Illinois football opens in a construction zone

Leave the hard hat and work boots at home.

But when Illinois hosts Western Illinois at Memorial Stadium Saturday, the Illini begin a six-game home football schedule in the middle of a construction zone. The $121-million stadium renovation already included the completion of a 5,000-seat north end zone grandstand that caps the stadium.

The bulk of the project -- a massive three-story press box that houses suites, club seating and work areas for the media -- won't be completed until August. So workers have been overhauling a stadium while also preparing for up to 57,078 visitors for home games this fall.

"We're ready to go,'' said Warren Hood, an Illinois associate athletic director who spearheads the project. "We've made so much progress in the last two or three weeks. There's a sense of excitement. You couldn't have timed it better with coach (Ron) Zook and the recruiting he's done.

"We're making all these transformations to this great stadium. Combining those two things, there's a buzz about Illinois football that hasn't been around for a while.''

Crews stripped precast concrete from the west main balcony, leaving steel trusses exposed, and two cranes tower more than 190 feet above the project. Perched atop the upper deck like a bird house, the press box will hold the only people allowed in the west balcony this fall. Meanwhile, the north grandstand showed the new additions will blend with the old stadium.

"We're going to (one day) play in a shiny new stadium,'' Zook said. "For the people who have been here a lot longer than I, it's going to be a brand new stadium but have all the old mystique. Hopefully, there will be a brand beautiful new football team that's shiny.''

With the football stadium, there is tangible evidence of progress.

The first major renovation to the stadium since its construction in 1923 is funded by private donation and revenue derived from suites and club seating. The face-lift won't disturb the facility's architecture. Instead of creating a new exterior wall and working their way outside the stadium, Illinois officials were forced to build the press box, suites and club seating inside the stadium's current perimeter.

University architects wouldn't allow new construction to cover the collonades, since the stadium is a memorial to Illinois men and women who died in World War I. Thus, engineers were forced build a new stadium inside an old stadium.

"Structurally, it's a very big challenge,'' Hood said. "You're building a new structure and having to support an old structure, then tie into an old structure, then untie from the old structure. It's a back-and-forth sequence that's really difficult.

"We had to get to a certain place for the construction project to meet safety codes for the first game. That was Job 1.''

Seating capacity dropped from 69,249 last season, considering the loss of seating in the west main stand and balcony and addition of north stand seating. When completed next year, the stadium will seat roughly 64,000.

The Great West Hall has a permanent floor after concrete was poured in late summer. Concrete and steel in the mezzanine level provide needed structural support. But fans sitting the lower 40 rows of the west main grandstand must use portable bathrooms and temporary concession stands outside the stadium.

The 10,200 fans on the stadium's west side must pass through the Great West Hall, where construction workers labored Thursday morning to complete their tasks from working steel to sealing seams in the concrete.

Walkways from the north, south and west allow fans to pass through the construction staging area immediately west of the stadium. Temporary plywood walls created walkways in the Great West Hall to west stand seating.

"It feels like a warehouse in there now,'' Hood said. "We'll continue with construction everyday that we're not playing a football game.''

Foundations were built this summer after drilling 172 holes at 60 feet deep. There were unforeseen problems, such as a measurement 2 1/2-inches off from original drawings that created additional engineering headaches. There was also the day when workers found uncharted power cables from the 1920s.

"We haven't found Jimmy Hoffa,'' Hood said.

Crews examined surfaces to remove any loose concrete from the earlier demolition of the west hall and removal of the balcony concrete. Safety nets ensure no hidden debris falls on fans.

"We went through with a team and inspected every part of that stadium to make sure it's safe and we weren't going to have any problems,'' Hood said. "We'll go through (Thursday) with fire, police and code people to make sure again.''

The north grandstand has already passed inspection from the leaders of the Block I, the student cheering section. The permanent seating caps the stadium, provides a new home for students and likely changes the atmosphere on gameday.

Block I president Cody Bornsheuer, of Peoria, "was one of the most vocal critics'' when the university announced the students' move from the 30-yard line on the east main stand, he said. But after touring the new addition, the senior can't wait for the opener.

"It's definitely a lot more impressive than anyone thought it would be,'' Bornsheuer said. "I was pleasantly surprised. When I first heard about the project and saw plans, I wasn't all that impressed. My hope is that students go in with an open mind. I think it could be really huge on gameday.''

The section is sold out, and the noise generated from the grandstand could make it difficult for opponents to operate efficiently near the north end zone. The grandstand may also create other obstacles, such as changing wind patterns.

The Zuppke Wall, which honors former coach Bob Zuppke, was moved to front wall the north grandstand. The Grange Rock now rests near the tunnel leading from the Illini locker room. The stand is covered in red brick ("We call it Illini brick,'' Hood said) and capped with limestone.

The Block I and other students sit in the main section of 34 rows. The band sits in the middle three sections of a five-row lower tier. Recruits sit on the far eastern and western sections of the lower area.

A 30,000-square-foot weight room underneath the north stand bumped up the project's pricetag by $5 million. The area will also house a lounge where recruits and their families can watch the action from ground-level windows.

"Anything that you can show players and incoming recruits that you're putting in the money and investment in being the best add credence to what type of program you're running,'' said Illinois offensive coordinator and recruiting dymano Mike Locksley.

The school moved the scoreboard and replay screen to the stadium's south end behind the horseshoe. Temporary scoreboards placed on the stadium's turf will inform fans sitting in the horseshoe. The school will decide within a year about improvements to the horseshoe at the stadium's south end.

"That's the $30- to $50-million question,'' Hood said.

Better keep the hard hat close.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more Illini coverage, see Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .

Hints for attending the game Saturday

Arrive early. Parking lots open at 7 a.m.

Tickets already purchased can be picked up at will call windows at the Assembly Hall north box office. Anyone making a new ticket order can buy them at ticket booths set up on Kirby Avenue just south of the stadium.

Only fans with west main grandstand seats will be admitted on the stadium's west side. Fans sitting in the horseshoe or east grandstand should enter at those locations.

A free satellite parking lot is available at First and Goodwin. A $2 round trip bus ticket is available. The southeast Assembly Hall lot and the grass field between the softball and baseball diamonds are also single-game lots. Fans parking in the grass lots west of the stadium must enter off Oak Street.