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State Farm Holiday Classic to use
variety of area facilities
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[NOV. 8, 2003]
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL
-- For the first time in its 25-year history, the State Farm Holiday
Classic will use six basketball venues across Bloomington-Normal for
its 64-team tournament. The largest coed holiday high school
tournament in the nation is scheduled for Dec. 26, 27, 29 and 30 and
will mark its fifth consecutive year with State Farm Insurance as
the title sponsor.
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The biggest addition to the tournament
this year is the return to Redbird Arena at Illinois State
University in Normal. Redbird, which will host the 2003-04 IHSA
girls basketball state finals, will be the main venue for the girls'
side of the 2003 State Farm Holiday Classic. All 32 teams on the
girls' side will play at Redbird over the first two days, and the
semifinal games will be played at Redbird on the evening of Dec. 29.
"We are pleased to have the State Farm
Holiday Classic return to Redbird Arena," said Perk Weisenburger,
ISU director of athletics. "With Redbird Arena serving as the site
of the IHSA girls basketball tournaments, this is a perfect fit to
be hosting the girls' portion of the Holiday Classic at our
facility. We look forward to partnering with State Farm, the
tournament staff and all the volunteers that bring this wonderful
event to our community."
The Shirk Center, on the campus of
Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, will once again be the
site for championship day, with all eight of the championship and
consolation championship games played there on the tournament's
final day. During the first three days of the tournament, Shirk will
host the Class A and Class AA boys' fields, and the semifinals will
be on the evening of Dec. 29.
For the 25th consecutive year, the
Holiday Classic will be playing in Horton Field House at ISU. Since
the tournament's inception in 1975, Horton is the only facility to
host games every year.
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"Our committee is excited to be using
the three college venues in Bloomington-Normal and feel this will
elevate the experience of our participants," said tournament
president Dan Highland. "Redbird Arena and the Shirk Center are two
of the premier sports facilities in the nation, and both have hosted
a number of high school and collegiate championships. Horton Field
House has its own legacy of 24 years of great Classic basketball and
we expect this year to be the best yet."
In addition to the three college
facilities, the 2003 State Farm Holiday Classic will be using three
other intercity high school venues. Normal West will be the fourth
main site to host games every day of the tournament. The new Normal
Community High School gym and Neumann Gym at Kingsley Junior High
will both host games on Monday night, Dec. 29, and Tuesday morning,
Dec. 30.
"We are very fortunate to have access
to some of the great high school facilities in this area," Highland
said. "Using two of our newer high schools provides a great
atmosphere to the tournament, and using Kingsley gives us three
facilities (Redbird and Horton) within walking distance of each
other. This will benefit our fans to watch as many games as possible
with little inconvenience."
A complete
list of the 64-team tournament field and more tournament information
can be found at the official site on the Web,
www.theclassic.org.
[News release] |
