Weren't there some tennis courts on that side of Memorial Stadium in the 70s and 80s? As a donor, I definitely remember parking outside in what is now Grange Grove back in the 80s.
What would you do to improve Memorial Stadium?
Yes. Played on them my freshman year (1970).
The did The Assembly Hall (its name when I was in school) become Assembly Hall?I can't believe I have not brought this up in this thread yet (I certainly have before), but another VERY easy fix that annoys me is we should surround Grange Grove and the stadium with way more trees, wherever possible. Grange Grove is the obvious spot (guys ... it's supposed to be a G-R-O-V-E!), but what has always struck me about Champaign is that with absolutely nothing going for it from a topography point of view (i.e., flat corn land is not seen by your Average Joe as "scenic," especially once it gets cold out), there are a remarkable number of trees that have been planted in C-U that make certain areas look much more aesthetically pleasing. For example, compare the view of the farmland south of the stadium...
... with the much more wooded view west of the stadium:
Simply put, trees are aesthetically pleasing and provide an "environment" that allows fans to get a bit more lost in than a flat, utilitarian field. There are already some trees in Grange Grove, but the DIA is making a pretty lame mistake (JMO, of course) it prioritizes maintaining a strictly utilitarian flat grid of grass over an actual grove for practical reasons alone. People make tailgating work wherever, we don't need it to be cookie cutter.
I have posted these before, but I think our Grange Grove would benefit greatly from fans feeling like they are in actual grove like at some of the other premiere tailgating locations...
ILLINOIS
GEORGIA
OLE MISS ("The Grove")
INDIANA
I'm only hard on Memorial Stadium and Grange Grove because I see SO much potential in both. If we just had sort of a clunker that we loved "because it was ours" (as I frankly viewed Assembly Hall pre-renovation), I wouldn't get too worked up about improvements. However, we are blessed with such an ideal tailgating setup that only needs a few touch-ups to provide it with some actual character and atmosphere, and the beauty of Memorial Stadium (sans Horseshoe) needs no explanation.
I know that I've posted this before but the Campus Landscape Master Plan, released in 2022, addresses pretty much all of the comments about Grange Grove. Check it out and you can see the plan for the entire athletics district. Grange Grove near the stadium is to stay mostly open with a border of trees. Lot 31 across the street is to have soil restoration and tree canopy with a tree lined lane leading toward the Red Grange statue area. The thing to note is that this is a University long term plan with quite a few of these improvements being in a 5-10 year timeline, ie. 2027-2032 at the earliest.
It does sound like a boring paper but it is a quite interesting read. Check it out.
It does sound like a boring paper but it is a quite interesting read. Check it out.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Thank you for reminding me of that plan, but I think the bolded is still a really huge mistake. I'm sure the thought process is that it will simply be more logical and the best use of space to keep Grange Grove treeless on the inside ... but a cool atmosphere is very rarely created with that kind of mindset.
My guess is they didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it. Planting trees is also about the least expensive thing you can do.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
having no trees in the inside area of “Grange Grove “ makes no sense .
rename it “ Grange Prairie “ then
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
Reminder, Grange Grove is divided (with painted white lines) into prepaid tailgating spots that can be set up the night before the game. Most of those tailgaters put up pop up tents. It’s a huge moneymaker, with students on the north side and other fans on the south side. Trees in the middle of this area would complicate the divisions and cost the DIA money…
Amen 1970 John. Amen!!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I hear you, and I am sure this is the way the DIA views it ... I'm just saying I think their attitude lacks quite a bit of creativity and/or outside-the-box thinking. If you wanted to put trees in Grange Grove to immeasurably enhance the atmosphere and charm, you could easily adjust the lots (perhaps having them in more of a snake pattern than a boring grid, for example) to fit the same number of tailgaters in that area. And that's kind of my point ... we are prioritizing the most black-and-white, utilitarian POV with Grange Grove rather than doing everything possible to create a unique atmosphere, and it just sort of bums me out.
While I agree with the idea in isolation that more trees in Grange Grove would improve the aura and tailgating environment, I wonder if a major consideration in the decision to make Grange Grove largely treeless is the need to preserve sightlines toward the unique exterior architecture of the stadium - particularly the columns.
As cool as a stadium among a grove of trees looks (see UNC's Kenan Memorial Stadium below), you know what you don't find when searching for pictures of a stadium like that? ANY pictures of the exterior of the stadium taken from the ground.
Just something to think about. I think most of us appreciate the architecture and symbolism of the stadium, so caution should be taken when considering improvements that could diminish either of those qualities.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I would not call it a stupid policy. Very few arenas/stadiums would ever let you leave for a period of time and then come back in at a later time. This seems like it would lead to a logistical nightmare with little to no upside as well as harm concession sales. To me, a stupid policy would be allowing fans to leave and then re-enter the stadium at a later time (unless there was an extraordinary reason).
Why would you be leaving the stadium to begin with? Go back to tailgating/get free drinks? There is only 20 minutes between the halves, so it is not like there is much time to do anything if you left and get back in time.
Those leaving at the half are not likely to want to go back in for the second half, IMO. Not to mention, given the concessions and alcohol sales now, why would the DIA want to incentivize people to leave the stadium? I think a fan can devote 3 hours to their team. I say come and stay the whole game (watch the band at half, go to bathroom/get food and then get back to seats for second half kickoff) and then go to your post-game tailgate after the game ends.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
IAA engineer. Former.
It's doable but expensive. When OSU lowered the field of Ohio Stadium during it's reno c. 2000 to remove the track and take seats down to the sidelines, they built a concrete bathtub around and under it. The lowered field fell below the water table and the surface of the adjacent Olentangy River, which runs ~ 100 yards away from the west side of the stadium, separated from it by a massive levee.
Same construction method used to build the original World Trade Center in the early '70s. Requires lots of $$$.
For stadium nerds like me, here's an interesting article about that, and also about how engineers rerouted the river back in the early 1920s to build the stadium in the first place.
Lost Columbus: Ohio Stadium’s Construction Forced a Partial Reroute of the Olentangy River
Before the Ohio State University Buckeyes could play their first football game at the Horseshoe, builders had to fill in the river’s eastern channel.
www.columbusmonthly.com
Also this:
“Because the Olentangy River is just to the west of the site, we were basically lowering the field to below the water table,” said John Peterkord, Senior Project Manager for the Ohio Stadium renovation. “What we ended up doing is putting in a slurry wall, along the perimeter of the field, all the way down to bedrock – varying in depth from 30 feet to 60 feet in some places. The purpose was to basically create a bathtub and keep water migrating down to the river from getting underneath the field. An underground pumping system was also installed to assist with irrigation.”
Consider This One Lucky Horseshoe: Renovated Ohio Stadium Gets Hunter Products | Hunter Industries
Consider This One Lucky Horseshoe: Renovated Ohio Stadium Gets Hunter Products
www.hunterindustries.com
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
IAA engineer. Former.
It's doable but expensive. When OSU lowered the field of Ohio Stadium during it's reno c. 2000 to remove the track and take seats down to the sidelines, they built a concrete bathtub around and under it. The lowered field fell below the water table and the surface of the adjacent Olentangy River, which runs ~ 100 yards away from the west side of the stadium, separated from it by a massive levee.
Same construction method used to build the original World Trade Center in the early '70s. Requires lots of $$$.
For stadium nerds like me, here's an interesting article about that, and also about how engineers rerouted the river back in the early 1920s to build the stadium in the first place.
Lost Columbus: Ohio Stadium’s Construction Forced a Partial Reroute of the Olentangy River
Before the Ohio State University Buckeyes could play their first football game at the Horseshoe, builders had to fill in the river’s eastern channel.www.columbusmonthly.com
Also this:
“Because the Olentangy River is just to the west of the site, we were basically lowering the field to below the water table,” said John Peterkord, Senior Project Manager for the Ohio Stadium renovation. “What we ended up doing is putting in a slurry wall, along the perimeter of the field, all the way down to bedrock – varying in depth from 30 feet to 60 feet in some places. The purpose was to basically create a bathtub and keep water migrating down to the river from getting underneath the field. An underground pumping system was also installed to assist with irrigation.”
Consider This One Lucky Horseshoe: Renovated Ohio Stadium Gets Hunter Products | Hunter Industries
Consider This One Lucky Horseshoe: Renovated Ohio Stadium Gets Hunter Products
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Guilty as charged. Fully premeditated. And Elizabeth Hurley has better legs than I do.
Also: props on the orange-and-blue Austin Powers jacket-shirt pairing.
The next time you're sitting in the east or west balcony and it's rocking like it did in 2000 when I last sat there, reserve a kind thought for the civil and mechanical engineers whose careful calculations are literally holding you up there in the sky.
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Now THIS is a great point, and I think that is an excellent argument. This isn't some "but it makes more logical sense to do it this way"-type of argument that I kind of roll my eyes at ... it has gameday experience and whatnot in mind. The exterior of Memorial Stadium is uniquely beautiful (well, at least on the west and east sides, lol...), and I think that is something worth preserving. I wish we could put in trees that only grew to a maximum height!
I have actually had those kind thoughts several times while in the stadium, but it's when I am sitting under the overhang. I suppose it would be at least a quick goodbye...Guilty as charged. Fully premeditated. And Elizabeth Hurley has better legs than I do.
Also: props on the orange-and-blue Austin Powers jacket-shirt pairing.
The next time you're sitting in the east or west balcony and it's rocking like it did in 2000 when I last sat there, reserve a kind thought for the civil and mechanical engineers whose careful calculations are literally holding you up there in the sky.
IANAA but you surely could. There are many species of trees that grow to a modest level. I've got a 30+ year old crabapple (not recommending this type, we don't want little crabapples everywhere in the Grove, just an example) in my front yard that doesn't get to my roofline (2-story Colonial).Now THIS is a great point, and I think that is an excellent argument. This isn't some "but it makes more logical sense to do it this way"-type of argument that I kind of roll my eyes at ... it has gameday experience and whatnot in mind. The exterior of Memorial Stadium is uniquely beautiful (well, at least on the west and east sides, lol...), and I think that is something worth preserving. I wish we could put in trees that only grew to a maximum height!
In fact I've recently posted it here, there it is right behind the flag. #TeamTree
For gosh sakes Robert (ALionEye) is a landscape architect - this should be right up his alley.
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There were some games in the mid 80s when that east balcony swayed like a pirate ship ride at the amusement park. I'm thankful for those calculations since I was sitting below that undulating mass of steel and concrete.Guilty as charged. Fully premeditated. And Elizabeth Hurley has better legs than I do.
Also: props on the orange-and-blue Austin Powers jacket-shirt pairing.
The next time you're sitting in the east or west balcony and it's rocking like it did in 2000 when I last sat there, reserve a kind thought for the civil and mechanical engineers whose careful calculations are literally holding you up there in the sky.
Get 20,000 more people in there regularly and enclose the stadium.
