Press Room

Press & News 

Stay tuned for the upcoming news about what's happening in the greater-Urbana area!

2024

March 18—Art in CU Passport Launches Showcasing Local Public Art

Experience Champaign-Urbana launched their second experience pass highlighting public art in the greater Champaign-Urbana area. The pass—Art in CU—features 200 pieces of public art from murals to sculpture in our parks, urban districts, and the University of Illinois campus. LEARN MORE.

 

March 12—Middle School Basketball Championships Set to Make Large Impact in Champaign-Urbana Area

The Champaign-Urbana area will host the Illinois Middle School Basketball Championships for the third time this March 15–17, 2024. There are 178 boys and girls’ teams representing 4th–8th grade in club and school divisions will compete for the championship at University of Illinois Campus Recreation’s Activities & Recreation Center (ARC), the Champaign Park District’s Leonhard Recreation Center and Martens Center, St. Thomas More High School, and  St. Malachy Catholic School and JW Eater Jr. High, both in Rantoul. LEARN MORE.

 
March 5—IHSA Boys State Basketball Tournament Returns to State Farm Center

Following a successful tournament in 2023 with over 40,000 fans in attendance, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Boys State Basketball Tournament will return to the State Farm Center in Champaign, March 7–9. Sixteen teams representing four classes will compete across sixteen games over three action-packed days of basketball. LEARN MORE.

 

February 28—Grant Awarded Champaign County Film Studio to Build Soundstage

Governor Pritzker announced the awardees of the Illinois Soundstage Capital Grant Program through the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, including Champaign County business, Flyover Film Studios, LLC to develop a soundstage in Rantoul. Flyover Film Studios was founded by local filmmakers, Luke Boyce, Brett Hays, and Jennifer Shelby of Shatterglass Films, Dustin Hoke of Dustin Hoke Services and Rob Stern and Sarah Sharp of The Line Film Company. The team has been working behind the scenes on this endeavor since Spring 2022. LEARN MORE.

 

February 5—Film Champaign-Urbana to Host Workshop on Becoming a Film Location

Film Champaign-Urbana, a part of Experience Champaign-Urbana will host the first in a series of workshops focusing on the film industry in the region—“So You Want to be a Film Location?” on February 28, 5:00–6:00 p.m. at the Champaign Public Library. Co-hosted with Shatterglass Films and The Line Film Co., this workshop will share the good, the bad, and the real about offering your residence or business as potential for a film, commercial, or photoshoot. LEARN MORE.

 

January 22—Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week Returns for Eighth Year with Highest Participation to Date

The 8th Annual Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week, presented by Experience Champaign-Urbana, returns with a record number of participants. The nine-day celebration of our award-winning culinary scene, held January 26–February 3, 2024, includes options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert at 49 locations across 47 local restaurants. LEARN MORE.

2023

November 8—Sport Inspired by Quidditch Hosts National Qualifier in Champaign County

18 college and adult club quadball teams travel to Rantoul Family Sports Complex, November 18­–19

Quadball, the real-life sport inspired by the magical game of quidditch, is hosting a national qualifier for the first time in Champaign County. On November 18-19 it will be brooms up at Rantoul Family Sports Complex as 18 college and adult club quadball teams from across the country compete for qualification spots at US Quadball Cup 2024. LEARN MORE.

 

September 5—Economic Impact Data Shows Record Highs for Travel & Tourism to Champaign-Urbana Area

ECU reports that travel and tourism supported 4,900 jobs (14.8% increase), generating $160.8 million in payroll (17% increase), plus $17.3 million in local taxes (21.4% increase) were  generated through $608.8 million in visitor spending (21% increase). Spending surpassed pre-pandemic numbers and jobs are back to where they were in 2019. The counties supported by ECU in 2022 include Champaign, Douglas, Moultrie, and  Piatt. LEARN MORE.

 

August 9—Experience Champaign-Urbana Launches Accessible CU, A New Resource Highlighting Accessible Attributes of Area Hospitality Businesses

In collaboration with Community Choices and the University of Illinois College of Education, Experience Champaign-Urbana launched Accessible CU, a new section on their website that helps users find local businesses that meet their accessibility needs, outlining the physical, sensory, cognitive, and accommodation-ready characteristics of local businesses. LEARN MORE.

 

August 7—Champaign County & Chicago Indie Film, You’re OUT!, Premieres at Savoy 16

Local independent film You’re OUT!, distributed by Gravitas Ventures and described by nationally syndicated radio host Steve Dale as “a cross between National Lampoon’s Vacation and The Hangover with a dog hero,” will premiere at Savoy 16 on Saturday, August 12 at 3:00 p.m. LEARN MORE.

 

July 5—Asian Culinary Trail Pass Launches to Promote Champaign-Urbana’s Culinary Scene

Experience Champaign-Urbana launched a new experience pass promoting the Asian culinary scene in the greater Champaign-Urbana area. The pass—CU in Asia—features several dozen restaurants spanning the continent, highlighting the range of flavors and cuisine originating from China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Thailand, and Laos. LEARN MORE.

 

June 21—D1 Nation Football to Make Big Impact in Rantoul

Experience Champaign-Urbana is thrilled to announce the inaugural D1 Nation Annual Spring National Championships, a premier football event set to take place at the renowned Rantoul Family Sports Complex, June 30–July 2. This highly anticipated tournament will bring together top teams from across the country to compete. Over 60 teams—1,800 players aged 5–14— and 2,700 spectators from Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Ontario, Boston, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Evansville, Charlotte, Alexandria, Muskegon, and Toledo will descend upon Rantoul, for an exhilarating showcase of talent and skill. LEARN MORE.

 

May 9—Visit Champaign County Foundation to Honor Local Tourism Trailblazers at Annual Toast to Tourism

The Visit Champaign County Foundation will celebrate the hospitality industry, alongside stakeholders and partners at the 10th Annual Toast to Tourism, May 17 from 4:00–6:00 p.m. at Carmon’s. During the event, the Foundation will honor five trailblazers with Tourism Impact Awards for their contributions in making the greater Champaign County area a better place to live, work, and visit. LEARN MORE.

 

April 21—Paxton Partners with Visit Champaign County to Promote Tourism

The City of Paxton is entering into a regional marketing partnership with Visit Champaign County, the certified destination management organization (DMO) for the area. As Visit Champaign County continues to promote the entire region, regional partnerships already in place with Monticello and Amish Country of Illinois—Tuscola, Arcola, Arthur, Sullivan—would be further enhanced with adding Paxton, growing our presence further north. LEARN MORE.

 

April 11—Champaign County Launches First-of-its-Kind “Community Job Application”

Digital platform makes it easy for potential residents to connect with Champaign County’s employers and community members—Connecting prospective new residents with Champaign County area employers just got easier with a new addition: the Community Job Application. Created by Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and Visit Champaign County, the platform allows newcomers to streamline their job search and community exploration process with personalized assistance, job matching, and relocation information in three short steps. The team worked with RoleCall, a national talent attraction consulting agency, to build this program. LEARN MORE.

 

March 15—Middle School Basketball Championships Returns to Champaign-Urbana

The Champaign-Urbana area will host the Illinois Middle School Basketball Championships for the second time this March 17–19, 2023. 130 boys and girls’ teams representing 4th–8th grade will compete for the championship at University of Illinois Campus Recreation’s Activities & Recreation Center (ARC), the Champaign Park District’s Leonhard Center, St. Thomas More High School, St. Matthew’s Middle School in Champaign, St. Matthew Catholic School in Philo. LEARN MORE.

 

March 6—IHSA Boys State Basketball Tournament Back for Year Two in Champaign

Following a successful tournament in 2022, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Boys State Basketball Tournament will return to the State Farm Center in Champaign, March 9–11. Sixteen teams representing four classes will compete across sixteen games over three action-packed days of basketball. LEARN MORE.

 

February 13—Wrestlers Set to Make an Impact at IHSA State Wrestling Championships

Following this weekend’s sectionals, high school wrestlers across the state will prepare for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Wrestling Individual State Championships, February 16–18, 2023. Over 650 wrestlers from 250 high schools will compete next weekend at the State Farm Center, with hopes to make it under the spotlight for the championship match. LEARN MORE.

 

January 30—US Quadball Midwest Regional Coming to Rantoul Family Sports Complex

US Quadball will bring their Midwest Regional Tournament to the Rantoul Family Sports Complex (RFSC) this November 18–19, 2023. This will be the first quadball event hosted at the Complex and the first major tournament hosted in Champaign County. LEARN MORE.

 

January 23—Champaign County Area Restaurant Week Returns for Seventh Year

The 7th Annual Champaign County Area Restaurant Week, presented by Visit Champaign County, returns with a record number of participants. The nine-day celebration of our award-winning culinary scene, held January 27–February 4, 2023, includes options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert at 42 local restaurants. LEARN MORE.

 

2022

IHSA State Football Championships Departs Memorial Stadium

Economic Impact Data Shows Rebound in Travel & Tourism

New Podcast Launches Promoting Community Pride in the Champaign-Urbana Area

New Chambana Proud Tee Asks Residents to Pick “Champaign-Urbana” or “Urbana-Champaign”

Visit Champaign County Launches Retail Space

Football and Softball to Take Over Rantoul This Weekend

Visit Champaign County to Sponsor 3rd Annual AJGA Junior All-Star at Urbana

Visit Champaign County Foundation to Honor Local Hospitality Leaders at Annual Toast to Tourism

Beep Baseball to Hold Second Annual Tournament for Visually-Impaired in Savoy

New Downtown Champaign Mural Highlights Native Plants & Wildlife 

Visit Champaign County Celebrates the Future of Travel During National Travel & Tourism Week

New Residents Invited to Network at Inaugural New to CU Mixer

Arrowhead Lanes Set to Host Teen MastersTM Champaign Open

Middle School Basketball Championships Bringing More Business to Champaign County

IHSA Boys State Basketball Tournament Set to Make Big Impact in Champaign

Wrestlers Return to State Farm Center for IHSA State Wrestling Championships

Champaign County Area Restaurant Week Returns with In-Person and Takeout Dining

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