BRADLEY'S NEW SOCCER HOME WILL BE SHEA STADIUM

PEORIA, Ill. -- October 27, 2002 -- Bradley University President Dr. David Broski announced during halftime of today's Bradley-Creighton Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer game that Bradley's future home field will be known as Shea Stadium in recognition of a significant gift to the University for the conversion of Meinen Field from a baseball stadium into a soccer facility.

In addition to his announcement, Dr. Broski presented a framed Bradley soccer jersey, autographed by members of the 2002 Braves squad, to Tim Shea, a Bradley alumnus, successful real estate developer in the Peoria area and a longtime supporter of Bradley Athletics. Shea has made the lead gift necessary to help fund the conversion project. He is in his second term as a Bradley Chiefs Club board member and currently serves as the board's vice president for special projects.

"We are delighted to be able to recognize Tim Shea's generosity and life-long commitment to the University and our athletic program by naming the new soccer stadium in honor of his family," said Dr. Broski. "Shea Stadium, when completed, will contribute greatly to Bradley's increasingly competitive soccer program that has earned recognition nationally, and we are grateful for Mr. Shea's support."

"Since I was a kid, I have always been an avid Bradley fan," said Shea. "Starting in the late 1950s, my mother made sure I saw Bradley basketball games at Robertson Field House. "Being able to make this gift to Bradley and have the (Shea) name recognized for many years to come is a great honor," Shea added.

Sunday's announcement came during Bradley's final regular-season home game at Albert McClallen Memorial Park in nearby Morton. The Braves moved their home games from Chiefs Club Field at the Peoria Park District's Becker Park following the 2000 season in order to accommodate a new school for the Pleasant Valley School District. When the Peoria Chiefs, the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, announced plans to build a new ballpark, their former home at Meinen Field became the primary focus for a new Bradley Soccer facility in Peoria. O'Brien Field opened in downtown Peoria in May and also will serve as the home facility for the Bradley Baseball program beginning with the 2003 spring season.

Named for former Bradley student-athlete and administrator John I. "Dutch" Meinen, the facility located less than a mile from the Bradley campus on Nebraska Avenue, served as the Bradley Baseball program's home field since 1970. From 1984 through May of this year, Bradley shared the baseball stadium with Peoria's minor league baseball organization.

The Shea Stadium conversion will take place in several stages and is already underway. The soccer field will run from the current home plate area down the right field line with the team benches and an on-field press box located on the west side of the field. In order to accommodate the soccer field's dimensions (118 yards x 73 yards), the permanent seating from the home plate area and running down the left field line will be removed and replaced by a grass berm. Both of the baseball dugouts will be filled in, the light towers will be rearranged, the outfield wall has been removed and the right field picnic areas will be replaced with a combination of permanent seating and a grass berm. Additionally, the old baseball clubhouse located behind the left field wall will be refurbished for use as lockerrooms for both the Braves and their visiting teams, while the current baseball press box will be used as a private viewing area for soccer games. A new scoreboard and public address system also will be in place for the 2003 season-opener.

When the first stage of the conversion is completed next summer, Shea Stadium will seat 1,200 to 1,600 soccer fans. The Braves are scheduled to open the facility Aug. 29-30, 2003 when Bradley hosts the seventh annual Holiday Inn City Centre Classic.

Shea Stadium will become the fourth full-time home venue in Bradley Soccer history. In the program's first three years from 1987 to 1989, Bradley played its home games at Bergan High School (now Notre Dame High School). The Braves also played one game at Richwoods High School during the 1989 season. For the next 11 seasons (1990-2000), Bradley played at Chiefs Club Field at Becker Park, posting a 52-42-7 (.550) record in 101 games at the facility. Bradley has experienced the most success at McClallen Park, where they boast a 13-5-1 (.711) record since the start of the 2001 season.

The Meinen name will continue to be used for athletic facilities on the Bradley campus. In consultation with Meinen's daughter, Marjorie Sefried, and grandson, Peoria Journal Star sports reporter Gary Childs, the intramural fields located in the St. James Apartments Complex will be known as Meinen Field.

"I'm so very pleased Meinen Field is taking its place on the Bradley campus," said Sefried. "In a symbolic way, it's like Dad is coming home. It's also comforting to know Bradley University is committed to keeping the memory of John I. Meinen alive. Our family is gratified -- just as Dad was in 1969 when the first Meinen Field was dedicated."

Meinen was born in March 1900 and he enrolled at Bradley in 1919 after graduating from Pekin High School. After a Bradley football career that ultimately earned him a place in the Bradley University Athletics Hall of Fame, the former lineman went to work at his alma mater in 1924.

From the mid-1920s through the late 1940s, Meinen was A.J. Robertson's primary assistant in both the athletic and physical education departments. While serving as an assistant coach under Robertson for the baseball, basketball and football programs, Meinen also served as the school's intramural director.

Meinen was named Athletic Director in 1956 and held that post until retiring in 1965. During Meinen's tenure as athletic director, Charles Orsborn's men's basketball teams won three National Invitation Tournaments (1957, 1960 and 1964).