What would you do to improve Memorial Stadium?

Fighter of the Nightman · 2024-11-04T11:44:28-0600

fatt lacosse said:
Saw some complaining in the postgame thread about the student section. I really hate the north end zone situation. That block has 5,000 capacity and if 4,900 show up you still see those corners where it's empty and then it's "why can't the students show up?!"

I don't know what you do with that north end zone grandstand. They're not very desirable seats. Putting the students there has really destroyed the call-and-response I-L-L I-N-I chant that used to go from east to west.

I haven't heard from Bielema about that in a while but he needs to keep advocating for putting the students back on the east sideline. He definitely has the clout to affect that kind of change.

Nevertheless, moving the students back to the east sideline raises the question of what to do with that block of 5,000 north end zone seats. I don't have an easy answer. The aesthetics of it are terrible.

I have actually heard from people that they're decent seats ... you are close to the field and yet elevated. It is simply, as you said, an awful place for students in every way, shape or form unless one is an RG-type that literally WANTED the students sectioned off from the main atmosphere, lol. I mean, this is not a bad angle...

... it's just a moronic place to put students (and the band, for that matter) if you want a good gameday environment. I don't think RG particularly cared about that at all, but Bret clearly does. I, like you, hope he gets back on that crusade with improved attendance.

As for what to do with the NEZ, it seems like a perfect family friendly area to me. Sell some type of "family pack" deals that include concessions or whatever, and a lot of people would enjoy the ability to potentially spread out. Conversely, the students pack together, and unless the section is 100% full, it looks like crap. The DIA and high-dollar ticket holders survived back before 2007, correct? Move the damn students back and deal with the other consequences.

Fighter of the Nightman · 2024-11-04T11:57:08-0600

Illini2010-11 said:
I absolutely do not want the visitor section controlling the noise going into one of the end zones. Send the visitors in purgatory of the corners of the East Balcony.

Yep, this is one of the weirdest things about MS to me, haha ... are we like stuck up our own a$$ about being these classy hospitable hosts or something?! This should literally be fixed for the NEXT HOME GAME, lol (only kind of joking). Put visiting fans where they belong at an intimidating stadium ... where they affect the game the least!

Illini2010-11 · 2024-11-04T12:00:51-0600

Fighter of the Nightman said:
I have actually heard from people that they're decent seats ... you are close to the field and yet elevated. It is simply, as you said, an awful place for students in every way, shape or form unless one is an RG-type that literally WANTED the students sectioned off from the main atmosphere, lol. I mean, this is not a bad angle...

I was a sophomore when the NEZ was opened. I loved my time in those seats. You could see plays develop and never had an issue telling if a field goal was good or not. Depth perception was not the greatest, but that was a trade-off compared to being in the east or west stands. The bigger issue is if having students located in NEZ is creating a home field advantage. The initial purpose was to make one end zone intimidating to go into, but I don't think it has worked out like designed.

MoCoMdIllini · 2024-11-04T13:29:18-0600

Fighter of the Nightman said:
Yep, this is one of the weirdest things about MS to me, haha ... are we like stuck up our own a$$ about being these classy hospitable hosts or something?! This should literally be fixed for the NEXT HOME GAME, lol (only kind of joking). Put visiting fans where they belong at an intimidating stadium ... where they affect the game the least!

We sat in the red highlighted (heh) seats for a game once. You can actually see really well from up there, but yes your noise goes up into the sky.

Having them in the corner of the horseshoe is really stupid.

Fighter of the Nightman · 2024-11-04T14:08:25-0600

MoCoMdIllini said:
We sat in the red highlighted (heh) seats for a game once. You can actually see really well from up there, but yes your noise goes up into the sky.

Having them in the corner of the horseshoe is really stupid.

I've said this before (perhaps way too many times), but I brought the wife down for the disaster vs. Purdue in 2022. We sat in West Main, directly across from where the visiting section sits. I am not exaggerating whatsoever when I say Purdue's band was twice as loud as ours to the vast majority of the stadium, as their noise echoed off of (A) the brick column tower and (B) the upper deck overhang above them. Meanwhile, the Marching Illini and our student section were QUITE literally shouting into the wind, lol. It's a mind-bogglingly dumb setup, and the only explanation for why it has not been changed is lazy complacency. For God's sake, people can't even use the excuse they use for why the students have not been moved (that the East Main seats are revenue generators and therefore we have to keep the students in their island in the sky ... that is so Ron Guenther if I have ever heard it, haha), as this is actually the OPPOSITE situation! Nobody wants to sit in the corner of the East Balcony, and the current visitor seats could be sold to actual Illini fans for decent prices.

Battle89 · 2024-11-04T14:11:14-0600

fuddrules said:
Last weekend, I took in the Northwestern at Iowa game. BTW, the new QB, Sullivan is much better than McNamara. Mc was hurt during NW game, they switched, and Sullivan took over. Whatever Iowa was doing playing McNamara? Good lord. Anyway, Iowa is one tough team. They started the year slowly but have really come on as of late, at least at home.

Back the stadium. I have to say, I’m so much more like an Iowa fan than Illinois, I hate to say it. I sat near the top of the new (2019) end zone seats. Up comes Large Linda (LL) and her large father. Before she sits down, she apologizes before she says anything. She’s sorry she’s wild and very loud and crazy. I tell her no problem; I won’t have a problem with her craziness.

Then she starts asking who we were fans of. I tell her Illinois. She says that’s fine, we don’t play Illinois this year, she’s just worried about Nebraska and doesn’t like the Cornhuskers. She sees I have a cell phone and throughout the game is asking me for Nebraska updates. Later she’s asking about any upsets. I tell her Vandy is close to TX but it’s very early. She asks who is playing QB for TX, Ewers or Manning. Catches me a little off guard, I look and tell her it’s Ewers. She really wasn’t that wild. My wife gets pissed I’m talking to LL , at length.

But,…..

Sitting next to LL and her dad, we have plenty of room. Plenty. Not like Memorial Stadium. Here are my feet at Memorial Stadium vs. MN – with 2 tickets, just for me. So I pay the ticket fee twice for my feet -
View attachment 37103

My wife sits with a friend in the Balcony and I take our other two tickets, just for me, because, this is the room I get. The guy that sits next to me is always more nervous than me, manspreads like a champ, squirms like a 2-year-old and when the games were hot and we are wearing shorts, his leg bounces all over my leg, sweat and all, and he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it? Doesn’t even notice. WTF? Can I just watch the effing game without some dude basically sitting in my lap? I only spend about half my time in these seats, most standing. Every week, same. I wander around Memorial Stadium some and then around the 4th Q, the balcony clears out a little, my wife texts me and I go sit up top. Ahhhh, Freedom!

Earlier I talked about LL wanting updates. Did you know, I could watch IL at Oregon on my phone via YouTube TV (Ugh!) while simultaneously getting all the college score updates. No problem with Wi-Fi with a packed Kinnick Stadium? I had no idea that was possible. It is. I don’t know how.

Did you know, I could get past LL with no problem getting out of the row? No tripping over the brackets that hold the bleachers down, no walking on the bleachers, no sticking my in someone’s face as I walk past, no stumbling onto the shoulders of the person sitting in the bleacher section below me, no making others have to clear out and stand in the aisle to let me get out of the row. I just simply got up, LL moved her knees to the side, as did her father, and I walked out of the row. Who knew there was such a place in a college football stadium.

Did you know I bought a Swarm Exile beer (actually 2), including a 20% tip for the org hosting the concession stand, for $10 per beer. $10.06 to be exact. It was probably a 20oz tap pour. First beer there was 1 person in line in front of me and the second beer it was just me. At Iowa, not BYU. Letting that beer loose down the drain also wasn’t a problem.
View attachment 37104

I do think Iowa fans really watch more of the game, maybe that’s why the ancillary parts weren’t crowded during the game? At Illinois, to many, watching the game is secondary. Except of course the section I sit in, then everyone wants to sit in that section (that’s why I go sit elsewhere). Reseat away lllini-ERA, I'm good with it. It can't be worse.

Did you know the people sitting near the top of those endzone seats at Iowa really like them. LL raved about the seats and her section. She's made friend with the ladies in front of her (also....not small - think East German). I paid ~95/ticket on the secondary market. One of the cheapest tickets in the house that day and they provide a fairly good view of the game. You can kinda see in the pic above the view (and the ladies). I tried to hide the Hawkeye stuff, unsuccessfully.

Anyway, when the south endzone gets rebuilt at the beloved, maybe 2040 or....2050, look no further than to our west, Kinnick. It’s my kinda seating. Zero complaints and very fan friendly.

Did you know, I agree completely? Well said.

Shief · 2024-11-04T18:52:04-0600

Fighter of the Nightman said:
Final spam post, I promise ... I'm just trying to avoid thinking about the Minnesota loss, and I have the morning off of work. I was looking at other stadiums around the country, and - NOT necessarily taking into account the rest of the stadium - these were some of the more interesting end zone seat designs that we could maybe take inspiration from for the Horseshoe renovation. I tried to prioritize some that have not been posted as often (e.g., Iowa). When taking into account my best estimate for cost and a presumed difficulty filling more than 61k seats in the near future, these are roughly in order from least ambitious to most ambitious. Once again for context, the Horseshoe (while a small structure) actually seats almost 10,000 people ... so that is theoretically what we have to work with before even touching any other area of the stadium.

Illinois: Capacity N/A
This is an original rendering from way back before the 2006-2007 renovation. It's honestly hard to tell what the specific changes would have been, but it pretty clearly brings the Horseshoe seats down to field level, and it looks like it extends them back a bit to give some extra height (the Horseshoe seats certainly do not go that far back from the towers, for example). I am not sure what the plans would have been for the exterior, but this at least solves our current issue somewhat with minimal cost.

TCU: 2,500 capacity
This is the "punt on capacity and care about architecture" option, lol. Keep the Horseshoe seats as is (but of course bring them closer to the field) and help entrap the noise of the stadium by building some type of brick/column structure behind those seats, likely on either side of the scoreboard.

Arkansas: 4,800 capacity
This is is a good, relatively simple, low-capacity option that adds some revenue-generating suites to the mix. A key component of any "real" renovation that involves substantial costs will be making the new SEZ seats genuinely desirable.

Utah: 6,049 capacity
Something like this is a bit more ambitious, but it would allow us to probably keep the scoreboard where it is and build capacity around it, gradually sloping up to meet the height of the towers on either side.

Illinois: Capacity N/A
Our original plan floated in 2016 or so (and later abandoned) would honestly still be an absolute home run.

Fighter, I greatly appreciate the detail that you provided on this topic today.

Personally, I am not a fan of the ~2016 SEZ plan, there is something about it that just feels disjointed and contrary to the original stadium concept to me. If we could find a way to take a page out of the ~2006 SEZ setup, I was in school then, and add luxury boxes above, like at Clemson Memorial Stadium, I think that we could make that work.

Also, I go back to my previous post and I would like to see the NEZ renovated to add seats at ground level. I am thinking a straight line setup with ~25x rows from the field level up to a walkway. Then, there could be another ~25x rows behind, over the road and partially over the ARC, that could enclose the stadium and provide a sense of height. We would also move the main scoreboard to the NEZ and have ribbon boards elsewhere. If I can get some time, I might try to sketch something out, I do not have access to CAD or architecture software right now and would have to draw instead.

Illini IndyCar Fan · 2024-11-04T23:49:27-0600

Fighter of the Nightman said:
I have actually heard from people that they're decent seats ... you are close to the field and yet elevated. It is simply, as you said, an awful place for students in every way, shape or form unless one is an RG-type that literally WANTED the students sectioned off from the main atmosphere, lol. I mean, this is not a bad angle...

... it's just a moronic place to put students (and the band, for that matter) if you want a good gameday environment. I don't think RG particularly cared about that at all, but Bret clearly does. I, like you, hope he gets back on that crusade with improved attendance.

As for what to do with the NEZ, it seems like a perfect family friendly area to me. Sell some type of "family pack" deals that include concessions or whatever, and a lot of people would enjoy the ability to potentially spread out. Conversely, the students pack together, and unless the section is 100% full, it looks like crap. The DIA and high-dollar ticket holders survived back before 2007, correct? Move the damn students back and deal with the other consequences.

IDK if families would like the NEZ experience. Those seats look directly into the sun and don't get shade until after most of the east and east balcony seats are already well shaded.

Also, the visual when the NEZ is less than ~80% packed would generate hundreds of pages of bickering here about what needs to be done to make the stadium look less embarrassingly empty on TV. The NEZ gets a lot of TV time in the background of red zone/FG/PAT attempts, and having lots of bare metal empty would look absolutely terrible in those shots. Those seats are going to be hard to sell, and they're probably one of the highest priorities to fill for program visibility reasons.

Might as well keep the students there.

TheDrinkinLincoln · 2024-11-05T07:02:35-0600

Illini IndyCar Fan said:
IDK if families would like the NEZ experience. Those seats look directly into the sun and don't get shade until after most of the east and east balcony seats are already well shaded.

Also, the visual when the NEZ is less than ~80% packed would generate hundreds of pages of bickering here about what needs to be done to make the stadium look less embarrassingly empty on TV. The NEZ gets a lot of TV time in the background of red zone/FG/PAT attempts, and having lots of bare metal empty would look absolutely terrible in those shots. Those seats are going to be hard to sell, and they're probably one of the highest priorities to fill for program visibility reasons.

Might as well keep the students there.

The NEZ is the a absolute worst seating in the entire stadium. I am not shocked students don't show up and pack it especially for day games. It's too far from the field, as you mentioned you are looking directly at the sun during all day games, it's segregated from the rest of the field. When we stuck the students there we decided to take them out of the game. I don't know what can be done to fix it but absolutely no one wants to sit there. I would remove those seats and put another jumbotron or more box seats and offices.

Students should either be between the 25 and 45 yard line on the visiting side to impact the opponent or in the horse shoe (which also needs to be closer to the field. Band can stay on the NEZ as it seems a logical place to lead music and chants from.

Fighter of the Nightman · 2024-11-05T07:23:47-0600

Illini IndyCar Fan said:
IDK if families would like the NEZ experience. Those seats look directly into the sun and don't get shade until after most of the east and east balcony seats are already well shaded.

Also, the visual when the NEZ is less than ~80% packed would generate hundreds of pages of bickering here about what needs to be done to make the stadium look less embarrassingly empty on TV. The NEZ gets a lot of TV time in the background of red zone/FG/PAT attempts, and having lots of bare metal empty would look absolutely terrible in those shots. Those seats are going to be hard to sell, and they're probably one of the highest priorities to fill for program visibility reasons.

Might as well keep the students there.

The one essential point of a student section is to be loud and positively impact the gameday environment. They just simply can’t do that as well in the NEZ, and keeping them there hopefully won’t even be considered as an option going forward. The seating logistics of having them in East Main were just fine pre-2007.

Dkayak · 2024-11-05T08:26:32-0600

TheDrinkinLincoln said:
I don't know what can be done to fix it but absolutely no one wants to sit there. I would remove those seats and put another jumbotron or more box seats and offices.

Last week the horseshoe sold out early while there were nearly 1000 unsold seats the east balcony. Why did folks choose the Horseshoe over the mid-field balcony seats? Was it 1) lower pricing or 2) proximity to the field with superior sight lines? Seems like it’s simply priced attractively for what it offers.

Supply and demand —- fill the NEZ by pricing those seats low enough to fill them. Make it a rowdy party place? Or donate seats to deserving groups? Maybe install stadium seating and add superior concessions (lots of roving vendors). Get creative and fill it with a noisy vibe that could become infectious to the rest of the stadium. Create something with value to a rowdy but frugal segment of the fan base. It’s an asset, not a liability. Put it to good use.