we did the same thing only bought 6 tix for us 5 - this was 1998-2004 . I do think one of my 3 kids brought a friend on their designated game day almost all the time. was not an issue for 6 people with the seat widths as the kids were all 6-10 then . once my boys started playing youth football we had to stop the traditions the team started losing a lot then too, and I couldnt give the tix away
Memorial Stadium
- Status
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
There are obviously logistical/financial hurdles, and I totally understand that ... but we simply HAVE to address the issue of seats being too far from the field in the next phase. The SEZ is a bare minimum, as it can be fixed with no worry for players on the sidelines blocking views. However, using Iowa as a comparison, you can see that even our sideline seats are way too far away for today's day and age...
I get that we used to have the track. I get that there are huge considerations with lowering the field. However, the point is that hardly any SERIOUS money should be spent on our stadium that doesn't address this problem.
I get that we used to have the track. I get that there are huge considerations with lowering the field. However, the point is that hardly any SERIOUS money should be spent on our stadium that doesn't address this problem.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I actually talked to my dad a bit about this on vacation last week, and I have sort of changed my tune, GIVEN that money seems to clearly be an object. While my dad is nowhere near as obsessed as I am, he has commented several times before that the Horseshoe is such an eyesore and looks like we just stopped building the stadium. He distinctly remembers the temp bleachers that were put in front of the Horseshoe nearly every game back in the day to accommodate more seats - both in FRONT of the Horseshoe and BEHIND the Horseshoe (the latter of which were removed sometime around 2012 or so), and he was saying how it's so odd we wouldn't just "patch up" that area in the meantime until there is a renovation plan. I guess not everyone sees the SEZ stands as such an issue as my family! 
I tried to find three similar angles that show (A) the current SEZ stands, (B) the SEZ stands with the temp bleachers BEHIND and (C) the SEZ stands with the temp bleachers in FRONT ... apparently we never did (B) and (C) at the same time, lol.
(A) Current SEZ stands
(B) Temp bleachers in front
(C) Temp bleachers in front
So if we take for granted that our next renovation will be "limited" and anything truly transformative is a ways off, I propose we focus every penny on the Horseshoe and table something "huge" for a total replacement of the NEZ. In this design, we would effectively maintain the general horseshoe shape of the stadium indefinitely, and anything massive and new would be where the current NEZ/student section is. So as far as just the SEZ goes if we could get the money for this??
(1) I'm not sure if we would need to re-angle the trajectory/slope of the actual stands or anything, but AT LEAST do a mini construction project on the SEZ where we implement PERMANENT seats to bring the stands at least down to this level:
This really wouldn't add that much in capacity, but (as you can see in the two photos) it has a deceptively material impact on just making the SEZ stands LOOK a lot better and tie the stadium together more appropriately. It would get rid of the embarrassingly large green space between the end zone and the first row of the Horseshoe, it ties the stadium together aesthetically and it helps to improve our home field advantage by getting fans down closer to the action. Hell, put the students there if it is close enough to the field that they can impact the game more!!
(2) This one would be tougher financially, but my hope is that it would (A) utilize our limited space in this area and (B) implement revenue-generating suites that might help to pay for themselves. For this, look no further than LSU - although, we could definitely do something less "grand" or involved and still have ourselves a massive improvement. As you can see in the before/after photos below, LSU literally kept the EXACT same stands in place, but the addition of suites on top of them helped to make the stadium look infinitely cooler and trap more crowd noise.
LSU South End Zone PRE-Renovation
LSU South End Zone POST-Renovation
You'll notice that the weird break in the stands is still there, and the only addition to the stands is tacking on some premium seating and video boards on top! And yet, it makes such a massive difference in enclosing the stadium and creating an imposing environment. While this would be costly for sure, I feel like funds for something like this would be more readily available than tearing up the Horseshoe, starting from scratch and building something brand new. Here's my best attempt at a before/after...
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Ignore the LSU scoreboards, lol, I did my best. Call me an optimist, but I honestly think this is doable if the SEZ is a priority, and it would kill a lot of birds with one stone. Then we can table the NEZ for something more extravagant if and when the demand for something like that arises.
I tried to find three similar angles that show (A) the current SEZ stands, (B) the SEZ stands with the temp bleachers BEHIND and (C) the SEZ stands with the temp bleachers in FRONT ... apparently we never did (B) and (C) at the same time, lol.(A) Current SEZ stands
(B) Temp bleachers in front
(C) Temp bleachers in front
So if we take for granted that our next renovation will be "limited" and anything truly transformative is a ways off, I propose we focus every penny on the Horseshoe and table something "huge" for a total replacement of the NEZ. In this design, we would effectively maintain the general horseshoe shape of the stadium indefinitely, and anything massive and new would be where the current NEZ/student section is. So as far as just the SEZ goes if we could get the money for this??
(1) I'm not sure if we would need to re-angle the trajectory/slope of the actual stands or anything, but AT LEAST do a mini construction project on the SEZ where we implement PERMANENT seats to bring the stands at least down to this level:
This really wouldn't add that much in capacity, but (as you can see in the two photos) it has a deceptively material impact on just making the SEZ stands LOOK a lot better and tie the stadium together more appropriately. It would get rid of the embarrassingly large green space between the end zone and the first row of the Horseshoe, it ties the stadium together aesthetically and it helps to improve our home field advantage by getting fans down closer to the action. Hell, put the students there if it is close enough to the field that they can impact the game more!!
(2) This one would be tougher financially, but my hope is that it would (A) utilize our limited space in this area and (B) implement revenue-generating suites that might help to pay for themselves. For this, look no further than LSU - although, we could definitely do something less "grand" or involved and still have ourselves a massive improvement. As you can see in the before/after photos below, LSU literally kept the EXACT same stands in place, but the addition of suites on top of them helped to make the stadium look infinitely cooler and trap more crowd noise.
LSU South End Zone PRE-Renovation
LSU South End Zone POST-Renovation
You'll notice that the weird break in the stands is still there, and the only addition to the stands is tacking on some premium seating and video boards on top! And yet, it makes such a massive difference in enclosing the stadium and creating an imposing environment. While this would be costly for sure, I feel like funds for something like this would be more readily available than tearing up the Horseshoe, starting from scratch and building something brand new. Here's my best attempt at a before/after...
Ignore the LSU scoreboards, lol, I did my best.
Call me an optimist, but I honestly think this is doable if the SEZ is a priority, and it would kill a lot of birds with one stone. Then we can table the NEZ for something more extravagant if and when the demand for something like that arises.Caveat - just back from some drinks in Lincoln Park, but I would rather wait 10-15 years and do both end zones at once than try to piecemeal it. There are obvious risks with that, but they're both very bad.
If we had to do one at a time, moving forward with the south end zone as depicted in 2014 is probably the best option. I'd even be OK with demoing the NEZ at the same time (it's that bad) so the stadium doesn't look empty on TV.
Again, this is AI looking north from the SEZ, but conceptually it works for us.
The alt not showing the modern west main:
We're even used to crowding the court like shown in these images, lol. I don't think we need to lower the field to get fans closer to the action. People would LOVE to be on the field in the north and south end zones.
If we had to do one at a time, moving forward with the south end zone as depicted in 2014 is probably the best option. I'd even be OK with demoing the NEZ at the same time (it's that bad) so the stadium doesn't look empty on TV.
Again, this is AI looking north from the SEZ, but conceptually it works for us.
The alt not showing the modern west main:
We're even used to crowding the court like shown in these images, lol. I don't think we need to lower the field to get fans closer to the action. People would LOVE to be on the field in the north and south end zones.
Ryllini
- Lombard
I'm getting Shawshank Redemption vibes. I like it. Good work.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Slow day for me, and I was curious if any other power conference stadiums had such a drastic gap between the end zone and the stands like we do in the Horseshoe. I have to say, I think only West Virginia comes close, lol ... and while theirs is definitely worse, it is also higher up.
That is just bad.
That is just bad.
Just a small note on Oregon, Autzen Stadium capacity is 54,000 and they averaged 59,000 last year. It's difficult to make comparisons without considering percent of capacity.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
For sure, and this was definitely an "Illini-centric" analysis, with the only real aim being trying to guess what capacity we *should* ideally have. The trick with us is that we had been so uniquely bad in the 30+ year span before 2022 that we alienated so many potential fans that other more functional programs have retained ... so it is much more difficult to gauge our fan base size (or, more accurately, our POTENTIAL fan base size) than it is for actually solid programs. We are climbing our way out of the abyss, but attendance obviously lags success, and it will take time to build up to where we really should have been if we had been at the level of a, say, Iowa or Wisconsin over the last couple decades, taking into account things like our local population, student enrollment, living alumni, etc.
When Bielema took this job, we had decreased our fan base down to only the most die-hard crazies that would willingly sign up for this mess ... and/or just couldn't pull themselves away!
And those crowds were in the mid-30k range. Throw in two successful seasons and some ACTUAL reason for hope, and we got back to the mid-50k range for average and within striking distance of 61k, as evidenced by the two sellouts last year. So, I think given how huge our enrollment, alumni base and state population is, it's reasonable to think that another 5-10 years of actually being competitive will continue to grow that number at least into the mid-60k range or even up to 70k - which is exactly where we were for our bigger crowds before the wheels REALLY fell off of this thing, haha.(FTR, I obviously think Oregon could support a much larger stadium if it had the desire to do that.)
DReq
Always Illini
- Central Illinois
Edited for accuracy.
I also appreciate your considered analysis of the stadium issues and Illini history. I lived through many of those higher attendance years and all of the lousy attendance years and I think you are correct about the pattern and reasons for it.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I have an hour between meetings, so you KNOW I'm going to post a way-too-long and somewhat pointless Illinois Loyalty post! I would love for an engineer or architect or some other expert to chime in here, but I find it REALLY interesting how certain stadiums really help to trap crowd noise while some others are built in such a way that the fans can be as rabid and engaged as possible, and the noise level will still somewhat be lost in the air, so to speak. A classic example of the former is Oregon, and a classic example of the latter is Michigan. I have only been to three Big Ten stadiums - Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin - for games. Provided each stadium has a "good crowd" so we are comparing apples to apples, I would say Iowa is by far the loudest, Illinois is second and Wisconsin is actually the quietest ... that last opinion has actually been corroborated by my Badger friend who thinks the gradual slope of the stands lets too much crowd noise escape.
Anyway, I have been very vocal about it being ESSENTIAL that any future Memorial Stadium renovations help to improve our gameday atmosphere and trap as much crowd noise as possible. As stated above, I have not been to many Big Ten stadiums. However, for those who have, I am curious if anything about those stadiums below that you would consider to be especially loud/intimidating especially helps to create that level of noise. I tried to find a similar picture of each stadium to try to compare each fairly ... I'm also skipping Northwestern, haha.
It's easy to see why PSU and OSU have deafening stadiums, and it's also easy to see why Michigan doesn't (at least for the number/passion of fans there). However, I find it really perplexing why Memorial Stadium gets as loud as it does with a LOT of open space that would ideally be enclosed. I also have to wonder how many stadiums currently considered subpar have some real gameday environment potential. If you transport Iowa's gameday crowd into Maryland's stadium, is it actually set up to get really loud? Stands look steep, and there is actually more enclosure that one might assume.
I would love for an engineer or architect or some other expert to chime in here, but I find it REALLY interesting how certain stadiums really help to trap crowd noise while some others are built in such a way that the fans can be as rabid and engaged as possible, and the noise level will still somewhat be lost in the air, so to speak. A classic example of the former is Oregon, and a classic example of the latter is Michigan. I have only been to three Big Ten stadiums - Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin - for games. Provided each stadium has a "good crowd" so we are comparing apples to apples, I would say Iowa is by far the loudest, Illinois is second and Wisconsin is actually the quietest ... that last opinion has actually been corroborated by my Badger friend who thinks the gradual slope of the stands lets too much crowd noise escape.Anyway, I have been very vocal about it being ESSENTIAL that any future Memorial Stadium renovations help to improve our gameday atmosphere and trap as much crowd noise as possible. As stated above, I have not been to many Big Ten stadiums. However, for those who have, I am curious if anything about those stadiums below that you would consider to be especially loud/intimidating especially helps to create that level of noise. I tried to find a similar picture of each stadium to try to compare each fairly ... I'm also skipping Northwestern, haha.
It's easy to see why PSU and OSU have deafening stadiums, and it's also easy to see why Michigan doesn't (at least for the number/passion of fans there). However, I find it really perplexing why Memorial Stadium gets as loud as it does with a LOT of open space that would ideally be enclosed. I also have to wonder how many stadiums currently considered subpar have some real gameday environment potential. If you transport Iowa's gameday crowd into Maryland's stadium, is it actually set up to get really loud? Stands look steep, and there is actually more enclosure that one might assume.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, I have to imagine the roofs at Oregon and Washington really play a big role in making those places loud!
Agreed, but it is also kind of infuriating to me, haha. You can make a very good argument that we have the LEAST enclosed stadium of all 17 shown. It's a wonder it gets as loud as it does, and it gets me giddy for how loud it COULD be someday with a proper renovation!
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Kind of unrelated, but I actually can't wait for Northwestern to complete their new stadium. It will be nice to have a deafening pro-Illini crowd in that small stadium.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I was at the Michigan game in 1983. Believe me, that stadium can get extraordinarily loud.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
And I expect it to be very loud on 9/27 and 10/11. Keep winning, and Memorial Stadium can become a huge homefield advantage. It takes some time to get the fan culture (in terms of getting loud consistently and at the right time) on par with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, etc.
No stadium redesign can fix some of the problems we have had, only winning will cure that. I am sometimes in awe with how quiet Memorial Stadium becomes...years of mediocrity will do that. We are finally seeing this change with Coach B at the helm. It takes time, but we are slowly getting there.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Amen, brother! Can't wait to try to go the first year I can!
Oh, I 100% believe that. I mean, it was honestly really loud last year at times (for the KU game, especially), and the 2007 Michigan game (highlights available on YouTube) was SUPER loud, too. There is even a comment on the video from a Michigan fan that says something like "I have never heard 55k fans be so loud!" (as a reminder, our capacity was lower due to construction that year).
However, that is kind of my point. Some weird acoustics thing that is way over my head leads to Memorial Stadium being way louder than it looks like it should be based on the number of fans and the relatively wide open design. Imagine just how loud it could get if we truly enclosed the entire SEZ! And that brings me back once again to what both excites and frustrates me. We already have a great stadium ... we are SO close to having a truly iconic one. A couple more years of big crowds and a renovation to the SEZ, and the perception of Memorial Stadium among non-Illini fans will go from an outdated and unfinished-looking afterthought that draws pathetic crowds to an absolutely can't-miss cathedral of the sport, oozing with history and providing a uniquely intimidating gameday environment. I'm desperate to see us take both of those steps.
Or we'd enclose the SEZ and somehow cause the sound from each side to destructively interfere, building our very own noise canceling box. Would be just our luck.
There have been rumors of adding another 12,000 to Autzen. Not sure it has any serious "footing" but it could happen. Personally, Autzen is a great experience and a place that is a great home field advantage. Last thing anyone wants is a big stadium with empty seats and no "vibe" or "energy". Give me a packed small packed stadium with energy anytime. Check out the LA schools, just a place to take a date and watch a game. Not an environment that is intense with power.For sure, and this was definitely an "Illini-centric" analysis, with the only real aim being trying to guess what capacity we *should* ideally have. The trick with us is that we had been so uniquely bad in the 30+ year span before 2022 that we alienated so many potential fans that other more functional programs have retained ... so it is much more difficult to gauge our fan base size (or, more accurately, our POTENTIAL fan base size) than it is for actually solid programs. We are climbing our way out of the abyss, but attendance obviously lags success, and it will take time to build up to where we really should have been if we had been at the level of a, say, Iowa or Wisconsin over the last couple decades, taking into account things like our local population, student enrollment, living alumni, etc.
When Bielema took this job, we had decreased our fan base down to only the most die-hard crazies that would willingly sign up for this mess ... and/or just couldn't pull themselves away!
(FTR, I obviously think Oregon could support a much larger stadium if it had the desire to do that.)
The roof plays a part, also, the closeness to the field, you'll notice in many of the pictures the area around the field is curved both on the sidelines and end zones moving the fans away from the field... Not the case at Autzen. I can't tell for sure if other stadiums are similar to Autzen, but at Autzen the playing field is about six or seven feet below the front row of seats so it puts the fans right on top of the field. I'd say the front row fans behind the visitors bench are about twelve feet from the players bench.
And yes taildragger stadium in Seattle gets very very loud
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
This is similar to the setup at Iowa, where you feel like the fans are breathing down your neck ... and the comparison to Illinois with similar photos really drives the point home that we are fighting a bit of an uphill battle in this regard! I don't think Iowa's wall to elevate the first row is as high as Oregon's, but it still accomplishes its goal, IMO. You should consider yourself lucky, because until we get a MAJOR renovation, this is always going to be a problem with our stadium. I tried to find two sets of photos of Illini/Iowa comparisons from similar angles:
Just crazy how much more wasted space we have in there than they do. It's kind of difficult to see in the third photo above, but we literally don't let fans sit in the first couple rows behind the players (even when we have a sellout!) because they wouldn't be able to see ... that is a very lame problem to have, haha. As you can also see in the edited photo below, where our track USED TO be really kind of screws us these days ... and as others have mentioned here before, I am not sure how we fix this issue without lowering the field:
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
I've been to a few games that were insanely loud in the 90's/early 2000's. All of them prior the renovation. The 94 Penn State game was crazy loud (tho it got quiet late as we blew the lead). The other one that stands out for best crowd is the 2000 Michigan game. !!!!!! ending but the best crowd I've ever sat in at Memorial Stadium. It was stupid loud that night.
As to the discussion about target stadium size, I'd say the fanbase has demonstrated they could support a mid 70k attendance range if the program consistently reached the upper division of the conference level. It was there for chunk s of the 80's & early 90's. The youngsters may not remember but they used to put temporary bleachers behind the north end zone for some big games (maybe the horseshoe end also) & could get as many as 73k in there. Several crowds in the 80's were in the 75 or 76k range. I didn't attend back then so don't know what accomodations they made to fit those extra folks in.
The key is having a product that people care enough about to invest their time & money into. If it's good Illinois fans have demonstrated time and again in both major sports they will support a consistent good program.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Another one that always gets underrated RE: gameday atmosphere is the heart-breaking primetime loss to Michigan in 2007:
2007 - Michigan at Illinois
What's crazier about this one is that we had our smallest capacity in modern history due to ongoing renovations, so the sold out attendance was only about 57k. Goes to show that simply having a bunch of people there or a superb acoustic setup can only take you so far ... what REALLY matters is having a bunch of rowdy fans in the stands who WANT to get loud!
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
I left that one the moment Hudson dropped the ball. Knew it was over.
- Status