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Facilities + Venues

Throughout the history of the tournament, the organizers have sought to offer the best possible faculties to the participating teams and their fans.  The 2010 Classic will be held at the following locations in Bloomington-Normal:

Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University | web

The Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) is the championship site of the State Farm Holiday Classic. This $15 million facility was funded in part by the largest contribution ever made to IWU, a $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Foundation of Bloomington. The two-level, 135,344-square foot multipurpose complex seats 2,680 for sporting events (3,100 with standing room) in its arena, and also houses four multipurpose courts, a 200-meter track, wellness center, pool, classrooms and athletic offices. The Shirk replaced Fred Young Fieldhouse in 1994 as the basketball home of the Titans, and is also the centerpiece of one of the nation’s finest NCAA Division III athletics complex. It has also hosted the NCAA Division III Track & Field, Women’s Basketball and Volleyball National Championships.

Normal Community West High School

Normal Community West High School has been a tournament site of The Classic since 2003. Normal West opened its doors in 1995, and the North Gym can seat approximately 2,400 people. This site has played host to numerous IHSA Sectional and Super-Sectional games for both the boys and girls state tournaments.

Normal Community High School

Normal Community High School is one of Bloomington-Normal’s newest high schools, opening its doors in 2003. The construction of the new school came about because of a referendum that passed in 2000 to approve a spending budget of $73 million for new Unit 5 facilities. The new school is a state-of-the-art, modern facility for all academic and co-curricular programs. The Holiday Classic has played at NCHS since 2005.

Bloomington Central Catholic High School

In existence since 2003, Central Catholic High School is another of Bloomington-Normal’s newest high schools. It is home to the Saints and has been a venue of the Classic’s since 2005.