The Illinois High School Association’s boys basketball State Finals moved from Peoria to Champaign last year. The venue change coincided with a format change. Instead of two weekends of two days (one for Class 4A and 3A and one for Class 2A and 1A) all four classes play over three days.
Attendance was falling every year in Peoria. The last few years before the two-year COVID hiatus were particularly bleak, but the IHSA’s premier event is on the rebound.
According to the IHSA, 40,635 fans attended the three-day event the past weekend at State Farm Center in Champaign. That’s a significant increase from 2022, when 34,449 fans attended. That’s nearly an 18% increase in one year.
The 4A field was loaded with big schools that brought big crowds: Moline, New Trier, Benet and Downers Grove North. Metamora, which won Class 3A, may have brought the largest crowd of all the schools.
The IHSA expects to receive a session breakdown from State Farm Center soon. State Farm Center seats about 15,500 fans. Carver Arena in Peoria, which held the tournament from 1996 through 2019, holds about 11,000.
