Granite City Dedicates Renovated Babe Champion Field

GRANITE CITY - The newly-renovated Babe Champion Field at Granite City's Nelson Hagnauer Sports Complex was officially dedicated in a pre-game ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, March 18, 2026, before the Warriors won their season-opening game over Waterloo Gibault Catholic 2-1.

The original opener was set for Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, against Cahokia, but was postponed 24 hours because of cold weather. The weather couldn't have been more perfect on Wednesday, a bright, sunny day with temperatures near 70.

In a simple ceremony, members of the Granite City Community Unit District 9 Board of Education were introduced, including Superintendent Dr. Don Harris, President Eric Stacy, Vice-President Tallin Curran, Treasurer Lori Silva, and member Randy Christy. Also recognized were secretary Erica Venne, and members Becky Bradley, Don Lienemann, and Tom Schooley.

A first pitch ceremony was held, where Stacy threw out the first ball to Curran to officially open the park. In addition, Champion, a longtime baseball coach and advocate for youth sports in Granite, and his son, Kirk, who played for the Warriors in the early and mid-70s, and was also a former pitching coach for the Birmingham Barons minor league ball club, were introduced. T

The ballpark features an all turf field. with the school's "GC" arrowhead logo in center field, similar to the Kansas City Chiefs' logo in the National Football League, and a new layout, where the old outfield is now where home plate is, and the outfield is located more towards Fehling Road, where the field is located.

In addition, new dugouts and padding were installed, and a concession stand will be constructed soon.

The renovations are believed to make the sports complex the first all-turf complex in Metro-East, joining the Warriors softball field, located next to Babe Champion Field, Gene Baker Field for boys and girls soccer, and Memorial Stadium/Kevin Greene Field for football, along with new tennis courts opened about two years ago.

The park opened to rave reviews from players and coaches alike.

"The baseball field is kind of the final piece of the outside puzzle," said Granite baseball coach Scott Smallie. "You go from football, to soccer, softball, to here, and the tennis courts on campus. I don't know if there's a better facility in the entire area. It's absolutely beautiful, and special thanks to the community and the school board for supporting us for that."

"It's a good ballpark," said Warriors' player Ben Wilson, who scored the first run in the new park's history in the bottom of the third inning. "And a good team win. I'm really proud of it, and ready to go."

"It's great," said catcher Ayden Cooper, who drove in the game-winning run in the home half of the sixth inning. "We used to have a dirt field, where we would have to clean up after every game, and now, we just get to tend this beautiful field, which I'm thankful for. I'm grateful for it. The school district did a great job with it, and it's really nice.

"It's a great thing," Cooper continued. "I love what they do here. All of our teams have turf. It's great."

The next game on the new field is set for Mar. 30, when the Warriors meet Belleville East, while the original opener against the Comanches was reset for May 4.

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