State Farm Center Renovation

#126      

Giovanni

G
Giovanni
Dan said:
They are working on that issue if I'm reading this correctly, according to this alioneye tweet-
https://twitter.com/ALionEye/status/673284456518668288
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That particular tweet was Jason H trying to explain why Section 114 was empty for the Western Carolina game (visitors not required to return unused comps), but that does not appear to be correct.

However, Derek Neal then joined the twitter conversation saying use of 114 for opponent's fans was just a one-time deal per the contract of the B1G-ACC Challenge. He went on to say Krush was supposed to be in 114 Saturday, but no one told the ushers, and he promised it would be fixed.

Behind the bench--Section 13--if they get the entire section, has just 46 seats for opponents' fans (if I count correctly). Again, that location is standard operating procedure for all college games, and if the opponent wants/needs more seats, they are usually in nosebleed territory.
 
#127      

Deleted member 3875

D
Guest
Deleted member 3875
IlliniWood said:
There are essentially two small men's rooms and two (apparently larger) women's restrooms in operation at this time. So at max capacity, you'd have roughly 24 urinals for the men in the 200 level. With the small size of the restrooms and the single door entrance/exit, I would say that the restroom experience in the 200 level does little to provide the appropriate "relief" to some of the restroom problems that were present before the upgrade.
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Must have hired Boiler engineering student for the BR design.
 
#129      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
Giovanni said:
However, Derek Neal then joined the twitter conversation saying use of 114 for opponent's fans was just a one-time deal per the contract of the B1G-ACC Challenge. He went on to say Krush was supposed to be in 114 Saturday, but no one told the ushers, and he promised it would be fixed.
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It's new for everybody. This stuff takes time.
 
#130      

millineum

M
millineum
Yea seconded on the restrooms upstairs. I was at the notre dame game and the line took about 15 minutes to get through. Maybe the pro move is to go downstairs maybe less people will go down there now. They needed to make the mens rooms larger cause there are only like 3 stalls and 10 urinals in each.

Other than that the renovation looked cool on the inside. Dont understand why the loge seats behind the basket have to take up so much space, seems like a waste. How much are those tickets? Are they for media or fans? Looked like fans at the notre dame game.
 
#131      

Chambana13

C
Charleston, IL
Chambana13
I agree with Millennium, i sat right behind those Loge seats and there were like 10 people in them, i thought they were for media...where are the media sitting?
 
#133      

Illiniboardfan

I
Illiniboardfan
Chambana13 said:
I agree with Millennium, i sat right behind those Loge seats and there were like 10 people in them, i thought they were for media...where are the media sitting?
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The original plan was to have the Loge seats behind each basket, but the demand for them was so low that they kept regular box seats behind one of the baskets.

The Loge boxes are one thing I certainly don't like about the renovation but there's 16 boxes if I counted correctly and each one has 4 seats, so that's 48 seats that command a lot of money if they are able to sell them. As much as I wish I could complain about the lowered capacity, we've had like one sellout a year the past few years anyways.
 
#134      

Stevegarbs

Stevegarbs
Mokena, IL
Stevegarbs
Illiniboardfan said:
The original plan was to have the Loge seats behind each basket, but the demand for them was so low that they kept regular box seats behind one of the baskets.



The Loge boxes are one thing I certainly don't like about the renovation but there's 16 boxes if I counted correctly and each one has 4 seats, so that's 48 seats that command a lot of money if they are able to sell them. As much as I wish I could complain about the lowered capacity, we've had like one sellout a year the past few years anyways.
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16 X 4 = 64.
 
#135      

Giovanni

G
Giovanni
http://statefarmcenter.com/img/loge-manifest.jpg

FWIW, this "manifest" shows 144 total seats for the 4 Loge sections.
Again, I agree, an awful lot of space for a relatively small number of fans.
And (stretching my math skillz) what looks to be only $8,500 per seat more--over a 10-year lease--than a Traditions Club seat (A level).
 
#136      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
'DJ Matrix' bringing the Illini soundtrack
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2015-12-09/dj-matrix-bringing-illini-soundtrack.html

CVytl03WwAEl06E.jpg
 
#137      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
Dan said:
'DJ Matrix' bringing the Illini soundtrack
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2015-12-09/dj-matrix-bringing-illini-soundtrack.html

CVytl03WwAEl06E.jpg
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Step in the right direction. Our arena atmosphere has been lacking ever since I can remember. With a more modern facility, hopefully we'll be able to create a more NBA-like feel in terms of fan engagement at games. Obviously you want to allow the pep band to do their thing and keep other traditions alive like William Tell, but hopefully they can incorporate new stuff to keep fans attention during breaks in the game.
 
#138      

IlliniSox

I
Minneapolis, MN
IlliniSox
TownieMatt said:
Step in the right direction. Our arena atmosphere has been lacking ever since I can remember. With a more modern facility, hopefully we'll be able to create a more NBA-like feel in terms of fan engagement at games. Obviously you want to allow the pep band to do their thing and keep other traditions alive like William Tell, but hopefully they can incorporate new stuff to keep fans attention during breaks in the game.
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As long as they don't start piping in different "background beat" music during live play, I'm all for this.
 
#142      

peace davids

P
Colorado
peace davids
Can we discuss the band? From TV, that area looks really bad with the seats retracted. Can't there be a better way to get them in there?
 
#145      

Illini4Reel

I
Champaign, IL.
Illini4Reel
Chambana13 said:
what is the purpose of the bleachers being retracted anyway?
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Has anyone else noticed the low of orange seats that cannot be used and are just "floating" there by the band. It look really bad and if they are gonna keep them retracted then they should remove them.
 
#146      

peace davids

P
Colorado
peace davids
Illini4Reel said:
Has anyone else noticed the low of orange seats that cannot be used and are just "floating" there by the band. It look really bad and if they are gonna keep them retracted then they should remove them.
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Yeah, that is part of my issue. I would rather those seats be pulled down and try to figure it out, there is a lot of floor space that can be used. The floating seats look like we are using a freaking hockey arena for basketball or something.

What I don't get, is that in the photos of Breslin and other arenas, I don't see any issues with the band sitting in the seats. Why do we have that issue? I know we have a drum kit, but cmon - let's be a little more resourceful than just retracting the entire section.
 
#147      

ShellbackMB

S
ShellbackMB
Donor Recognition in SFC

I have not visited the new arena. The Illinois Renaissance website mentioned that donors above a certain level would be recognized permanently in the arena. Is there a donor recognition wall? Thanks.
 
#148      

danielb927

danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
Rochester, MN
danielb927
peace davids said:
Yeah, that is part of my issue. I would rather those seats be pulled down and try to figure it out, there is a lot of floor space that can be used. The floating seats look like we are using a freaking hockey arena for basketball or something.

What I don't get, is that in the photos of Breslin and other arenas, I don't see any issues with the band sitting in the seats. Why do we have that issue? I know we have a drum kit, but cmon - let's be a little more resourceful than just retracting the entire section.
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Probably could be solved in a straightforward way by taking out a couple of seats and adding in a platform that gives the drum kit a big flat area spanning 2 or 3 rows of seats.
 
#149      

Giovanni

G
Giovanni
WestCoastIllini1 said:
I have not visited the new arena. The Illinois Renaissance website mentioned that donors above a certain level would be recognized permanently in the arena. Is there a donor recognition wall? Thanks.
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That is another thing that will be done next summer.
 
#150      

UrbanaIsTheShiz

U
UrbanaIsTheShiz
Honestly I think it looks a little lame on TV. Krush behind the bench looks like a cheap movie set version of a crowded student section. The aisles between those Krush sections are so wide that they show up as a ton of empty space. The number of kids in there looks kind of low. Im not advocating fire hazards or anything, but the appearance just doesn't sync with what I envisioned. Winning more probably would help. And its early days on Assembly Hall 2.0 .