 | |
| Former names | Lincoln Field |
|---|---|
| Location | 100 Grant Avenue Charleston, IL 61920 |
| Coordinates | 39°28′50″N 88°10′52″W / 39.48056°N 88.18111°W |
| Owner | Eastern Illinois University |
| Operator | Eastern Illinois University |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Record attendance | 12,600 November 9, 1980 (vs. Northern Iowa) |
| Surface | Hellas Fieldturf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1968[1] |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Renovated | 1999 |
| Construction cost | $1.7 million[2] |
| Architect | Atkins, Barrow & Graham, Inc.[2] |
| Tenants | |
| Eastern Illinois Panthers (NCAA) (1970–present) | |
O'Brien Field is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Charleston, Illinois.[3] It is home to the Eastern Illinois University Panthers football and track and field teams. O’Brien Field is named after Maynard O'Brien who coached football and track at Eastern Illinois University.[4] The stadium features a nine-lane track and in 2004 an artificial turf field was installed. In 2009 a state of the art scoreboard was installed on the north end of the field with a video board and new sound system.
The stadium served as the summer home for the former St. Louis Cardinals football team in 1976 and 1977 and again from 1982 to 1987.
The record attendance for O'Brien Field was 12,600 on November 9, 1980, vs. Northern Iowa. The all-time record for the Panthers football team at O'Brien Field is 178–95–3 as of the end of the 2019 season.
The stadium also plays host to the IHSA State Finals in track and field every year. The Boys Track State Finals were first held there in 1972, have been conducted there every season since 1974. The Girls State Finals have been held there every season since it was first run in 1973.
- ^ "Nostalgia Surrounds O'Brien" (PDF). Eastern Illinois University. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Illinois January 21". Engineering News-Record. 182 (1). New York City: McGraw-Hill: 38. 1969.
- ^ "O'Brien Field". eiupanthers.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ "O'Brien Field" (PDF). p. 140. Retrieved May 29, 2019.