Big Ten Stadiums/Arenas (or Towns/Campuses) You Have Visited

#76      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
Yeah, my family is originally from Peoria, so my dad spent some time in Champaign for work and had memories of being there for Illini games or high school state tournaments, as well. He always talks about how the Pedestrian Mall killed Downtown Champaign and it was a creepy ghost town in the 1980s. I always found that peculiar (even though I have since learned that pedestrian malls were a failed experiment in most cities across the country), as I grew up in Iowa City, where there is a very nice, very popular "Ped Mall" that is the focal point of downtown and gives it its unique and fun vibe.

Bringing this perspective, I always think the Taylor Street area by Cowboy Monkey is the coolest part of Downtown Champaign, and I love how it backs into the Blind Pig's epic beer garden to form sort of an "L" shape of straight patios and beer gardens all the way to the end of the other area at Quality. I wish they could find a way to eliminate traffic on the rest of Taylor Street up to what used to be Radio Maria's, making that area the center of Downtown and a truly planned pedestrian gathering spot.
 
#77      

IlliniCardinal

IlliniCardinal
Minneapolis
IlliniCardinal
ChiefGritty said:
I like Ryan Field. No frills, no fuss and an old-school feel.

It's a stadium for the Midwestern private school in Evanston that Northwestern is, not the global Chicago icon it pretends to be.

See y'all there in November.
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I prefer Dyche Stadium.

See you there: the Top Hat is on the line!
 
#78      

IlliniCardinal

IlliniCardinal
Minneapolis
IlliniCardinal
IlliniCardinal said:
I prefer Dyche Stadium.

See you there: the Top Hat is on the line!
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More info:

Northwestern's decision to rename Dyche Stadium to Ryan Field defied the university's own 1926 resolution that forbade such a change. School officials said that a private institution can override previous boards' decisions, and dismissed the earlier resolution as a "show of appreciation." But NU did not explain why a mere gesture of appreciation would expressly state that any football stadium at any location would retain the name Dyche, as indeed the 1926 resolution does. The Dyche family wasn't notified of the change; NU claimed that the only descendant they found was a grandniece, despite other family members living in Chicago and being listed in the phone book. After the family protested, NU said it was willing to install an informational plaque at the stadium, noting its former name.
 
#79      

Illini in OC

Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
Illini in OC
altgeld88 said:
It is. A tiny stadium but (as I recall from driving through there in 2006) it's placed uphill from the campus and with a breathtaking view across the Hudson valley.

When my cousin's son was a Midshipman 20 years ago I went to several Navy games in Annapolis. The stadium is nothing special but the service academy atmosphere at the games was really fun. Went to the Army-Navy game with my cousin and his wife in 2009 in Philly. It was brutally cold that day but am glad I ticked that box. Had always wanted to attend that game since I was a kid.

The AF Academy Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, like Army's, is in a gorgeous spot, right below the Rockies. I was there in '90. Visited the nearby campus and chapel and regret not trying to get into the stadium.
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Son went to USNA. Campus is surprisingly small but an impressive place. Annapolis is part marina, part Navy-crazy. Lots of bars and restaurants.
Attended multiple games in Annapolis. Great atmosphere - before, during and after.
Names of key Navy and Marine battles (i.e. Midway, Coral Sea, Okinawa, Peleliu, Desert Storm, etc.) are on display in the stadium. Makes you proud to be an American.
No one uses a post-touchdown foghorn like Navy. Way cool.
 
#80      

dgcrow

dgcrow
Kelso, WA
dgcrow
Illini in OC said:
Son went to USNA. Campus is surprisingly small but an impressive place. Annapolis is part marina, part Navy-crazy. Lots of bars and restaurants.
Attended multiple games in Annapolis. Great atmosphere - before, during and after.
Names of key Navy and Marine battles (i.e. Midway, Coral Sea, Okinawa, Peleliu, Desert Storm, etc.) are on display in the stadium. Makes you proud to be an American.
No one uses a post-touchdown foghorn like Navy. Way cool.
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In my military days, I was stationed in New York City. Had season tickets to the Army games at West Point. That, too was a wonderful experience: getting out of the city and enjoying that kind of atmosphere.
 
#81      

Captain 14

C
The Last Best Place
Captain 14
Illini in OC said:
Son went to USNA. Campus is surprisingly small but an impressive place. Annapolis is part marina, part Navy-crazy. Lots of bars and restaurants.
Attended multiple games in Annapolis. Great atmosphere - before, during and after.
Names of key Navy and Marine battles (i.e. Midway, Coral Sea, Okinawa, Peleliu, Desert Storm, etc.) are on display in the stadium. Makes you proud to be an American.
No one uses a post-touchdown foghorn like Navy. Way cool.
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Lou Holtz told a story about taking one of his teams to Annapolis during a particularly down time for Navy and he worked hard all week trying to convince the boys not to take Navy lightly. During the walk through, after seeing Midway etc around the stadium, one of his players came to him and said "I see what you mean about Navy coach...look at their schedule!"
 
#82      

Cubuffsdoug

C
Cubuffsdoug
1970 John said:
The RAC at Rutgers is a hole, literally. It looks like a bunker, and the seats start at ground level and go down to the court. The ceiling is a mirror image, a dark, hard surface. It’s very loud, especially when Rutgers is beating Illinois. The upper level, btw, is bleachers, with no seatbacks. Also, inadequate concourses and toilet facilities are even worse. Built by the mafia?

Students chanted what sounded like “We are. Are you?”
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After this season, Rutgers will play games (2023/2024) at the Prudential Center (Seton Hall's home), and the arena in Trenton as the RAC undergoes a $100 million renovation. Two different designs are floating out there about what the RAC will look like after completion. The concourse will be widened. The lack of restrooms will be addressed. The seating area will add 1000 seats and private/luxury boxes. The seating capacity is still short of the original RAC which sat 10K when it opened. One bonus is the change to seatbacks for fans. This is the first set of plans floating out there:

The RAC 1.jpg


The RAC 2.jpg


The RAC 4.jpg


The RAC 3.jpg


Here is the other concept floating around:

2 RAC 1.png


2 RAC 2.png


2 RAC 3.png


2 RAC 4.png
 
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#83      

aiwpfan

aiwpfan
Springfield, Il
aiwpfan
Cubuffsdoug said:
After this season, Rutgers will play games (2023/2024) at the Prudential Center (Seton Hall's home), and the arena in Trenton as the RAC undergoes a $100 million renovation. Two different designs are floating out there about what the RAC will look like after completion. The concourse will be widened. The lack of restrooms will be addressed. The seating area will add 1000 seats and private/luxury boxes. The seating capacity is still short of the original RAC which sat 10K when it opened. One bonus is the change to seatbacks for fans. This is the first set of plans floating out there:
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Both those beat the current Trapezoid of Sadness they currently play in:
77_big.jpg
 
#85      

cagney1965

C
cagney1965
KBLEE said:
:unsure:
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After graduating with a two year grad degree at IU in Bloomington, I also would not call it a crap hole. Small town campus feeling with a “quad of a small forest”. Beautiful state parks are close by. I live in Minneapolis now and prefer IU’s small town large university feel to Minnesota’s large uni large city feeling. I prefer Illinois’ land grant quad design the best, but IU would be a close second.
 
#86      

ChiefIllinois

C
ChiefIllinois
I’m in the boat that the cookie cutter high rise epidemic of green street hurts the small town college vibes that is quintessential Champaign. I think they’ve done a great job of new campus buildings not being boring while also not marking them look ultra futuristic. I love the repurposing and renovating of some of the older buildings to keep the classics around as well.

I think as years pass it’ll feel less foreign and frankly Champaign is never going to be the town Madison or Ann Arbor is.

I will say this, the assembly hall renovation breathed much needed life into what is our flagship sport. It happened while I was attending, and I gotta say the game day experience for students was improved 10 fold. It feels like a classier place to go watch a game rather than a saucer with basketball being played inside.

I know attendance is always a hot subject, but lessening the total capacity of memorial in a renovation would really help in my opinion.
 
#87      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
ChiefIllinois said:
I’m in the boat that the cookie cutter high rise epidemic of green street hurts the small town college vibes that is quintessential Champaign. I think they’ve done a great job of new campus buildings not being boring while also not marking them look ultra futuristic. I love the repurposing and renovating of some of the older buildings to keep the classics around as well.

I think as years pass it’ll feel less foreign and frankly Champaign is never going to be the town Madison or Ann Arbor is.

I will say this, the assembly hall renovation breathed much needed life into what is our flagship sport. It happened while I was attending, and I gotta say the game day experience for students was improved 10 fold. It feels like a classier place to go watch a game rather than a saucer with basketball being played inside.

I know attendance is always a hot subject, but lessening the total capacity of memorial in a renovation would really help in my opinion.
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While Champaign will never be those towns, it shouldn’t settle for anything less than Bloomington or Iowa City … and I’d say it’s slightly behind both, DEPENDING on what you value. City efforts to connect Downtown to Campustown more seamlessly will be huge, as will trying to get a few more restaurant developers to get something with a bit more character (like Murphy’s and Legends) to pop up in Campustown.
 
#88      

1970 John

1970 John
1970 John
Cubuffsdoug said:
After this season, Rutgers will play games (2023/2024) at the Prudential Center (Seton Hall's home), and the arena in Trenton as the RAC undergoes a $100 million renovation. Two different designs are floating out there about what the RAC will look like after completion. The concourse will be widened. The lack of restrooms will be addressed. The seating area will add 1000 seats and private/luxury boxes. The seating capacity is still short of the original RAC which sat 10K when it opened. One bonus is the change to seatbacks for fans. This is the first set of plans floating out there:

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Here is the other concept floating around:

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They need to get rid of the bunker profile, not just paint it. But glad they’re doing something with it, especially for the Rutgers fans who have to call it home.
 
#89      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
^ RAC vs. Value City Arena (OSU) is a great comparison for the "atmosphere vs. amenities" debate. Value City Arena is very nice by any objective measure yet is routinely described as having a stale atmosphere ... compare that to the RAC, which looks like it was built in an Eastern Bloc country in the 1970s but also gets national attention for being one of the most intimidating homecourt atmospheres in the nation.
 
#90      

ROFOIllini

R
ROFOIllini
Fighter of the Nightman said:
P.S. Somewhat OT, but when the hell is Campustown going to re-up its bar game...? I know Firehaus and the Clybourne (never made it to that one, lol) closed years ago, but now Brothers is gone, as well as that new The Hub place?! Illinois has almost 35k undergrads, compared to about 22k at Iowa. Yet, these are the only bars I believe exist in Campustown now a days:

Murphy's Pub
Legends
Joe's Brewery
The Red Lion
Kam's
Illini Inn - if this even counts as in the boundaries?
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In the last year or two, Green Street Cafe has rebranded itself, converting from a townie bar to an undergrad bar.

But yeah. It's super sad what's happened to the campus bar scene.
 
#91      

GrayGhost77

GrayGhost77
Centennial, CO
GrayGhost77
ROFOIllini said:
In the last year or two, Green Street Cafe has rebranded itself, converting from a townie bar to an undergrad bar.

But yeah. It's super sad what's happened to the campus bar scene.
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All the places that had character have been torn down and replaced by soulless high rises. Firehaus, Clybourne, Kam's, CO Daniel's, the former Cochrane's/Orchid/Tonic, White Horse, and more. The old Espresso Royale on 6th and Daniel is gone too now. Where do students have to hang out now and study, socialize, or blow off steam? Not nearly as many of those places as there used to be. Sad.
 
#92      

SuperintendentChalmers

SuperintendentChalmers
SuperintendentChalmers
GrayGhost77 said:
All the places that had character have been torn down and replaced by soulless high rises. Firehaus, Clybourne, Kam's, CO Daniel's, the former Cochrane's/Orchid/Tonic, White Horse, and more. The old Espresso Royale on 6th and Daniel is gone too now. Where do students have to hang out now and study, socialize, or blow off steam? Not nearly as many of those places as there used to be. Sad.
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The Urbana Depresso is still there.
 
#93      

MoCoMdIllini

MoCoMdIllini
Montgomery County, Maryland
MoCoMdIllini
GrayGhost77 said:
All the places that had character have been torn down and replaced by soulless high rises. Firehaus, Clybourne, Kam's, CO Daniel's, the former Cochrane's/Orchid/Tonic, White Horse, and more. The old Espresso Royale on 6th and Daniel is gone too now. Where do students have to hang out now and study, socialize, or blow off steam? Not nearly as many of those places as there used to be. Sad.
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Can people still get a Chicken Ultimate?