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Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL)

Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) in Champaign, IL, home of Illinois. Capacity 60,670. Opened November 3, 1923.

Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) in Champaign, IL
Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL), Champaign, ILPhoto: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Capacity
60,670
Opened
1923
Surface
FieldTurf
Roof
Open air
Elevation
732 ft
Home team
Illinois
Illinois here
84–⁠81 games on file since 2001

Since it opened: Illinois is 304–⁠260–⁠15 in home games from the 1923 season on. Our source names a game’s stadium only from 2001, so that count takes every earlier home game not marked neutral and may include a few played elsewhere.

Biggest games here

From the games on file here, 2001 on: title and postseason games, meetings of two ranked teams, upsets by our pregame Elo ratings and the biggest swings in CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Crowds season by season

Average and biggest crowd at Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) by season, 2001 to 202620k40k60k80k2001: 51,758 a game over 5 games; biggest 70,9042002: 55,199 a game over 6 games; biggest 69,2492003: 50,961 a game over 6 games; biggest 58,4952004: 48,626 a game over 7 games; biggest 55,7252005: 47,852 a game over 6 games; biggest 52,6332006: 43,445 a game over 7 games; biggest 53,3512007: 54,872 a game over 6 games; biggest 57,0782008: 61,707 a game over 6 games; biggest 62,8702009: 59,545 a game over 6 games; biggest 62,8702010: 54,188 a game over 6 games; biggest 62,8702011: 50,709 a game over 8 games; biggest 60,6702012: 45,564 a game over 7 games; biggest 47,9812013: 43,787 a game over 7 games; biggest 47,3622014: 41,549 a game over 7 games; biggest 50,3732015: 42,647 a game over 6 games; biggest 51,5152016: 45,644 a game over 7 games; biggest 60,6702017: 39,429 a game over 7 games; biggest 43,0582018: 36,151 a game over 6 games; biggest 41,9662019: 36,587 a game over 7 games; biggest 44,5122021: 35,347 a game over 7 games; biggest 41,0642022: 43,048 a game over 7 games; biggest 56,0922023: 49,698 a game over 7 games; biggest 54,2052024: 54,750 a game over 7 games; biggest 60,6702025: 58,350 a game over 7 games; biggest 60,6702026: 60,670 a game over 3 games; biggest 60,670200120062011201620212026

Biggest crowds on file

70,904Penn State at Illinois2001
69,249Michigan at Illinois2002
62,870Ohio State at Illinois2010
62,870Michigan State at Illinois2009
62,870Penn State at Illinois2009

Bars are each season’s average crowd, dots its biggest (the record in orange), the dashed rule today’s capacity. Attendance is on file for most games from 2001 on.

Big Noon Kickoff here

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff twice.

Oct 11, 2025Ohio State 34, Illinois 16
Sep 27, 2025Illinois 34, USC 32

Big Noon Kickoff’s from Wikipedia’s list of its sites (CC BY-SA).

Weather on game day

Coldest kickoffs

Hottest kickoffs

Snow at kickoff

Coldest game days before 2004

Hottest game days before 2004

Snow on game day

Kickoffs: the NOAA report nearest kickoff from the closest weather station (NOAA NCEI Integrated Surface Database). Game days: the day’s high and snowfall at the NOAA station nearest the stadium, for Illinois’s home games before 2004 (NOAA GHCN-Daily, public domain).

The stadium’s history

Also known as
Zuppke Field
Opened
November 3, 1923
Architect
Holabird & Roche (original)
HNTB (renovation)
Surface over the years
Grass (1923–⁠1974)
AstroTurf (1975–⁠2000)
AstroPlay (2001–⁠2007)
FieldTurf (2008–present)
Expanded
1930
Renovated
1985, 2008, 2013

From the stadium’s Wikipedia article, Memorial Stadium (Champaign).

From above

50 mN ↑
The stadium’s footprint, north up: about 200 by 210 meters (650 by 680 feet), the field in green. Outline from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Recent games here

Oct 3, 2026Purdue 24, Illinois 17
Sep 19, 2026Illinois 48, Southern Illinois 10
Sep 12, 2026Duke 31, Illinois 27
Sep 3, 2026Illinois 42, UAB 23
Nov 29, 2025Illinois 20, Northwestern 13
Nov 15, 2025Illinois 24, Maryland 6
Nov 1, 2025Illinois 35, Rutgers 13
Oct 11, 20251Ohio State 34, 17Illinois 16
Sep 27, 202523Illinois 34, 21USC 32
Sep 13, 20259Illinois 38, Western Michigan 0
Aug 29, 202512Illinois 52, Western Illinois 3
Nov 16, 2024Illinois 38, Michigan State 16

Pouring rights

Coca-Cola has the stadium’s soft-drink pouring rights. Official source.