 
#16      

Peoria Illini

P
Peoria, IL
Peoria Illini
WhiteRhino said:
Nice to see Illinois addressing decades of neglect when it comes to their athletics facilities.

I noticed that the soccer program has been on a downward trend the last few years and this past season was a disaster. Hopefully, this new facility will help them bring in better recruits.

Women's track and field could certainly use a boost as well.
Click to expand...

The fact that there aren't even any onsite locker rooms for soccer is embarrassing. I'm glad they are fixing it. There is no reason that Illinois shouldn't have one of the premier women's soccer programs in the NCAA. With our strong academics and our central location between Chicago, Indy and Stl, all strong Midwestern soccer areas, we should attract better recruits.
 
#18      

Illinisoccer

I
Illinisoccer
Peoria Illini said:
The fact that there aren't even any onsite locker rooms for soccer is embarrassing. I'm glad they are fixing it. There is no reason that Illinois shouldn't have one of the premier women's soccer programs in the NCAA. With our strong academics and our central location between Chicago, Indy and Stl, all strong Midwestern soccer areas, we should attract better recruits.
Click to expand...

Seems like the top girls soccer club in Chicago doesn't send many players to UIUC. Not sure if there is a fractured relationship but until more players from that club head south the team will continue to be average at best.
 
#19      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
Illinisoccer said:
Seems like the top girls soccer club in Chicago doesn't send many players to UIUC. Not sure if there is a fractured relationship but until more players from that club head south the team will continue to be average at best.
Click to expand...

Eclipse?
 
#21      

Peoria Illini

P
Peoria, IL
Peoria Illini
Illinisoccer said:
Yes. Very few of their top players or any of their girls have gone on to Illinois.
Click to expand...

They used to have a few at UofI a few years back. Is Eclipse still the top girls club up there? Seems like the Fire is eating up a lot of the clubs around there.

Facilities will be a big draw once the complex is built. That had to be a major negative for any recruit. Can you imagine taking a tour and finding out there is no on site clubhouse? That's ridiculous for a Big Ten program.
 
#22      

Illinisoccer

I
Illinisoccer
Peoria Illini said:
They used to have a few at UofI a few years back. Is Eclipse still the top girls club up there? Seems like the Fire is eating up a lot of the clubs around there.

Facilities will be a big draw once the complex is built. That had to be a major negative for any recruit. Can you imagine taking a tour and finding out there is no on site clubhouse? That's ridiculous for a Big Ten program.
Click to expand...

All the best Fire girls went to the eclipse last summer.
 
#24      

bobbob

B
bobbob
Would have been nice to announce this earlier.

IL had four seniors finish top ten at Footlocker XC, two (including the boy's champion) are committed to Notre Dame, one to Stanford, and one to Indiana. A sophomore girl finished 2nd, so hopefully this interests her.
 
#25      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
They are about to get started on the new Soccer Stadium project, August 6th is the target date. As mentioned above, it will be done in stages. They will be starting with infrastructure work and the removal of the South parking lot at the Atkins Tennis Center. A portion of St. Mary's Road will be closed during this time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.