Gies Memorial Stadium

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#152      
Fighter of the Nightman
AirTran said:
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.

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I appreciate what you are saying, but I think I have already argued why temporary bleachers to fill in the huge Horseshoe gap do not rely on demand to sell more tickets ... they'll simply take "sold tickets" away from other nosebleed / undesirable seating locations like the corners of the East Balcony and the East Main seats tucked under the East Balcony. So unless the cost of temporary bleachers is just outrageous (which I guarantee you it is not), the downside really doesn't exist and the upside as a shockingly improved aesthetic and setup for Memorial Stadium on that end.

Again, seeing the value relies on one believing that the current setup of the Horseshoe (A) is more than just a quirky eyesore but rather something that actively and obviously detracts from the stadium's otherwise beautiful architecture and (B) materially hurts our home field advantage compared to our peers due to how ridiculously far away the fans are from the action. I personally think (A) and (B) are obvious ... but if someone doesn't, then he obviously wouldn't see the value in addressing the issue in the short term, and a "let's just wait until we can do something really cool" attitude makes more sense. I very much take the opposite view that there is not one single actual downside in filling in that space that can't be rebutted quite easily.
 
#153      
fuddrules
Fighter of the Nightman said:
So unless the cost of temporary bleachers is just outrageous (which I guarantee you it is not), the downside really doesn't exist and the upside as a shockingly improved aesthetic and setup for Memorial Stadium on that end.
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It would be far more expensive than you would guess. Between University policies and federal regulations, it would be pricy. Nothing Illinois does is cheap.

I believe this company did it before, they are not cheap: https://brandsafway.com/

I also think "low cost" seats are plentiful at Gies. Why add more? If you give them away, you'd end up with empty seats in direct line of the camera and/or you'd reduce tickets that you'd otherwise sell.

Clearly the DIA, at this time, doesn't think it's worth it.
 
#154      
Bucktown
It would be far more expensive than you would guess. Between University policies and federal regulations, it would be pricy. Nothing Illinois does is cheap.

I believe this company did it before, they are not cheap: https://brandsafway.com/

I also think "low cost" seats are plentiful at Gies. Why add more? If you give them away, you'd end up with empty seats in direct line of the camera and/or you'd reduce tickets that you'd otherwise sell.

Clearly the DIA, at this time, doesn't think it's worth it.
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Federal regulations?
 
#155      
LocalChief505
Are they putting in surround sound this year (I thought that had been mentioned before) or is the plan to still blow all the sound out of the horseshoe ?
 
#156      
Mr. Tibbs
LocalChief505 said:
Are they putting in surround sound this year (I thought that had been mentioned before) or is the plan to still blow all the sound out of the horseshoe ?
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so you don’t mean “ surround sound “ rather you mean “are they going to surround GMS with speakers “
 
#157      
Mr. Tibbs
It would be far more expensive than you would guess. Between University policies and federal regulations, it would be pricy. Nothing Illinois does is cheap.

I believe this company did it before, they are not cheap: https://brandsafway.com/

I also think "low cost" seats are plentiful at Gies. Why add more? If you give them away, you'd end up with empty seats in direct line of the camera and/or you'd reduce tickets that you'd otherwise sell.

Clearly the DIA, at this time, doesn't think it's worth it.
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agree

thete was a time putting in 8 rows of temp bleachers was cheap . that was 40 years ago

now ? it’s likely 20x that cost due to all kinds of govt regs & insurance bs

NOTHING involving people is cheap or easy anymore . not in this state .
 
#158      
AirTran
Rooftop said:
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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I agree with everything you say, with one exception. We can't get 62,000 people to the games. Not yet, anyway.
 
#160      
Dkayak
Mr. Tibbs said:
my take : expect no seating capacity increase of any kind until we sell out every home game for two years straight .
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This is why you don’t add seats yet. Until the surplus is consistently soaked up, ticket revenue is effectively capped. Every seat sold in an expanded SEZ is one less sold elsewhere. Alternatively, spending money to give away more seats to local groups doesn’t help the business financially. And it’s now a very big business.

We all get the eyesore and end zone energy arguments, but these don’t pay the bills. Improving the product quality and experience will eventually lead to higher ticket prices, once demand exceeds supply. Nobody here wants to hear that, but it’s the goal. If you doubt it, just compare our prices to other programs in the realm we aspire to join.
 
#161      
Mr. Tibbs
This is why you don’t add seats yet. Until the surplus is consistently soaked up, ticket revenue is effectively capped. Every seat sold in an expanded SEZ is one less sold elsewhere. Alternatively, spending money to give away more seats to local groups doesn’t help the business financially. And it’s now a very big business.

We all get the eyesore and end zone energy arguments, but these don’t pay the bills. Improving the product quality and experience will eventually lead to higher ticket prices, once demand exceeds supply. Nobody here wants to hear that, but it’s the goal. If you doubt it, just compare our prices to other programs in the realm we aspire to join.
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yup

the least expensive way to raise more revenue is to sell out capacity & then raise ticket prices 5%~10% before you add any more seats .

it’s pretty much page 1 of the AD handbook
 
#162      
IlliniInBuckeyeState
LocalChief505 said:
Are they going to do something different with the way sound is projected to those who attend the game?
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My understanding is that the original plan was to have speakers/sound projected throughout the stadium, but I've heard recently they aren't doing that now. I've also noted it being absent as a listed upcoming improvement in any recent press releases or public comments.

As someone who sits in the Horseshoe, that's extremely disappointing. Bret recently said the speakers are getting moved to the top of the scoreboard, and they were near the bottom of the scoreboard in the past. So I guess that's good...
 
#163      
Mr. Tibbs
My understanding is that the original plan was to have speakers/sound projected throughout the stadium, but I've heard recently they aren't doing that now. I've also noted it being absent as a listed upcoming improvement in any recent press releases or public comments.

As someone who sits in the Horseshoe, that's extremely disappointing. Bret recently said the speakers are getting moved to the top of the scoreboard, and they were near the bottom of the scoreboard in the past. So I guess that's good...
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I guess theyve come a long way

I recall in the 1980's most mobile vendors were NROTC guys, and the soft drinks they sold were in 16 oz plastic cups with lids but with NO ICE.
it was kinda weird getting a room temp or warmer soft drink on a 84 degree day
 
#166      
Route47
The gap between the Horseshoe and end zone could be used creatively. Maybe a fan zone area, pee wee football, ect.
 
#168      
WyattEarp
oldman said:
Hard to believe Josh is not caving under the relentless pressure we are exerting regarding the south end zone.
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Ryan Gosling Reaction GIF
 
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