Right, the blocked off rows only account for 1,200 seats. 5 rows, 30 seats per row, across 8 sections.
Pregame: Illinois vs Toledo, Saturday, September 2nd, 6:30pm CT, BTN
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Right, the blocked off rows only account for 1,200 seats. 5 rows, 30 seats per row, across 8 sections.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Fair to assume the crowd won't eclipse the 2016 season opener, right? 3k+ more sold tickets seems like an extremely heavy lift. Still not bad to have biggest opening attendance in seven seasons.
Going to game Saturday and looking for opinions.......
What are the best seats in the 100 level and 200 level?
This is the way
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
It took us until Minnesota last year to give up a touchdown at home, I'd like to see us do the same to our non con opponents. That being said I see this one hopefully as 24-13.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
That's kind of a vauge question. Are you asking where is the best place to sit or where the best available tickets are?
My preference for seating is on the West main (100) between the 35 yard lines, about 10-15 rows up, but I know people that prefer the East main as well. Check the official ticket site and StubHub for what's available. There are also posts in this thread about what's been sold where and what's available.
The Sellout Watch tracker currently has just over 45,000 sold. 48,000 is probably just out of reach, but I think the announced crowd could be close to 47,000. The Sellout Watch tracker is a little conservative in that if large sections are not showing available on the ticket site, I have to assume none of the tickets have been sold. We know that is not the case for Section 109 (visiting fans' section), for example. Yet Section 109 shows in the tracker as 100% unsold.
I'm hopeful with some of the "can't be tracked" ticket sales and movement during game week, we can get close to 47,000.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Adding nearly 10k new tickets sold compared to last year’s home opener would be a big win.
You stack some wins on the field and we’ll fill the place up next year.
Just asking what you think are the best seats to see a game, Regardless of price
West main. About 25 rows up between the 35s. As a football guy though I love sitting in the horseshoe as you can see plays open up. The colonnades are nice as well. Great view of everything from a higher vantage point.
Tyler, did you just admit that you are a football guy? Wait until your dad hears about this...
I'm guessing Toledo isn't done selling, or hasn't given Illinois the number for section 109?
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I heard he’s planning to focus this week on Kansas, next week on PSU, and skip Toledo altogether.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
I've heard he's going to give the starters the first drive, maybe the second, against Toledo and then put the backups in.
Yeah, I expect Toledo will be up 28-0 and then the Illini just fold up their laundry to get ready for Kansas.
And that would be just so Illinois!
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Thanks!! And yes, responding to yours and other comments on my MS Paint handiwork, plus some other random thoughts of my own...
1. I could not agree more that it is not really about how MANY seats we have; it is about the layout. As another poster said, the Big House's 110k+ are not much louder than our 48k vs. Iowa ... it's all about how the stadium is built. And loud stadiums are enclosed to trap the noise. Consider the following two stadiums that are materially smaller than ours but look more complete, trap the noise better and generally make better use of the seats they do have (you'll notice neither has any seats underneath a balcony overhang).
Minnesota: 6,523 fewer seats
Baylor: 15,530 fewer!!!
2. On that note, people shouldn't think of relocating capacity to the Horseshoe as KEEPING the Horseshoe ... the Horseshoe needs to be demolished. The fact that you have twice the seats in the Horseshoe as you do in the student section shows just how inefficiently and architecturally lame we made that structure. If you took all the seats from underneath the East Balcony overhang and added it to the Horseshoe but built the structure below, I bet you would actually have a net REDUCTION in capacity, as newer stadiums/seats just have lower capacities because they're less cramped in:
Now that is just a thing of beauty. The problem with the current Horseshoe (and the NEZ, to a lesser extent) is that the seats/design of Memorial Stadium between the end zones is truly "grand" in its appearance. When the seats in the end zone are as mundane (at best) or even ugly (at worst) as the Horseshoe, it looks like we have two different stadiums mashed together, and (in my humble opinion) starts to take away from some of the beauty of Memorial Stadium.
The first picture below looks like we have a stadium comparable to Ohio State (specifically) or another Blue Blood, as your mind fills in the rest of the stadium looking that grand ... the second one looks like a (kind of) nice high school stadium in Texas, lol.
I know I complain about the Horseshoe a lot ... but I only do it because I care, and I see such limitless potential in our stadium. Perception is crafted by a game of inches, and improvements that might not seem that essential (like renovating the Horseshoe) can end up making a massive difference. Once Bret strings together some more winning seasons and our attendance/donor money keeps increasing, I think Josh definitely sees the value in renovating Memorial Stadium in a way that maintains its classic look while improving on it. It really could be one of the most iconic venues in the Big Ten ... we are gifted with an absolutely incredible and unique starting point, we just have to touch up some areas.
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