Gies Memorial Stadium

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#127      
pweo
IlliniInBuckeyeState said:
69’ tall…you must be talking about the SEZ board. No chance they are putting one that big over the student section.

I have yet to see anywhere official confirm what is or is not being put in the NEZ. A while back somebody shared the clipping below from a press release in June. It just says “new board” and was preceded by reference to “videoboard” and “ribbon boards.” So it leaves it up to us, the reader, to interpret what they are talking about.

View attachment 45898

I’m sure it’s going to be a videoboard of some sort. But it might just be the same size and format as what was there before, but it will now have the capability of showing scrolling ads, MAKE SOME NOISE messages, etc.

My hope is that it’s a small-ish video board that is big enough to at least show replays for those of us in the Horseshoe. I have my doubts though. If what is going there is anything substantial, they would have said that or shown a rendering of it by now. Plus with how the NEZ stands are constructed, I’m not sure they can put something up there with much weight without needing to add support pillars. And that’s already ~60 ft off the ground.

My guess is that it’s a ribbon board similar to what Purdue put over its north end zone stands a few years ago.

View attachment 45899
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Yeah big boy in the shoe. The one over students looks similar to the Purdue height. Length was shorter than full length of NEZ stands. No way it does replays
 
#129      
WWWWRocU
Weston6pack said:
Could they be reusing the old video board from the SEZ and put it in over the NEZ?
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Interesting idea. I guess we will just to wait and see.
Need somebody to track the where abouts of the SEZ video board once it's taken down.
 
#130      
Point-Illinois
That is interesting but I’d imagine the old
SEZ board would need some upgrades.

It was getting old so I bet it couldn’t be a direct plug and play.

I’d like to see something different though if they can.
 
#131      
Mr. Tibbs
Point-Illinois said:
That is interesting but I’d imagine the old
SEZ board would need some upgrades.

It was getting old so I bet it couldn’t be a direct plug and play.

I’d like to see something different though if they can.
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I highly doubt they just move it to the NEZ. There may be parts of it that can get re-used, but thats the wrong overall size to go up there, imo
 
#133      
redwingillini11
Tre11 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2011121401114042712
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christmas vacation GIF
 
#137      
redwingillini11
ethant13 said:
I guess no Horseshoe demolition :(
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This. I won't complain complain. I'm sure it will be very nice to have. But that being said I just wonder if it's really necessary? Does it really need to be twice as big as the next biggest video board in the B1G? It seems like it would have to completely block the view towards SFC. The money sees like it could have been used for something more useful, including going towards actual SEZ reconstruction.

This kind of feels like you have been getting by at work fine financially but sort of still living paycheck to paycheck but then you get a big raise at work and you go out and buy a Rolex. Like that's definitely nice and all, but is that really the best use of that money right now?

Now, one benefit of this is that it could actually have a nice impact on our home field advantage. It certainly looks like a lot of surface to redirect noise back down onto the field. So there is that I guess.
 
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#138      
ChiefGritty
redwingillini11 said:
This. I won't complain complain. I'm sure it will be very nice to have. But that being said I just wonder if it's really necessary? Does it really need to be twice as big as the next biggest video board in the B1G? It seems like it would have to completely block the view towards SFC. The money sees like it could have been used for something more useful, including going towards actual SEZ reconstruction.

This kind of feels like you have been getting by at work fine financially but sort of still living paycheck to paycheck but then you get a big raise at work and you go out and buy a Rolex. Like that's definitely nice and all, but is that really the best use of that money right now?

Now, one benefit of this is that it could actually have a nice impact on our home field advantage. It certainly looks like a lot of surface to redirect noise back down onto the field. So there is that I guess.
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This is speculation on my part, but I think we are using our stadium field for practice more than other schools and are certainly using the SEZ portion for practice fairly regularly (you can see the practice markings on Google Maps), which I think may be necessary since the Smith Center construction reduced the size of our practice fields next to the stadium so much.

It may just be that the team needs that space so we can't build the SEZ stands closer to the field. The standard in CFP now is to have at least two contiguous outdoor practice fields (not always but usually full 100 yard fields), which we don't and can't have with the way we've occupied the space.

It would be easy to then say "oh what a disaster, how could we not fix this" blah blah blah. But every renovation choice for the football program has kind of followed on from the previous one since the original placement of Irwin at 4th and Peabody in 2000. If you could travel back in time you would move that over to the parking fields across 1st and start a full practice facility there for minimal extra investment that could have been expanded and expanded over time (see: Ubben). But no use crying over spilled milk.
 
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#139      
chibar
redwingillini11 said:
Does it really need to be twice as big as the next biggest video board in the B1G?
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I don’t know if anything is a “need” but at least it should be future-proof for a while. The previous board was installed in 2013 I believe. Getting a new board every decade seems wasteful and this one should be as good as any competitor for a long time
 
#141      
Mr. Tibbs
ethant13 said:
I guess no Horseshoe demolition :(
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certainly not in the next 4-5 years, which doesnt surprise me anyway .
They need to get their financial house in order first or get some other donor(s) to pony up big time
 
#143      
Ander1345
Dbell1981 said:
Are people on here actually complaining??? Let's sell out a whole season before we talk about adding more seats. Smh.... The students should be able to see this video board rather well.
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Not necessarily more seats, but is there a way to add actual seats???
 
#145      
Pikeillinifan
redwingillini11 said:
This. I won't complain complain. I'm sure it will be very nice to have. But that being said I just wonder if it's really necessary? Does it really need to be twice as big as the next biggest video board in the B1G? It seems like it would have to completely block the view towards SFC. The money sees like it could have been used for something more useful, including going towards actual SEZ reconstruction.

This kind of feels like you have been getting by at work fine financially but sort of still living paycheck to paycheck but then you get a big raise at work and you go out and buy a Rolex. Like that's definitely nice and all, but is that really the best use of that money right now?

Now, one benefit of this is that it could actually have a nice impact on our home field advantage. It certainly looks like a lot of surface to redirect noise back down onto the field. So there is that I guess.
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I think this was planned before the $100M donation, and I think it may be reused once the big renovation happens (I am guessing on that).

My understanding is that the south horseshoe redo and east stands update are pretty massive, and the best approach is still being researched, which may or may not include lowering the field. This massive project will include bringing the south horseshoe closer to the field.

I don't think the new videoboard is slowing that down, I think the funds needed for that project is substantial, probably $350-$450M+, and this videoboard is needed now, and is kind of a stopgap improvement.
 
#148      
kyillini
Something needs to be done in the horseshoe. If they shut down the shoe about 10,000 tickets. They could put bleachers where the band comes out. I am not a stadium designer. Other schools have done major renovations during the season. There might be plans on the drawing board for the future. This thread will go on and on. All different ideas will appear. I have season ticks in the shoe under the Wisc flag.
 
#149      
Battle89
redwingillini11 said:
This. I won't complain complain. I'm sure it will be very nice to have. But that being said I just wonder if it's really necessary? Does it really need to be twice as big as the next biggest video board in the B1G? It seems like it would have to completely block the view towards SFC. The money sees like it could have been used for something more useful, including going towards actual SEZ reconstruction.

This kind of feels like you have been getting by at work fine financially but sort of still living paycheck to paycheck but then you get a big raise at work and you go out and buy a Rolex. Like that's definitely nice and all, but is that really the best use of that money right now?

Now, one benefit of this is that it could actually have a nice impact on our home field advantage. It certainly looks like a lot of surface to redirect noise back down onto the field. So there is that I guess.
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I get it, on the surface there is a bit of 'middle-age guy buys a Corvette' feeling. That would be the negative view.

I also concur with the other poster (and I've written this before) that I was surprised that we are replacing the old board after only 12-13 years. I would bet that the original proposal / business plan for the previous board projected a much longer life to support the cost of the project back then. But I'm also a fossil who is thinking more about the bricks and mortar and less about the electronics and technology (which have decidedly shorter life spans than 12-13 years).

The positive view is that this will be a brand differentiator for us. It's 'cool' for the kids / younger generations, and maybe easier to read for the older generations. It will certainly be an announcer talking point all next season (by the way, did you know Keaton had only two major offers?) and hopefully make us stand out.

Finally, given the cost of this thing and the timing, I must believe Mr. Gies is on board. His money, his choice.
 
#150      
thefalcon5
Honestly, not saying it isn’t valid to be at least disappointed all we’re getting is a giant scoreboard, but I do get why this isn’t some massively exciting news to some.

I’m going to be indifferent about it, and just be happy this regime is willing to put the money into upgrading the stadium, even if some want massive changes I’m glad they aren’t just squirreling away funds.
 
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