Notre Dame High School, Peoria Manual and Peoria High School each play up to five football games at this field at the Peoria Stadium each year. Peoria Public Schools is seeking public input on the stadium’s future. (Photo courtesy of Dan Adler/Peoria Public Schools)

The public still has a chance to offer opinions and suggestions about what should be done with the long-standing 80-acre Peoria Stadium.

About 100 people turned out for a community input session on the stadium’s future last month, with about a dozen taking the microphone to share ideas, but Peoria Public Schools is still open to additional thoughts from the public.

“We were pleased with the number of and diversity of stakeholders that attended the public meeting on the future of Peoria Stadium,” said Dan Adler, vice president of the PPS Board of Education and chairman of the building committee. “We continue to receive positive feedback about the public/collaborative approach of the meeting, as well as hopes for a positive resolution/plan moving forward.”

The future of the century-old stadium has been in question at least since 2013 when public outcry ended a proposal to sell the property to Walmart to build a new store at the site at 315 E. War Memorial Drive. The Peoria Park District Board, which holds a long-term lease on about 32 acres of the property, also refused to sign off on selling the land to the big box corporation.

The park district maintains softball fields and a park at the stadium site, sponsoring programs such as adult kickball, men’s softball, lacrosse, pick-up soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

The park district entered into a 30-year lease with the school district in 2006 under terms of a $400,000 Illinois Department of Public Resources grant for improvements to the site, including a playground, basketball courts and three lighted softball diamonds. Emily Cahill, the park district’s executive director, has said that any changes to the lease would jeopardize the park district’s state funding.

Notre Dame High School, Peoria Manual and Peoria High School each play up to five football games at Peoria Stadium each year.

Notre Dame is in the process of constructing its own athletic complex and new high school, having rejected an earlier public suggestion to buy or trade for the Peoria Stadium land and build a new facility there. Peoria Public Schools is also partway into plans laid by a previous administration to build athletic fields at each of the district’s high schools.

Adler noted at the public meeting that the park district spends about $55,000 a year to maintain its areas of the stadium facility, while PPS spends more than $300,000 in annual upkeep. Cost of renovations to maintain current uses is estimated at $1.8 million, which would include roof construction, plumbing and replacing the track and visitor bleachers. Only half of the visitor bleachers are being used currently due to deterioration.

The land the stadium sits on was originally used as a horseracing track that was built in 1895 and closed during the Great Depression. The school board bought and renovated the land in 1936.

According to a PowerPoint Adler presented at the meeting, the stadium grandstands, including locker rooms, concessions, seating and press box, were built in 1905. The visitor stands were built in 1915, the track was built around 1937 and a garage that houses PPS maintenance equipment was built in 1950. The facility also houses the Roy Ricketts Center, which holds PPS purchasing and warehousing operations.

Prior to taking public comment, Adler noted that the school board has concluded from previous conversations that it will not consider repurposing the property to a commercial big box store.

Peoria Public Schools is continuing to seek public input on what should be done with the long-standing 80-acre Peoria Stadium that sits at 315 E. War Memorial Drive. About 100 people attended a community input meeting on the stadium’s future last month. (Photo courtesy of Dan Adler/Peoria Public Schools)

Public suggestions recorded in minutes from the meeting included handing over the property to the park district to manage; keeping the area as valuable green space; refurbishing the facility for current use and additional uses such as concerts, band competitions and track events; and rebuilding it into a modern state-of-the-art facility.

Adam White, co-owner of Running Central, proposed creating a multi-use facility that would go beyond football and track to include soccer, lacrosse, rugby and more. He suggested creating a nonprofit organization to oversee the project and lease the grounds from PPS.

Peorian Amr Elsamny said he brings his children to Peoria Stadium on weekends and agreed it should be demolished and built into a major stadium for multipurpose use, noting he would be willing to help raise funds for the project.

Greg Sanders, a member of the Peoria Track Club, also proposed uses similar to White’s ideas, suggesting that groups such as USA Track and Field could hold meets there, creating a revenue source for the area.

A few former coaches said the history of the stadium should be honored by saving and maintaining it.

Karen Wilson, who described herself as a transplant from Galesburg, suggested the stadium be used for walking clubs, concerts and more.

A complete transcript of the minutes, as well as Adler’s PowerPoint, can be viewed at the district’s website www.peoriapublicschools.org. Click on the “About Us” tab and then the “Remarkable Times” tab for the week of Sept. 26.

The public can complete a survey and offer ideas about Peoria Stadium at www.peoriapublicschools.org//cms/module/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=403.

“The website survey is still open. As we move the process forward, we will communicate a deadline for initial feedback,” Adler said.

“The next step in the process will be for the buildings committee to synthesize the feedback we received at the meeting and build out a workflow to narrow down the potential opportunities and get into the details,” he added. “We’ll be looking to reach out to some of the idea owners and collect more detailed information/interest.”

Adler said the goal is to come up with a resolution by next spring.

— School district seeks input on future of historic Peoria Stadium —