O'Brien Field is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Charleston, Illinois. It is home to the Eastern Illinois University Panthers football and track and field teams. O’Brien Field is named after Maynard O'Brien who coached football and track at Eastern Illinois University. The stadium features a nine-lane track and in 2004 an artificial turf field was installed. In 2009 a state of the art scoreboard was installed on the north end of the field with a video board and new sound system.
The stadium served as the summer home for the former St. Louis Cardinals football team in 1976 and 1977 and again from 1982 to 1987.
The record attendance for O'Brien Field was 12,600 on November 9, 1980, vs. Northern Iowa. The all-time record for the Panthers football team at O'Brien Field is 178–95–3 as of the end of the 2019 season.
The stadium also plays host to the IHSA State Finals in track and field every year. The Boys Track State Finals were first held there in 1972, have been conducted there every season since 1974. The Girls State Finals have been held there every season since it was first run in 1973.
Home records Home Records YearRecord19701-419714-119720-519732-419743-219752-1-219763-319771-319787-019794-319807-019815-119827-019835-119844-219855-119867-119873-219884-219896-019903-219914-119924-119931-2-119944-219956-019963-219974-119983-319994-120005-020015-120025-020033-320043-220054-220065-120073-220083-220093-220101-420111-420125-020136-120143-220153-220162-320173-220182-320190–520201–220210–420221-420234-120243-2Totals 55 Years188-1110-3
Attendance AttendanceYearGamesTotal attendance Average attendanceHighest game attendanceLowest game attendance2002535,0307,00610,7313,7402003629,4134,902NANA2005637,0946,182NANA2006638,6906,448NANA2007537,0587,4119,8613,0832008525,4475,0897,9961,9192009538,8477,76911,2713,5092010528,3435,6698,0074,3112011537,9377,5879,1116,1572012535,6817,1369,1545,3192013756,0868,01211,5693,8502014532,4766,4969,1692,1702015528,3875,6778,1041,4382016529,0675,8137,9073,0542017524,7504,9508,1762,8282018526,7155,3437,6702,1492019524,4134,8837,0553,1702020^33,8461,2821,3121,252 ^Low attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attendance records The following are the highest attendances at O’Brien Field as of the end of the 2019 NCAA football season. + Highest attendances at O’Brien FieldRankAttendance Date Game result 1 12,600 Nov. 9, 1980 Eastern Illinois 14, Northern Iowa 9 2 12,547 Nov. 5, 1983 Eastern Illinois 12, Southwest Missouri 3 3 12,425 Nov. 13, 1982 Eastern Illinois 73, Kentucky State 0 4 12,000 Nov. 3, 1979 Eastern Illinois 21, Youngstown State 49 5 11,856 Nov. 1, 1986 Eastern Illinois 64, Winona State 0 6 11,628 Oct. 27, 2001 Eastern Illinois 52, Tennessee State 49 7 11,569 Oct. 19, 2013 Eastern Illinois 55, Southeast Missouri 33 8 11,485 Nov. 7, 1987 Eastern Illinois 27, Southern Illinois 32 9 11,469 Sept. 28, 2013 Eastern Illinois 42, Eastern Kentucky 7 10 11,321 Oct. 31, 1998 Eastern Illinois 21, Tennessee State 27
See also List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums
References
External links O'Brien Field