Ask Dean: Why did the Peoria Chiefs move downtown, and what made Bradley drop football?
Ask Dean is a Journal Star series focusing on all things Peoria: its history, mysteries, quirks, culture and new developments. Send your questions to dmuellerleile@pjstar.com.
Question: What made the Peoria Chiefs leave Meinen Field? And what made Bradley lose its football team? — Mike Patterson
Answer: The Peoria Chiefs were established as the Peoria Suns in 1983 and played their home games at Meinen Field north of Bradley University. The Suns were rechristened in 1984, and that Chiefs team was managed by future Major League Baseball manager Joe Maddon. The facility was renovated before the 1992 season and renamed Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field, a tribute to the Chiefs owner.
The team moved to the new downtown O'Brien Field in 2002. The venue was known as Chiefs Stadium from 2009–2013 and then renamed Dozer Park.
The reasons for the Chiefs' move were manifold. Meinen Field was considered outdated and lacking amenities, attendance was a concern, and downtown Peoria development was gearing up. Many minor league teams were building splashy new stadiums.
The new $16 million downtown stadium boasted improved concessions, a video board, luxury suites and, quirkily, palm trees.
An Oct. 19, 2002, Journal Star postseason review was headlined, "Big-league style ballpark a hit in Peoria: Palm trees about the only thing that didn't perform as advertised in O'Brien Field's inaugural season."
Fans clearly approved of the move. The team set a franchise attendance record of 254,407 en route to a Midwest League championship.
The palm trees did not do so well. Trucked up from southern Florida in mid-May when Peoria temperatures were hovering around the freezing mark, only three of the 20 transplanted palms survived. But for over a decade, the yearly replanting of the fair-weather flora was a Chiefs tradition. Over time, the trees became part of the Peoria landscape.
Related: If you have questions about Peoria, Ask Dean. He's worked here for a quarter-century
Bradley football
"For The Players, A Very Sad Day" read the headline of a story in the Journal Star on Dec. 17, 1970.
The day before, Bradley University had announced it was dropping its football program, citing declining interest and rising costs.
"Football at Bradley has resulted in a financial deficit for the past 10 years and, with declining support from students and fans, has resulted in increasing losses in recent years," Dr. Martin G. Abegg, the acting president of the university, said in another story that day.
The losses were not only financial. The team had gone 1-8 in both 1969 and 1970. Indeed, "Bradley had not competed for the (Missouri) Valley football championship since 1950," the story added.
That futility was quite the turnaround for a program that had gone undefeated in 1922 and repeated that feat in 1925 and 1926.
Bradley football began in 1897, the year the school was founded. The team's all-time record was 308-240-32.
Related: Bradley football alumni huddle up once more
Whether it's a person, place or a product, send your "Whatever happened to ...?" and "Wasn't there a ...?" questions, comments and suggestions to dmuellerleile@pjstar.com. Please put ASK DEAN in the subject line.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Why the Peoria Chiefs moved locations and Bradley dropped football
