Illinois State University held the official dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the Indoor Practice Facility on Saturday, September 30, 2023. In August of 2024, a naming rights agreement between Illinois State Athletics and OSF HealthCare rebranded the facility as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center.Â
The Illinois State University Board of Trustees authorized the Athletics Department to proceed with design, bidding, construction, and financing of the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center during a special meeting held on campus on Dec. 12, 2021. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center took place on the grass practice field north of Horton Field House on April 10, 2022.
OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center is a heated, opaque dual-membrane fabric air dome with insulation pockets for planned year-round use. The facility is built in the location of the former football practice field directly north of Horton Field House. A 100-yard practice football field features a single end zone with run off areas and artificial turf to match the current surface at Hancock Stadium.Â
The playing surface inside the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Facility was officially named Barnett Family Field in June 2025, in recognition of the continuous support from former Illinois State football quarterback Danny Barnett and his family.
The facility will be open to all Redbird teams and will ease congestion for teams currently using Horton Field House as an indoor practice area and will also be made available to community groups on a rental basis.
