Isn’t Life Strange?

I remember my father taking me to my first Bradley University men’s basketball game in the late 1970’s.  Then, the Braves played in Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse, an old basketball facility built from two World War Two era airplane hangars.

I have a few memories from that game.  I remember the house being packed, and the crowd clapping in rhythmic unison at the start of the game until the opposition scored.  The lights over the seating areas at the fieldhouse would turn off precisely at the tipoff, leaving only the floor illuminated.  I remember my dad specifically explaining these things to me, that they were traditions going back at least to when he went to school there. 

Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse rumbled with crowd noise.  In its day it was one of the most unfriendly places for visiting teams, mostly because of a raised floor that was only a few feet from the fans.  There were no corporate boxes, no luxury seating, nor a press box.  Though it may have lacked much in the way of design or beauty it was a place that served its purpose well, and gave Bradley fans a unique venue in which to cheer on a much loved sports team.  In its many years in service, it played a part in the Braves’ 400-100 home record in men’s basketball. 

In 1982, the Peoria Civic Center was brand new and the team moved downtown to play in Carver Arena.  It offers many more seats and all the modern conveniences to better serve fans, sports teams, and performance acts that have used it.  But it lacks the warmth and the home advantage that the fieldhouse gave the team.  Like many concrete bowl arenas, Carver Arena is sterile, quiet and boring.  There is no home town feel, no sense of community, just a bland, corporate atmosphere similar to countless other sports facilities throughout the country.

The fieldhouse has been used since that time as a practice facility, and the home of other sports such as women’s basketball and volleyball, and for years has been a landmark on Main Street in Peoria. 

Though it was never a basketball palace like Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, Robertson was a place that was much loved in the community. 

Sadly, Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse has become a victim of progress, and is in the process of being dismantled.  Bradley will be building a new recreation facility in its place, and the only thing left of the old fieldhouse will be memories and photographs. 

The Peoria Journal-Star has been keeping a blog where memories and photographs have been shared.  You can see some interesting photographs of a now completely gutted airplane hanger here.  It’s a sad sight to see and I can’t help but feel that Peoria has lost a historical treasure, and an old friend.