O'Brien Field (Charleston)


O'Brien Field is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Charleston, Illinois. It is home to the Eastern Illinois University Panthers [Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois Panthers|Panthers football|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.

Attendance

^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.
RankAttendanceDateGame result
112,600Nov. 9, 1980Eastern Illinois 14, Northern Iowa 9
212,547Nov. 5, 1983Eastern Illinois 12, Southwest Missouri 3
312,425Nov. 13, 1982Eastern Illinois 73, Kentucky State 0
412,000Nov. 3, 1979Eastern Illinois 21, Youngstown State 49
511,856Nov. 1, 1986Eastern Illinois 64, Winona State 0
611,628Oct. 27, 2001Eastern Illinois 52, Tennessee State 49
711,569Oct. 19, 2013Eastern Illinois 55, Southeast Missouri 33
811,485Nov. 7, 1987Eastern Illinois 27, Southern Illinois 32
911,469Sept. 28, 2013Eastern Illinois 42, Eastern Kentucky 7
1011,321Oct. 31, 1998Eastern Illinois 21, Tennessee State 27