Illini_1979
- Oregon
:thumb:
State Farm Center Renovation
So, what's it gonna be, once-a-month updates at fightingillini.com?
Sure hope the Illini women like their new locker room. There have been a couple of pix on the interwebs. Strikes this old fart as rather garish. Also seems like very tight quarters for the 4 lockers in the corners (2 in each corner).
Sure hope the Illini women like their new locker room. There have been a couple of pix on the interwebs. Strikes this old fart as rather garish. Also seems like very tight quarters for the 4 lockers in the corners (2 in each corner).
ilphotog
The camera never lies
- Champaign
Those are at Ubben, heading over again this Wednesday, in April, many of the people involved with the photo's were on vacation at different times during the month.
ilphotog
The camera never lies
- Champaign
Today's visit - Work is continuing on finishing the roof, most of the outside work is done other than some landscaping and light poles around the west circle drive.
In the West Main entrance the block I and other designs have been installed in the floor, it will look just like the East entrance floor but wider.
The upper concourse is busy with cinder blocks being installed for the bathrooms, concession stands and other small rooms. Most of the plumbing has been roughed in, in these area's.
Not much inside the arena, working up in the ring preparing for the new lights.
Locker rooms, the rooms have been framed in, the lockers rooms will be a circular design, before they were a rectangle design. The lockers rooms are in the same area's as before, instead of having the training room in the middle, both teams will have a common area in between them. The new cold tub room is getting tile installed and has a ways to go. The old coaches room has been gutted and will be rebuilt, not sure of the new design yet.
In the West Main entrance the block I and other designs have been installed in the floor, it will look just like the East entrance floor but wider.
The upper concourse is busy with cinder blocks being installed for the bathrooms, concession stands and other small rooms. Most of the plumbing has been roughed in, in these area's.
Not much inside the arena, working up in the ring preparing for the new lights.
Locker rooms, the rooms have been framed in, the lockers rooms will be a circular design, before they were a rectangle design. The lockers rooms are in the same area's as before, instead of having the training room in the middle, both teams will have a common area in between them. The new cold tub room is getting tile installed and has a ways to go. The old coaches room has been gutted and will be rebuilt, not sure of the new design yet.
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OrangeDeeLight
- Champaign Area
Well, we likely will not be in the top 5 in B1G. So you can imagine where we are at compared to other big time schools accross the country.
Bottom line, though, is we will have something MUCH better than what we had. And I guess that is all that matters.
Some people would prefer IU's AH, while some may prefer Nebraska and tOSU's cookie cutter arena. It's impossible to rank, but what you can do is rank the atmosphere. We've taken a step back but with a winning team, the place will be hard to top. I think the renovation did a good job of making it look more modern and flashy for recruits and younger fans, while still maintaining the traditional feel of the Assembly Hall for the older fans and fans in general that respect tradition and Illinois' culture. That puts it near the top of the list IMO, but you're probably best asking someone that isn't an Illinois fan if you want a more objective opinion.
If you ask a fan of another B1G team, you won't get an objective opinion. Almost every hardcore fan prefers his team's arena to others.
Sure, but I was thinking of something like having fanbases rate other B1G arenas without including their own. The media guys are best to do such a ranking since they get a chance to see all of them while most fans just see a couple in person.
It's still so subjective, though. I've been to the Kohl Center and I much prefer the State Farm Center because of its uniqueness and historical value. Kohl is newer and is pretty nice, but it does nothing for me.
That's the plan.
That was the whole point of my first comment..
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I've never thought it was as "dark" as everyone seems to obsess about, but that shiny new renovation is going to look even slicker under some bright new lights!
Physical Infrastructure:
1. Nebraska
2. Maryland
3. Ohio State
4. Wisconsin
5. Michigan
6. Penn State
7. Michigan State
8. Iowa
9. Indiana
10. Purdue
11. Minnesota
12. Rutgers
13. Northwestern
Atmosphere at a Big Game:
1. Maryland
2. Wisconsin
3. Purdue
4. Indiana
5. Iowa
6. Rutgers
7. Michigan State
8. Michigan
9. Nebraska
10. Ohio State
11. Minnesota
12. Penn State
13. Northwestern
How many of those arenas have you actually been inside?
How many of those arenas have you actually been inside during a big game?
Been inside most of them, for games against bad late-Weber era Illini teams, so, yeah, mostly going based off of TV for that. Which can often matter as much as reality, honestly.
They have big games at Rutgers?
Very occasionally. But when they have in the past, all those fans draped all over the court in a tiny metal box makes for a cauldron of an atmosphere.
I've been to Illini games at Maryland and Bryce Jordan/PSU. It's been about 2 or 3 years, but I don't remember too much difference. I've seen Rutgers play other schools. Their facility is smallish by B1G standards.
edit: After thinking about it for 30 seconds, I purchased my seats from Maryland thru the DC Alumni club, and the ticket office gave us Bob Uecker type seats (fairly high up). I purchased my PSU tickets online from their box office and sat relatively close to the UI bench. But still, not much difference between your #2 and #6
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danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
- Rochester, MN
I've never been to Mackey but it's hard to imagine a worse stadium, infrastructure-wise, than IU's. from the top row, approximately 75% of your view is wall or ceiling within 20 feet of you:
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Based off TV only (only been to SFC and Iowa), I'd change yours to be like this:
And FWIW, I'd put us at 4th on both lists now.
And FWIW, I'd put us at 4th on both lists now.
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
Rutger's Arena gets very loud, but it otherwise has a terrible design and the team usually sucks which doesn't help