Illinois Just Broke Ground On A Massive New Sports Park With A 190,000-Square-Foot Dome
By Linze Rice|Published December 20, 2023
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Linze Rice
Author
Ope! From the rural cornfields of DeKalb County, Linze is an Illinois native and true Midwestern gal who can make a mean bonfire and whip up a perfect marshmallow salad. Since 2014, her bylines and photography have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, and Block Club Chicago/DNAinfo Chicago, Only in Your State, and more. She has interviewed Dolly Parton, written about beloved diners along historic Route 66, visited the last Rainforest Cafe in the Illinois, and reviewed luxurious English manor-inspired hotels. Whether it's writing about a local gem or world-renowned establishment, Linze brings a heartwarming and historical perspective to each story, using facts, wit, and personal experience to impress upon readers the importance of culture, food, travel, and all things local. Her favorite destinations in Illinois include Starved Rock State Park, Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, the charming small town of Sycamore, and historic Rosehill Cemetery. When she's not writing or photographing, Linze enjoys gardening, spending time with her husband and pets, cooking, baking, and grilling, and relaxing with trashy TV.
I grew up in a small town in Northern Illinois where sports and farming were the two main options for recreation. Naturally, this led to a lot of us playing sports. I played softball for 13 years with my local park district and high school team on dusty old diamonds surrounded by cornfields. Those were some of the best times of my life, and though I wasn’t an extraordinary player, I loved the game. So when I heard about the new sports complex in Springfield, Illinois — Scheels Sports Complex at Legacy Pointe — I was thrilled to hear the state was creating a brilliant new place for sports to thrive.