Gies Memorial Stadium
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Someone mentioned here last week about the possibility of moving the scoreboard if South Endzone modifications were made. I don't think they move it. I think they build around it and accent it as the central piece. They obviously have something in mind or they would not leave it like it is. I have heard mention of several possibilities such as a beer garden down on the field. I think premium seating etc is how most programs are going now with funding the way it is. More money to be made. Some of the mockups that Nightman had up looked pretty good. That scoreboard is a monster and rocks!
If they brought the horseshoe down and towards the SEZ, wouldn’t those seats be horrible? You wouldn’t be able to see the game OR the scoreboard.
Exactly! - clearly sightlines would be improved (and then true reconstruction could take place if the playing surface and sidelines were lowered by 12' - 15' as they did in several other college stadiums over the past 30 years to better deploy the square footage where running track once was.
But your point is spot on. We need to fill the seats we have (consecutive sell - out streak if you may) before expanding anything. If we can't get 60,000 people to every game, money is better spent on scoreboard, wifi and game experience.
I wouldn't say horrible... just limited. There are already fans that sit at that same level in the corners of the SEZ (view from corner seats). Your view of the plays closer to the NEZ is not the greatest but you would get front row seats to all potential scoring plays in the SEZ. I really think this would be a perfect place to move the student section. SEZ is the students section and NEZ is the band.
I noticed the new LED lights are going up. The old light towers are down. Are they putting in new light towers with the new lights or are they using the old light towers again?
Dan
Admin
"Whitman said there are no current plans to renovate the south horseshoe at Memorial Stadium because the project would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. He said the horseshoe also offers fans an economical price to attend Illini football games, and a renovation to the horseshoe would greatly increase prices. The Illini are looking into further upgrades to the east and west sides of the stadiums and will debut new WiFi, new lights and a new videoboard (the largest in college football) this fall."
https://247sports.com/college/illin...baseball-illinois-field-renovation-287976889/
https://247sports.com/college/illin...baseball-illinois-field-renovation-287976889/
Ugh, I was hoping we could at least find some cost-effective way to fill in that void between SEZ and the horseshoe
in other words ,
we have no plans right now to start any significant renovation or expansion to GMS, unless we get one or two mega donors to pony up & underwrite all or most of it .
any “temp bleachers “ like we had in mid-late 1980’s in front of the horseshoe would only happen if there was HUGE demand and they could sell it out for all home games. my guess is Josh just isn’t expecting that demand to materialize in the next year or two .
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
How many bleachers would it even take to fill in that ugly empty space, though?? If the concern is not being able to sell the tickets, these new sold tickets in the front rows of the Horseshoe would simply be sold before either the corner nosebleeds in the East Balcony or the very back rows of the "hidden" East Main seats underneath the East Balcony, and we would all be better off for it, lol. In other words, we don't need to be able to sell 63K+ tickets for it to still be worth it to fill in that space.
Why not add the bleachers and have the DIA provide those seats for free to Non-profit/Charities, and Local/Regional Schools to use? At a minimum, those in the free seats could/may still purchase concessions. Furthermore, having SOMETHING there is better than nothing, and it would contribute to the game day experience. Win/Win/Win in my book. For the big marque games (OSU, UM, Iowa, etc) open them up for sale to the general public if demand warrants.
Someone here knows I am sure what the capacity was when we did have bleachers down there in the 80/90's. Was it 1,000 / 1,500 / 2,000?
Shief
- Champaign Area
Ballparking it, I would say that bleachers in the gap would add around 2k seats.
Fans in those bleacher seats would likely access food, restrooms, and other services by going up the closest stairs on the sidelines.
Couldn't agree more. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but what do I know I guess.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I don't know how many temporary bleachers were in front of the Horseshoe, like in this photo...
(My GOD does that look better and more complete than the ridiculous gap we have now, lo!)
... but the removal of these temporary bleachers behind the Horseshoe before the 2011 season reduced our capacity from 62,870 to 60,670. So, the capacity of the temporary bleachers below is presumably 2,200.
Just eyeballing those photos, I would guess it would be around the same ~2,200 ballpark capacity. On one hand, the new temporary bleachers would have to cover the whole width of the Horseshoe unlike those temporary bleachers behind, but on the other I don't think you would need as many rows ... so it would probably even out.
P.S. While I was searching for those images, I found a great angle to engage in my favorite pastime - visually hammering home how pointlessly we limit our stadium's aesthetic by doing NOTHING to the Horseshoe.
Current Horseshoe
Simply Filling in That Gap
I didn't feel like having a super drawn out conversation with Chat GPT, but that front area could definitely be your beer garden area or something like that. I simply REFUSE to believe that would be prohibitively expensive, and I also flat-out reject the perspective that it doesn't make sense to touch the Horseshoe at all until some massive renovation is financially feasible...
Can't we put some laz-y-boys or barcaloungers in that space and call it "premium seating"?
you are preaching to the choir here with most people .I don't know how many temporary bleachers were in front of the Horseshoe, like in this photo...
(My GOD does that look better and more complete than the ridiculous gap we have now, lo!)
... but the removal of these temporary bleachers behind the Horseshoe before the 2011 season reduced our capacity from 62,870 to 60,670. So, the capacity of the temporary bleachers below is presumably 2,200.
Just eyeballing those photos, I would guess it would be around the same ~2,200 ballpark capacity. On one hand, the new temporary bleachers would have to cover the whole width of the Horseshoe unlike those temporary bleachers behind, but on the other I don't think you would need as many rows ... so it would probably even out.
P.S. While I was searching for those images, I found a great angle to engage in my favorite pastime - visually hammering home how pointlessly we limit our stadium's aesthetic by doing NOTHING to the Horseshoe.
Current Horseshoe
Simply Filling in That Gap
View attachment 50711
I didn't feel like having a super drawn out conversation with Chat GPT, but that front area could definitely be your beer garden area or something like that. I simply REFUSE to believe that would be prohibitively expensive, and I also flat-out reject the perspective that it doesn't make sense to touch the Horseshoe at all until some massive renovation is financially feasible...
I heard a very definite “no” from Josh this week about stadium renovations of any type other than electronic ones . I still think they are waiting for the future to firm up more with regards to the overall sports landscape & where we fit in it .
we need another mega donor or two to step up .
Original Air Bud for Mirkovic or Air Bud: Golden Receiver because it's in a football stadium? FOIA request coming.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, I know I am not alone ... just bummed apparently Josh is VERY much not on my side here.
I somewhat understand holding out for a truly impressive SEZ renovation once we can secure another big-time donation that would make it possible. However, I think the real divide isn't those who want some type of Horseshoe renovation vs. those who don't; I don't think there are many people anywhere would prefer the Horseshoe stays as is if money isn't an object. I think the main divide is those who think the Horseshoe is "good enough" until that renovation is possible and those who see it as an actively hindering eyesore and limitation to home field advantage. Seems pretty clear Josh is in the first camp ... obviously I am in the second one!there are likely issues behind the scenes that Josh can’t & won’t discuss in public . It always comes down to money or lack thereof.Yeah, I know I am not alone ... just bummed apparently Josh is VERY much not on my side here.
I don’t get the sense SEZ is off the table for 10 years , but I get a sense it’s not going to happen in any way , shape or form for the next 5 years .
Yeah, I know I am not alone ... just bummed apparently Josh is VERY much not on my side here.
Most of the large contributors to any University would understand the return on capital. In the Mike White years - we not only sold out 75% of our games (with 72,000 people) - there were people who watched the non - televised games on closed circuit.
Why would there be any investment in re-model of the seating area when we haven't averaged 50,000 people / game over the past 5-10 years? Josh clearly has the right idea. Make Memorial Stadium a multi-use facility that drives revenue from different sources by improving all the aspects of the Memorial Stadium experience. Then if we start selling out games - he would be able to raise both the donations and the capital it would take to do a serious re-model.
Would SEZ temp bleachers during football season prevent facility multi-use?
And wouldn't it move our attendance capacity to ~62k, which is the trend we are clearly heading to, very shortly.
And finally, the suggestion was also to give a chunk of those seats away to charities, schools, etc... Makes sense to me and I would anticipate it should make sense to Josh too. I think many of us aren't quite following why it seems to not work for him.
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