Gies Memorial Stadium

Status
Not open for further replies.
#126      
Shief
Bucktown said:
Lowering the road would likely be much, much more expensive than offsetting it. There are likely utilities under the road that would need relocating as well, and it would impact the entrances to the State Farm Center lots. I don't particularly like the pedestrian experience walking adjacent to lowered roads especially in a non-urban location like this.

You might just leave the road where it is cantilever the stadium over the road or similar the raised walkway mentioned by Sheif have the stadium partially bridge over the road. The need for space is not at grade it is above for more seating.
.
If bridged, perhaps the entrance and ticket collection for the horseshoe/SEZ seats could be from the south side of Kirby which would really help with crowd the bottlenecks getting in and out of the stadium. Although it is too tall by comparison, the White Sox do this with Rate Field over 35th. I am sure they could sell naming rights for that new entry gate to help with the cost.

How about the South Endzone Flex-N-Gate?
Click to expand...
If/when the SEZ is renovated, the powers that be should have the first row close behind the EZ back line. With that shift and the space that is behind the existing SEZ seats, we may or may not need to build over Kirby. If done right, hopefully GMS's south wall would be near the wall's current location or maybe even a bit northward.
 
#127      
STLini25
Shief said:
If/when the SEZ is renovated, the powers that be should have the first row close behind the EZ back line. With that shift and the space that is behind the existing SEZ seats, we may or may not need to build over Kirby. If done right, hopefully GMS's south wall would be near the wall's current location or maybe even a bit northward.
Click to expand...
There are plans from when south end zone renovation was originally discussed 10 years ago. Moving seating to near end zone was part of the plan.
 
#129      
1970 John
The scoreboard, from what I’ve been told, is at the point of potential failure, and expect to see a new one next year. It’s critical. The current scoreboard is living on borrowed time.

Can you imagine it going black with no replacement even in the works?
 
#130      
1970 John
There’s the opposite way of looking at that. The students who were infants when Chief Illiniwek danced call for his return every home halftime. And they’ve only known him from video.

If they haven’t given up, why should we who knew him live abandon them?
 
#132      
IlliniNash
Mr. Tibbs said:
no

and to really make it special they could lower Kirby and make a tunnel and connect the AH & MS into one and make park like environment at grade level

make no small plans - think outside the box - do the unexpected - be the envy of your world

just some thoughts
Click to expand...
I believe this idea of a tunnel was in a previous plan.
 
#133      
Mr. Tibbs
Dkayak said:
Correct! Seats far enough back to affect Kirby would offer a terrible field perspective. Move north and upward, closer and steeper.
Click to expand...
it’s not seating you need that far south , it’s other infrastructure stuff (maybe an Illini HOF & other game day stuff ) & a tunnel would allow for a park like campus 24/7/365 in that area between MS/AH

think outside the box
 
Last edited:
#135      
Bucktown
Mr. Tibbs said:
it’s not seating you need that far south , it’s other infrastructure stuff (maybe an Illini HOF & other game day stuff ) & a tunnel would allow for a park like campus 24/7/365 in that area between MS/AH

think outside the box
Click to expand...
A tunnel would be super tough to execute.

To accommodate a tunnel the roadway would have to be about 18' deep at a minimum for semi-trucks to get through. The slope required to get there would mean it would have to start at least as far back as the intersections with 1st and 4th streets. So that would cut off access crossing Kirby to those intersections and the area over the tunnel at it maximum depth. The openings for the tunnel approaches on either side would probably work against the park-like campus.

With the main delivery point to the stadium currently in that location you'd still have figure out a way to get vehicles like TV trucks access.
 
#136      
KBLEE
jamarvelous31 said:
Did you know the average UIUC freshman was 1 years old the last time the Chief danced?

It will be 19 years in Feb. Maybe time to let it go...
Click to expand...

Discover No Way GIF by ADWEEK
 
#138      
LouDou
The Chief never left. He is still there if you know where to look.
 
#139      
Fighter of the Nightman
I love the idea of thinking outside the box, but again ... we don't NEED to do anything to Kirby!! That is how comically far away and poorly angled the current Horseshoe structure is. If you looked at it from a bird's eye view and assumed our new SEZ structure would bring the stands down to field level, you would literally have as much room to work with as the entire East Main and East Balcony as far as distance from the field!

Kirby Length.png


And the reason that can be true is mostly because of this unbelievable wasted space...
ATH1920_Facilities_MemorialStadium_01.jpg


... and these ridiculously angled seats.
convert


Put another way, if you (A) start the first row of seats right behind the end zone and (B) make the trajectory of the stands steeper, you could LITERALLY fit something this big in the current SEZ space without any hint of exaggeration or doing one single thing to Kirby Avenue.

MS100_1990s-2000s_1920x1080.jpg

ESXSB8_XYAEy1bo


Again, I am ALL for these cool ideas of a tunnel, bridge, Illini Hall of Fame, etc. However, I really do think people are underestimating how much space is already there because we have all gotten used to the Horseshoe being so damn far away from the actual field and the stands extending backward an an incredibly inefficient flat angle that doesn't utilize the space.
 
#140      
Dkayak
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I love the idea of thinking outside the box, but again ... we don't NEED to do anything to Kirby!! That is how comically far away and poorly angled the current Horseshoe structure is. If you looked at it from a bird's eye view and assumed our new SEZ structure would bring the stands down to field level, you would literally have as much room to work with as the entire East Main and East Balcony as far as distance from the field!

View attachment 44352
Click to expand...
Nice illustration! Another way to look at it is to imagine the NEZ replicated at the south end, appropriately close to the end zone. It would hardly extend beyond the south sides of the towers. Not suggesting doing this of course, but it shows how much real estate is available between the end zone and Kirby.
 
#141      
Fighter of the Nightman
Dkayak said:
Nice illustration! Another way to look at it is to imagine the NEZ replicated at the south end, appropriately close to the end zone. It would hardly extend beyond the south sides of the towers. Not suggesting doing this of course, but it shows how much real estate is available between the end zone and Kirby.
Click to expand...
Great point, and that made me want to take a look! As seen in the photo below, if you just plopped the NEZ right into the Horseshoe space and made it closer to the field, you would still have a LOT of space!

Kirby #2.png


And honestly, we could make the SEZ steeper than this and put things like the scoreboard, suites, etc. on top of it, which doesn't take much room as far as the ground level space goes.

convert


When you account for the aforementioned suites and the assumption that we wouldn't want our stands to start like 30+ feet into the air (one of the worst things about the NEZ, by far), we could EASILY build something really cool with our current space. Again, this is just a drawing, but let's remember that these designs were released to the public in 2016, with apparently zero intention of altering Kirby at all:

convert

Screen%20Shot%202016-09-21%20at%2011.08.03%20AM.png


And if you look at that first photo and compare the new SEZ stands to the rest of the stadium, it seems pretty clear that they planned on this structure being steep! And I hope we keep that idea!!
 
#142      
STLini25
Missouri is doing a massive end zone renovation. It is approximately 265 feet deep. I measured the space available at Memorial Stadium South Endzone and it is approximately 200 feet deep. The North Endzone development is approximately 140 feet.

Long story short, there is plenty of room for something nice there and more substantial than North Endzone.
 
#144      
Curbelo Fanboy
For the old timers as it regards the horseshoe, was there ever a time where the horseshoe end was closer to field level & not 10 feet off the ground like it is now? Did we ever lower the field in the old days similar to what was done at some other stadiums. Or has that end just "always been that way". I know the track was there prior to the 80's so that explains so much dead space behind that end zone & the north end used to be completely empty.

I have noted in recent weeks places like Vandy & Mizzou with their revamped (or under construction) end zones. Clearly we have a lot of potential design options to better utilize that end of the stadium & add capacity to meet an increasing demand for seats.
 
#146      
Bucktown
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Great point, and that made me want to take a look! As seen in the photo below, if you just plopped the NEZ right into the Horseshoe space and made it closer to the field, you would still have a LOT of space!

View attachment 44356

And honestly, we could make the SEZ steeper than this and put things like the scoreboard, suites, etc. on top of it, which doesn't take much room as far as the ground level space goes.

convert


When you account for the aforementioned suites and the assumption that we wouldn't want our stands to start like 30+ feet into the air (one of the worst things about the NEZ, by far), we could EASILY build something really cool with our current space. Again, this is just a drawing, but let's remember that these designs were released to the public in 2016, with apparently zero intention of altering Kirby at all:

convert

Screen%20Shot%202016-09-21%20at%2011.08.03%20AM.png


And if you look at that first photo and compare the new SEZ stands to the rest of the stadium, it seems pretty clear that they planned on this structure being steep! And I hope we keep that idea!!
Click to expand...
Boy not a fan of that last rendering. I am hoping that is a Mike Thomas generated rendering that is moot with the construction of the Smith Center.
 
#147      
Mr. Tibbs
no .
I was there 1979-1983 . not an "old timer" , but hardly a youngster anymore
the horseshoe was elevated up 12 ft to accommodate the track .
iirc. the 2-3 lanes of the track actually went under the overhang - or were really close and it was elevated for a safety issue for track and to avoid what happened to our guy at the UCLA game in 2003
 
#148      
Illinifun
Curbelo Fanboy said:
For the old timers as it regards the horseshoe, was there ever a time where the horseshoe end was closer to field level & not 10 feet off the ground like it is now? Did we ever lower the field in the old days similar to what was done at some other stadiums. Or has that end just "always been that way". I know the track was there prior to the 80's so that explains so much dead space behind that end zone & the north end used to be completely empty.

I have noted in recent weeks places like Vandy & Mizzou with their revamped (or under construction) end zones. Clearly we have a lot of potential design options to better utilize that end of the stadium & add capacity to meet an increasing demand for seats.
Click to expand...
The North Endzone was not completely empty. I grew up sitting on bleachers in the North Endzone.
 
#149      
Fighter of the Nightman
Bucktown said:
Boy not a fan of that last rendering. I am hoping that is a Mike Thomas generated rendering that is moot with the construction of the Smith Center.
Click to expand...
Assuming the inside renovation is still as good / comprehensive, I actually like the scaled down version of the exterior that they released back in 2019 a lot better ... we want the SEZ exterior to honor the east/west exterior, not overshadow it.

illinifootball-performancecenter-master.jpg
 
#150      
cfp32
The more I have thought about it, read others' ideas and looked at other stadiums/renderings I think I am leaning towards a SEZ renovation that mimics Arkansas. I believe @Fighter of the Nightman has used it as reference in some of his posts. I think it could tie in with the existing East and West sides (our towers aren't as tall as their "walmart towers"), offers standard seating as well as some additional suites, and I think they could find a way to tie in the exterior as well.
1761052642783.png
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back