Shea Stadium (Peoria, Illinois)

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Shea Stadium
Location	1523 W. Nebraska Ave., Peoria, Illinois
Coordinates	40°42′35″N 89°37′6″W / 40.70972, -89.61833Coordinates: 40°42′35″N 89°37′6″W / 40.70972, -89.61833
Broke ground	c. 1968
Opened	1970
Renovated	1982, 1992, 2002
Owner	Bradley University
Operator	Bradley University
Surface	Grass
Former names	Meinen Field Vonachen Stadium
Tenants	Bradley University Braves soccer (NCAA) (2003–) Bradley University Braves baseball (NCAA) (1970–2002) Peoria Chiefs baseball (Midwest League) (1983—2002)
Capacity

Shea Stadium is a privately-owned and managed^{[citation needed]} facility 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. It is the home of Bradley University soccer.

[edit] History

The property was opened as Meinen Field around 1968^[1] 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.^[2] It served as the home field for Bradley baseball for 32 years, from 1970 to 2002,^[3], and the home field for the Peoria Chiefs from their first game on April 19, 1983 to 2002.

The baseball field was been renovated twice: once in 1982,^[2] and once in 1992^[1] when it was given a $2,200,000 overhaul.^[4] The facility was renamed Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field on June 6, 1992.^[1]

Once the teams moved to O'Brien Field in 2002, the university began to look for other uses for Meinen Field, eventually settling on its current setup as a soccer-only facility. On October 25, 2002, Meinen Field was renamed Shea Stadium after Tim Shea, a Bradley University alumnus and local businessman who contributed the main funds to renovate the facility. The first Bradley soccer game at the newly renovated Shea Stadium was in August 2003.^[3]