Lost venues in Illinois
14 former venues documented so far, across 6 cities. Mostly baseball, football, horse racing.
14 venues
View on map →Arlington Park
A major Chicago-area Thoroughbred track that raced from 1927 to 2021, birthplace of the Arlington Million, bought and demolished by the Chicago Bears for a stadium project whose future is unsettled.
Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium on West Madison Street hosted the Blackhawks from 1929 and the Bulls from 1967 until the United Center opened across the street in 1994. It was razed in 1995 for parking.
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the Chicago White Sox's South Side home from 1910 to 1990. It hosted the first All-Star Game and was replaced by a new park built across 35th Street.
Douglas Park (Rock Island)
Douglas Park in Rock Island, Illinois, was home to the Rock Island Independents, a charter NFL team, from 1907 through 1925. The ballpark survives and is used for youth and American Legion baseball.
International Amphitheatre
The International Amphitheatre at the Union Stock Yards hosted livestock shows, national political conventions and Chicago's early NBA teams, including the Bulls' first season. It was demolished in 1999.
Lake Front Park
Lake Front Park was the Chicago White Stockings' National League ballpark on the downtown lakefront from 1878 to 1884, notorious for its tiny right field.
Maywood Park
Maywood Park was a Standardbred harness track in Melrose Park, Illinois, from 1946 to 2015. An Amazon distribution center now occupies the site.
Meadowdale International Raceway
Meadowdale International Raceway was a 3.27-mile road course near Carpentersville, Illinois, that ran from 1958 to 1969 and was known for its banked Monza Wall turn. The site is now the Raceway Woods preserve.
Normal Park
Normal Park was a football and baseball field on Chicago's South Side, in use from about 1914 to about 1951. It was an early home of the NFL's Chicago Cardinals.
South Side Park
South Side Park was the White Sox's home from 1900 to 1910 and, as Schorling's Park, the Chicago American Giants' home until a fire in December 1940. Public housing now stands on the site.
Stagg Field
Stagg Field was the University of Chicago's football stadium from 1893, when it opened as Marshall Field, until the school dropped football after 1939. The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction took place beneath its west stands in 1942.
Washington Park Race Track (Homewood)
Washington Park in south suburban Homewood, Illinois, was a major Chicago-area Thoroughbred track from 1926 until a fire destroyed its grandstand in February 1977. The land was redeveloped in the 1990s.
West Side Grounds
West Side Grounds was the Cubs' home from 1893 through 1915, the years of their 1907 and 1908 World Series titles. The University of Illinois medical campus now covers the site.
West Side Park (I)
West Side Park was the Chicago White Stockings' home on the Near West Side from 1885 to 1891, where they won the 1885 and 1886 National League pennants.