Champaign-Urbana or Urbana-Champaign? Which would you choose?
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — There’s a new rivalry in Champaign County: the City of Champaign vs. the City of Urbana.

Visit Champaign County has rolled out a fun competition to end the year and it is centered around a 100-year-old question: should the twin cities be collectively referred to as “Champaign-Urbana” or “Urbana-Champaign?”

“We get this question at least once a week,” says Terri Reifsteck, Vice President of Marketing & Community Engagement for Visit Champaign County. “There seems to be a divide based on whom you ask, so we thought a t-shirt might serve as an informal poll on what the community thinks.”

As a part of their “Chambana Proud” line, Visit Champaign County created t-shirts that announce the wearer’s choice. The t-shirts are nearly identical, but one says “Team Champaign-Urbana” and the other says “Team Urbana-Champaign.” Shirt artist Ralph Roether also made sure to include a reference to Wright Street, the University of Illinois street that serves as the cities’ border.

The competition is simply which t-shirt sells more by the end of the year. Mayors Deborah Feinen and Diane Marlin will be competing for a trophy while proceeds from the shirt sales go to the Champaign County History Museum.

“We’re looking at this as a friendly competition and a way to bolster community pride,” said Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.

McCrory-McKay added that the idea for the competition was born during the summer after frequent questions on the matter at a “New to CU Mixer” event.

“There’s always a general curiosity from newcomers about the name and history, so Terri and I thought we’d turn this into a fun competition that allows community members to weigh in, raises funds for an important organization, and, most importantly, highlights our spirit of collaboration,” McCrory-McKay said.

Reifsteck offered a prediction on what she thinks will happen:

“I think we will see a lot of people from the university coming and getting them because it’s University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But you also have a lot of people that live in Champaign that are like, ‘No, it’s Champaign-Urbana,’” Reifsteck said. “So, it’s really going to kind of see what the community is feeling and gauge that temperature.”

Shirts can be purchased at ChambanaProud.com.

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