We created a student ghetto and then complain when students don’t show up.
What would you do to improve Memorial Stadium?
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Being at the game yesterday made me think of this thread. Safe to say I probably should seek help.
Having said that I came away with a few things, most of which has already been covered because this thread is...substantial. In a good way.
1.A. Having the students located where they are sucks. They are easily the loudest section all game and the only place that gets close to a more traditionally raucous stadium.
1.B. Seeing the number of students leave at halftime was disappointing. Though to be fair, it was noticeable all across stadium. 21-9 does not warrant leaving a game, especially an Illinois game where who the hell knows what will happen.
2.A. The SEZ/Horseshoe... SEZ needs to be closer to the field. As has been beaten to death there is just so much wasted space there along with untapped potential.
2.B. However! I have done a 180 on the Horseshoe. I was full on the "demolish and re-do" bandwagon. But having seen it in person again and actually thinking about it I found a certain beauty to it. Between seeing the trees beyond the stadium, seeing Assembly Hall beyond the trees, and seeing West into Champaign with the sun setting it was just gorgeous.
3. My personal pet peeve is now directed towards the space surrounding the student section by the Northeast and Northwest towers. The space is just so enormous (width, height, depth) and there is no beautifying background like behind the horseshoe. I would love to have seating built there and would prefer that over doing anything extensive to the horshoe. I found this picture below that illustrates where I'm talking about.
Hilarious enough it came from an 8 year old post here.
4. I know it has been a point of contention, but I didn't have an issue with cell network connectivity. 5G the entire game. Not sure if it's something that has been fixed or hasn't really been an issue but people wanted to complain about something.
5. Overall though I was pretty impressed with the atmosphere yesterday. Winning cures a lot, so to some extent these complaints/suggestions have just become the proverbial cherry-on-top.
Having said that I came away with a few things, most of which has already been covered because this thread is...substantial. In a good way.
1.A. Having the students located where they are sucks. They are easily the loudest section all game and the only place that gets close to a more traditionally raucous stadium.
1.B. Seeing the number of students leave at halftime was disappointing. Though to be fair, it was noticeable all across stadium. 21-9 does not warrant leaving a game, especially an Illinois game where who the hell knows what will happen.
2.A. The SEZ/Horseshoe... SEZ needs to be closer to the field. As has been beaten to death there is just so much wasted space there along with untapped potential.
2.B. However! I have done a 180 on the Horseshoe. I was full on the "demolish and re-do" bandwagon. But having seen it in person again and actually thinking about it I found a certain beauty to it. Between seeing the trees beyond the stadium, seeing Assembly Hall beyond the trees, and seeing West into Champaign with the sun setting it was just gorgeous.
3. My personal pet peeve is now directed towards the space surrounding the student section by the Northeast and Northwest towers. The space is just so enormous (width, height, depth) and there is no beautifying background like behind the horseshoe. I would love to have seating built there and would prefer that over doing anything extensive to the horshoe. I found this picture below that illustrates where I'm talking about.
Hilarious enough it came from an 8 year old post here.
4. I know it has been a point of contention, but I didn't have an issue with cell network connectivity. 5G the entire game. Not sure if it's something that has been fixed or hasn't really been an issue but people wanted to complain about something.
5. Overall though I was pretty impressed with the atmosphere yesterday. Winning cures a lot, so to some extent these complaints/suggestions have just become the proverbial cherry-on-top.
and 69 others
“Timeout South Carolina”
I would give the home team a 14 point lead to start each game.
Something interesting worth mentioning (I think). The DIA knows about most of these issues and wants to fix them. It's just a matter of having the resources to do so. That makes this thread different than the basketball uniforms thread, for example, where the problem and the solution seem so obvious but there's no indication that it's even on the DIA's radar.
illinifan4249
- Space Coast, FL
I think there would be a market for North Endzone seats for non-students. I have sat with the same group in 207 for the last 10 years and we were thinking if they opened up the NEZ that would be our preference where to sit next year assuming it is similarly priced as 207. Also if the band stays there it wouldn't surprise me to see people who come for the band want to sit there.
They're better seats than the SEZ. Moving the students to the main would make a very negligible difference. A big difference on this board, but that's about it regarding any major benefit. Probably the biggest difference would be the big hole shown in their seating on non-major games starting around the 4th Q (or earlier).
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
What?! The students are literally in the area of the stadium that traps the least noise. When we sat in West Main in 2022, Purdue’s fan section and band literally sounded louder than our students or band specifically because their noise was trapped by the balcony overhang.
It would make a very meaningful difference for our gameday atmosphere, not sure how that can be debated.
I remember thinking in the late’60s that the East—main and balcony—was for students, and west was for civilians. And East was the “home” side
But here’s an idea to satisfy the season ticket holders in East Main: Let them keep their seats—in the new student section. Make them non-transferable, because you can’t have anyone not in on the deal sitting there. Heck, those could be the best seats in the house, in the raucous student section.
But here’s an idea to satisfy the season ticket holders in East Main: Let them keep their seats—in the new student section. Make them non-transferable, because you can’t have anyone not in on the deal sitting there. Heck, those could be the best seats in the house, in the raucous student section.
Someone pushed a wrong button. They have an Excel spreadsheet where everything is timed to (literally) the second. That wasn’t intentional.
Starting 2025, ban all players who emphatically point endzoneward after getting a first down.
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