Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, on the campus of
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as a memorial
to the Illinois men and women who died in World War I and World War II. The primary
use of the stadium is to host the University's football intercollegiate athletics team.

Construction of Memorial Stadium
In the early 1920s, the old football stadium, Illinois Field, was deemed inadequate.
There was some sentiment for retaining the site, but it was too congested to expand the
stadium adequately, so a new site was selected, in a largely undeveloped area at the
south end of the campus.

Memorial Stadium was completed in 1923 at a cost of US$ 1.7 million. The name was
chosen in honor of the dead from World War I. The original construction was financed
with donations from University students, alumni, and others. At the time, the stadium
consisted of double-decked stands on the east and west sidelines. The single-decked
horseshoe around the south end zone was later completed, and temporary bleachers
stand in the north end zone.

Tributes