For 64 years, Larkin High School's football team never got to play a true home game. That changed Friday night when the Royals took the field against Streamwood under the lights at the brand-new Royals Athletic Complex in Elgin, the first football game ever played on Larkin's own campus.
Larkin opened in 1962, and ever since, the Royals have borrowed space elsewhere to play — most recently sharing Elgin High School's Memorial Field, about four miles away, for football, soccer and other sports since 1967, according to the Chicago Tribune. That decades-long arrangement ended this fall with the opening of the Royals Athletic Complex and its centerpiece, Ray Haley Field.
The grand opening, held Friday, October 2, kicked off with a varsity boys soccer game against Geneva in the afternoon before the football team closed out the night against Streamwood, per the Larkin High School News page. A separate school announcement listed the soccer match for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff, as noted by Larkin High School News.
From Shared Fields to a Campus Home
For the players who finally got to suit up at home, the moment carried extra weight. Senior Antonio Ventura said playing at the new stadium was great simply because it was in Larkin's backyard, according to the Daily Herald. Larkin football players had not even been allowed to step on the new field before Friday's games, the same report noted, and the team became the first ever to play at the new stadium after 64 years of waiting for a true home field.
Principal Jason Misicka, in his second year leading the school and his tenth year at Larkin, told the Daily Herald that the completed stadium exceeded his expectations.
Inside the Royals Athletic Complex
The Royals Athletic Complex includes a 2,250-seat stadium with a turf field designed for football, soccer and other sports, according to the Daily Herald. Bleachers stand on the north and south sides, with the press box on the home team’s south side, and a high-performance track encircles the field. A 7,600-square-foot building west of the field contains locker rooms, concessions and bathrooms. A separate 1,500-square-foot covered pavilion served as an alumni welcome center during Friday’s homecoming festivities.
The project's price tag has shifted over time. The stadium was expected to cost $11.8 million when plans were first presented to the school board in December 2024, according to the Chicago Tribune. By the February 2026 groundbreaking, the Tribune reported the project's cost at $15.1 million. The dossier does not explain the difference between the two figures, and both are presented here as reported.
Football Participation in Context
The available NFHS figures offer national context, not an Illinois-specific trend: its 2021-22 survey found boys’ 11-player football participation was down 3 percent from 2018-19, while participation in 6-, 8- and 9-player football was up 12 percent, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The figures show different trends across football formats, but do not establish local demand or explain the rationale for Larkin’s facility investment.
Honoring the Man Behind Ray Haley Field
The field itself is named for Ray Haley, Larkin's first football coach and longtime athletic director, who led the program from 1962 to 1990, according to the Elgin Chamber of Commerce. The U-46 Board of Education approved both the Royals Athletic Complex and Ray Haley Field names after a public process that drew more than 320 community nominations, a town hall and an open feedback period.
Haley, who has three daughters, was remembered at the opening by his daughter Kris Haley Buda. She told the Daily Herald he “would be humbled” to have his name attached to the field, linking the new facility to the program’s beginnings.
Alumni Reflect on a Long-Awaited Milestone
Jodi Esteva, a 1986 Larkin graduate and former member of the school’s pom squad, visited the complex during the afternoon soccer game against Geneva, according to the Daily Herald. She was among the alumni who remembered when the Royals played their home games at Elgin High School’s shared Memorial Field.
Larkin is scheduled to play one more home football game this season, against Elgin High School on October 16, according to the Daily Herald. It will be the Royals' second chance to host a football game in a place they can finally call their own.
