After 11 years in Michigan City, Indiana, Drum Corps International’s Open Class World Championship events will take place in a new home in 2019.
The Open Class Prelims and Finals competitions will once again kick off DCI World Championships Week early this August, but this year from Indiana Wesleyan University’s brand-new Wildcat Stadium in Marion.
A private liberal arts university, Indiana Wesleyan’s facilities are familiar to drum corps after serving as the 2018 spring training home of the Bluecoats, and in previous years as the housing site for corps including the Bluecoats and Santa Clara Vanguard during the DCI World Championships.
The university broke ground on the intimate 2,500-seat facility in 2016, which was built for IWU’s start-up football team that made its gridiron debut this September.
Indiana Wesleyan University served as the spring training home of the Bluecoats in 2018.
“Situated on the grounds of the beautiful campus of Indiana Wesleyan, there’s an incredible small community vibe in this location that I think spectators have come to expect as part of these Open Class events, and there’s no doubt they will love this environment even more in the years to come,” said Susan Kuehnhold, DCI senior director of event development.
Kuehnhold added that the closer location to Indianapolis—about one-and-a-half hours—will make travel and logistics easier for both the participating drum corps and for spectators as they plan their travel and schedules around the week-long DCI World Championship series of events.
The Open Class Prelims will kick off on Monday, August 5, followed by the Finals on Tuesday, August 6 where 2019’s Open Class Champion will be named. Tickets are expected to go on sale through the DCI Box Office in the coming months.
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While closing a chapter on a venue which has grown rich with modern-day drum corps activity, the new location provides a perfect backdrop for the outstanding performances of DCI’s Open Class ensembles.
“We can’t thank the Michigan City community and local organizers enough for all of their support with the Open Class World Championship events over the last decade,” Kuehnhold said.