![]() Led by Pete, affectionately nicknamed “Peoria’s Mr. Such a task didn’t seem out of the ordinary for the Vonachen family, who heavily emphasized fan experience. Then you had your bleacher seats as well, but all the seats behind home plate and kind of from dugout to dugout were red and blue folding chairs.”Įven some 38 years later, Vonachen, a former Peoria Pacers batboy, recalls drilling holes into the bottom of the seats so that rainwater could drain off of them. ![]() “We ended up getting some folding chairs and folding chairs were the box seats. “When we first went in for Minor League baseball, there were no box seats,” Rocky Vonachen said. While promotions and high-quality baseball were enough to draw thousands of fans into Meinen’s seats, one aspect of the stadium stood out: the seats themselves. The Chiefs played their home games at the Peoria Park District-owned Meinen Field, even leading the Midwest League in attendance for a few years during Peoria’s baseball heyday. In 1983, the Peoria Suns began play in the Midwest League before the team was purchased by local businessman Pete Vonachen and his son Rocky, returning to their original Chiefs nickname in the process. Affiliated ball lay dormant for 25 years after the original Peoria Chiefs folded along with the Triple-I league that they belonged to. Meinen Field, as it was then called, was constructed in 1968 as a baseball stadium for Bradley University and the Peoria Pacers collegiate summer league team, with a capacity of roughly 5,500 fans.ĭespite the constant presence of collegiate baseball, professional minor league baseball came and went in Peoria. The guesses of those who notice the naming similarity or catch a glimpse of the baseball-style press box through the trees lining the highway would technically be correct. However, unless you’ve lived in Peoria for more than two decades, the stadium’s name might lead you to think that it’s a baseball field possibly as a nod to the previous digs of MLB’s New York Mets. ![]() Nestled atop the 90-degree curve of the interstate between Nebraska Avenue and University Street is the home of Bradley’s soccer team since 2002. Photo by Jonathan MichelĪs cars hum along the primary artery of Peoria, Interstate 74, they encounter roadside signs for Shea Stadium on exit 91. ![]() Shea Stadium’s sign welcomes visitors on Nebraska Avenue. ![]()
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