The Univ. of Illinois yesterday announced "planned upgrades to the south end zone and east side" of 93-year-old Memorial Stadium, eight years after the last major renovation, according to Matt Daniels of the Champaign NEWS-GAZETTE. Work is "expected to be finished on the south end zone portion" by the summer of '19 and the east side in the summer of '20. The total cost of the project is expected to be $132M, "funded by private gifts and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' general fund." Renovations expected to take place "include a new home for all football operations in the south end zone, including locker rooms, training, recovery and sports medicine facilities along with meeting and office spaces and recruiting venues." The building will be "housed inside a new south grandstand, and work on the east main and balcony stands will feature new restrooms, concessions and elevators, along with enhanced fan accessibility and ADA seating." UI issued an RFP for architectural services in mid-September, and the school is "expected to choose an architect and engineering firm to complete plans and drawings" after that process has been completed (NEWS-GAZETTE.com, 10/3). The AP's David Mercer noted the school "would not sell naming rights as it did for the renovation of the basketball arena, now known as the State Farm Center" (AP, 10/3).
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: In Illinois, Loren Tate writes UI AD Josh Whitman has "thrown all the Illini chips into the nation’s recession-proof arms race for football facilities." While there are "no suites or luxury seating to help pay for it, the newest renovation will be bankrolled by donors ... plus ticket revenue and ever-increasing Big Ten media distributions." There also are "no state or institutional dollars, no tuition or student fees." For Whitman and first-year football coach Lovie Smith, these decisions "demonstrate a commitment toward building and supporting a gridiron winner" (Champaign NEWS-GAZETTE, 10/4).
