News

Peoria City increases attendance nearly 63% in 2023

PEORIA, IL — It was a wonderful summer for soccer here in Peoria. We saw incredible fan engagement online, on social media and in-person at Shea Stadium.

In 2022, we averaged 712 supporters a game. In 2023, we increased our attendance by nearly 63% for an average of 1,158 attendees per game. This was largely in part to a successful home opener with 1,373 people at Shea Stadium, and our home game finale with 2,017 packing the stadium.
We enjoyed enhancing the game day experience for our supporters and growing the game of soccer in Peoria, Illinois. A few ways we did this was through food trucks, tailgating, local business partnerships, and group sales with many youth soccer teams throughout the area.
Thank you to all our food truck partners for serving delicious food and drinks to our fans all season long.
We also want to thank our River City Brews partners for being incredible away game watch party hosts. The partnership with 10 local bars and restaurants allowed fans to support local businesses while also cheering on our club.
KISS 98.5 FM/WWCT 99.9 helped bring the energy to the tailgating areas at Shea Stadium with their tent and DJ sound systems.
We plan to build on these game day experiences in 2024 and create an even more exciting atmosphere.
To end the season, we are having a party at Donnelly’s Irish Pub Wednesday night. You all are free to join as we cap the season.
Then Friday night we head to Dozer Park! See our players throw out the first pitches ahead of the Peoria Chiefs game. Then our players will be signing autographs and taking photos during the first three innings on the concourse.
Saturday we travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face the Menace. The Bullpen Sports Bar & Grill will be hosting the last away game watch party of the year.

“Peoria will play home to future stars of American soccer.”
- Jim DeRose, Bradley University Head Soccer Coach

This is your team.

Join the club and help make the 2022 opening season a success. You’ll find out first about exciting announcements, team and merch info, and very special Peoria City events.