Memorial Stadium Fire Causes Minimal Damage, Under Investigation: FD

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Local fire officials are still working to determine what caused a fire to start at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night, where the University of Illinois football team is scheduled to host Nebraska on Friday night.

The Champaign Fire Department responded to the 100-year-old stadium just before 8 p.m. and officials said the fire started in the groundskeeping area of the stadium under the Horseshoe. The small fire triggered an alarm to go off.

Firefighters arrived at the stadium to find heavy smoke coming from the south end of the stadium and immediately upgraded the fire to a two-alarm blaze, Champaign Fire Department spokesman Randy Smith said in a news release.

Firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the fire and one firefighter was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. The cause of the fire has not been determined and Smith said fire investigators will remain on site on Wednesday to try to determine what caused the fire to start.

Smith said that there appears to be no damage to the stadium, but told the Champaign News-Gazette that some groundskeeping equipment owned by the school sustained some damage.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Illinois athletic department said it hopes that Friday’s game against Nebraska will go on as scheduled.

“Early indications are positive that the stadium will be prepared to host the game, as scheduled and without interruption of seating or services,” the athletic department said in a statement.