Tournament 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 2011 Classic will be held at the following locations in Bloomington-Normal:

Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University – directions
302 E. Emerson Street, Bloomington

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 High School – directions
3900 E. Raab Road, Normal

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.

Normal Community West High School – directions
501 N. Parkside Road, Normal

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.

U.S. Cellular Coliseum - directions
101 S. Madison Street, Bloomington

(Free, 4-hour parking is available in U.S. Cellular Coliseum parking garage at the corner of Olive and Lee Streets near the southwest corner of the facility. An entrance to the Coliseum is located there at the south Suite/VIP/Adminstrative Office entrance, and another on the northside of the building off Front Street.)Bloomington-Normal’s newest sports venue is the $37 million Coliseum, built in downtown Bloomington and opened for business on April 1, 2006. This 8,000 seat venue has held numerous concerts in the past four years, from John Mayer and Sammy Hagar to Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley. It is the permanent home for the Bloomington Prairie Thunder Hockey team and the Bloomington Extreme Indoor Football team. 2010 was the first year the Coliseum played host to the State Farm Holiday Classic after hosting several high school shootouts, IHSA Sectional championships and the Harlem Globetrotters.