Memorial Stadium Game Day Experience
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IT’S A MIRACLE!
My favoriteIT’S A MIRACLE!
Ryllini
- Lombard
My comment was more in jest, probably should’ve put a “
” in there for tone. One thing we can’t have is people telling people to sit on their hands in absolute critical situations.pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Bret Bielema reveals plan to move Block I student section behind Illini football opponents
Head football coach Bret Bielema announced the Illini student section will move its seating at Memorial Stadium to behind Illini football opponents.
Erik Hall
Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema had his weekly "Bret Bielema Show" on Wednesday night, and he revealed plans for the Illini student section.
Since 2007, the Block I and the Illinois students have sat in the north end zone of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. The north end zone seating was a new addition during Memorial Stadium's updates in 2007-08.
Prior to 2007, Illinois students and the Block I were in the lower level of the east side of the stadium and behind Illinois' opponent.
Bielema says the Illini students are moving back behind the opponents.
"Our student section, I can't wait for the day when we move them behind our opponents," Bielema said Wednesday. "Back in the day, they were over there then they moved them by ticket pricing and all that jazz. But our student section is going to move back behind the bench of our opponents, and I think that will be a great opportunity for us to affect the game."
If you prefer peaceful entertainment where people sit quietly and watch the show, try Krannert. Football games are for fans totally engaged in supporting their team. GO ILLINI!!!
sacraig
- The desert
And yet, as a fellow student of yours, I hated the move. Those things could have happened from the 50 yard line just as easily. And being completely physically separated from the stadium was a huge bummer.
sacraig
- The desert
That's because we weren't any good until '07, so no one talked about the on-field product. The NEZ sucks. It completely takes our students out of the game as a factor.
sacraig
- The desert
You offer him equally nice seats while convincing him that having students in the thick of it on the sidelines will improve his GameDay experience, in part by helping improve W-L record by having a more imposing atmosphere.
You know what cures moving seats? Winning.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Bret Bielema reveals plan to move Block I student section behind Illini football opponents
Head football coach Bret Bielema announced the Illini student section will move its seating at Memorial Stadium to behind Illini football opponents.www.stltoday.com
Erik Hall
Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema had his weekly "Bret Bielema Show" on Wednesday night, and he revealed plans for the Illini student section.
Since 2007, the Block I and the Illinois students have sat in the north end zone of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. The north end zone seating was a new addition during Memorial Stadium's updates in 2007-08.
Prior to 2007, Illinois students and the Block I were in the lower level of the east side of the stadium and behind Illinois' opponent.
Bielema says the Illini students are moving back behind the opponents.
"Our student section, I can't wait for the day when we move them behind our opponents," Bielema said Wednesday. "Back in the day, they were over there then they moved them by ticket pricing and all that jazz. But our student section is going to move back behind the bench of our opponents, and I think that will be a great opportunity for us to affect the game."
Bielema pumped the brakes on this comment yesterday, said it just in the discussion phase.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Seriously. There are three reasons we don't hear similar complaints about the Orange Krush getting 75% of the great courtside seats for basketball:
1) We've all seen the evidence of how much more fun and exciting it makes our gameday atmosphere
2) We have won a lot of basketball games and excited a lot of fans with them seated there
3) It's been long enough that people who complained about it simply got used to it
As long as the seats are close to comparable, this is fine. Ideally we can have a robust student section near the field and overflow to the NEZ or elsewhere. Make the section a reward like the orange crush in bball. The concessions wait time continues to be a problem on the east side. There is a lot of room outside, they have had food trucks there before. Have some beer wagons and food trucks set up there o help out the concessions folk.
How is it possible with our current attendance that we can't have students on either the west or east sides of the stadium as well as relocating our season ticket holders to roughly equivalent seats? I know this won't end perfectly well for everyone but considering how many people actually show up we should be able to do this right?
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Actually there already is a section for fans such as you that do not wish to stand, cheer, yell, or be bothered by anyone else at all. It also offers the finest view of every play and access to your favorite beverages and snacks.
It's called your living room.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
The devil is in the word "roughly", but you're correct generally speaking.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
You're already welcome to pay a premium to sit on the rail and not have to be bothered by people standing in front of you. If you opt not to do that, you get a mixed bag and have to deal like anyone else.
I'd suggest not buying in the HS so you can more easily see the jumbotron
I wasn't aware of that. Do you have the details?
How many non-season ticket seats are on the West side vs season ticket seats in the proposed student section? My suspicion is that there are enough vacancies in the West to move the East season ticket holders over.
Kinda feel like #3 is most of it. My dad grouses about being behind the Krush section from time to time but mostly because of the noise. I honestly think the reno actually improved the angle to the court and his sightlines, tbh.
The only people who I think have legit complaints about the new setup are the poor souls sitting in row two courtside in the corner behind Illini Tanya Alford. I can't imagine those seats have been filled by the same people two years in a row.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Okay, who IS that lady?! LMAO, we obviously are not from the area, but my fiancé - I mean, wife! - was dying laughing just watching that lady go berserk! I can ONLY assume we are talking about the same gal.
Also ... I actually think it would be really cool to look at our attendance through the lense that many have mentioned lately - it's hard to sell a ton of tickets in one week when you don't have a lot of season ticketholders. Anyone know where I could get my hands on any historical season ticket sales data??
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Lol, I dunno though I'm sure someone does. I'd heard that she got in a bit of hot water a few years ago, but other than that the only thing I know about her is that she likes her lite beer.Okay, who IS that lady?! LMAO, we obviously are not from the area, but my fiancé - I mean, wife! - was dying laughing just watching that lady go berserk! I can ONLY assume we are talking about the same gal.
I actually don't have a problem with folks losing it at ballgames, within (a very generously defined) reason. Only thing is that I have different standards for people sitting courtside since the players (and, yes, the refs) should have clear and sole ownership of the court during play. And I guess I get distracted by her while the game is going, which is a mere annoyance. But I got no idea who she is...
delete
OK, during the game this weekend, as a crowd we totally screwed up the ILL INI chant. The students never really got it going. On my weekly survey I suggested they use the score board to get it rolling from east to west like we used to. Get the MI and students to lead it from side to side. WIth the students moving back to where they belong next year, this is the time to get it started. Hope others will chime in.
What a game!
What a game!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Since we have a bye week, I thought I would pose some "fan survey" questions about Memorial Stadium to pass the time.
1. What is your preferred endzone look for the Illini? Unfortunately, fellow Chief lovers, this must remain realistic.
2. In your ideal world, what does the rest of the Memorial Stadium renovation look like? Obvious subjects are the SEZ (Horseshoe), east side in general and maybe even the NEZ (current student section).
3. On that note, where would YOU personally like to see the students go? If you would move them from the NEZ, what would you have happen to the NEZ?
4. Lastly, what is your ideal Illini uniform "norm" for us to wear most seasons?
My personal answers:
1. A script Illinois font in the endzone would be absolutely bada$$ - orange background and blue font with white outline.
2. I think the SEZ endzone renovations, if we can afford it, should exactly match this, with the exterior looking architecturally consistent with the columns outside of both the east and west balconies:
This would REALLY help to trap stadium noise, and it would make the interior of Memorial Stadium look beautiful, IMO. Then, I would like to see EVERY SINGLE SEAT that currently hangs underneath the east balcony overhang removed (with its capacity shifted to the new SEZ structure), and a concourse area added behind it to match the look of the east balcony ... one of the best things about Memorial was the symmetry, and we totally botched that by only renovating the west. The west seats should look like this, with the existing upper deck on top instead of the pressbox on the east:
Then, do what you want with the NEZ, you could even leave it as is, and make it a family area ... just don't put the students there!
3. On that note, just put the students back where they were in 2006. Some have floated the balcony idea, but personally ... I want the opportunity there for the students to rush the field when the occasion calls for it. Even if you are the most cautious, fun-hating person alive, who could have watched the end of Tennessee/Alabama and not wanted that scene at Memorial some day?!
4. I think our uniforms should be nearly ironclad, set in stone:
Home: O-B-O
Away: O-W-O
vs. NU: Bears setup ALWAYS ... B-B-W at home, B-W-B in Evanston, B-O-W at neutral sites (i.e., Chicago) or for random/special home games
I'm not sure I ever want to see all orange again in my life, and I think all blue - while cool - should be reserved for like a bowl game or POSSIBLY an occasional Mizzou uniform if that rivalry can get back off the ground.
1. What is your preferred endzone look for the Illini? Unfortunately, fellow Chief lovers, this must remain realistic.
2. In your ideal world, what does the rest of the Memorial Stadium renovation look like? Obvious subjects are the SEZ (Horseshoe), east side in general and maybe even the NEZ (current student section).
3. On that note, where would YOU personally like to see the students go? If you would move them from the NEZ, what would you have happen to the NEZ?
4. Lastly, what is your ideal Illini uniform "norm" for us to wear most seasons?
My personal answers:
1. A script Illinois font in the endzone would be absolutely bada$$ - orange background and blue font with white outline.
2. I think the SEZ endzone renovations, if we can afford it, should exactly match this, with the exterior looking architecturally consistent with the columns outside of both the east and west balconies:
This would REALLY help to trap stadium noise, and it would make the interior of Memorial Stadium look beautiful, IMO. Then, I would like to see EVERY SINGLE SEAT that currently hangs underneath the east balcony overhang removed (with its capacity shifted to the new SEZ structure), and a concourse area added behind it to match the look of the east balcony ... one of the best things about Memorial was the symmetry, and we totally botched that by only renovating the west. The west seats should look like this, with the existing upper deck on top instead of the pressbox on the east:
Then, do what you want with the NEZ, you could even leave it as is, and make it a family area ... just don't put the students there!
3. On that note, just put the students back where they were in 2006. Some have floated the balcony idea, but personally ... I want the opportunity there for the students to rush the field when the occasion calls for it. Even if you are the most cautious, fun-hating person alive, who could have watched the end of Tennessee/Alabama and not wanted that scene at Memorial some day?!
4. I think our uniforms should be nearly ironclad, set in stone:
Home: O-B-O
Away: O-W-O
vs. NU: Bears setup ALWAYS ... B-B-W at home, B-W-B in Evanston, B-O-W at neutral sites (i.e., Chicago) or for random/special home games
I'm not sure I ever want to see all orange again in my life, and I think all blue - while cool - should be reserved for like a bowl game or POSSIBLY an occasional Mizzou uniform if that rivalry can get back off the ground.
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Exactly and if you are just going to go and sit there like a bumper on a log, then just stay home and watch the game on TV.
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