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Football
Memorial Stadium, Home of Fighting Illini Football
Fan Guide to Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium was built in 1923 as a memorial to Illinois men and women who gave their lives for their country during World War I. Their names appear on 200 columns that support the east and west sides of the stadium. In May of 2002, the University Alumni Association began a campaign to fund a veterans' memorial project which recognizes the 1,087 who have lost their lives in battle in World War II, the Second Nicaraguan Campaign, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Lebanon and Desert Storm.
Donations of approximately $1.7 million by more than 200,000 students, alumni and other friends of the University made the construction of Memorial Stadium possible. The Athletic Association (now known as the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics) later allocated $509,805 to the project for the construction of the south stands and other stadium additions. The drive was needed to add spaces for the more than 30,000 fans who were turned away from games.
The stadium opened Nov. 3, 1923, when Illinois defeated Chicago, 7-0, in a Homecoming victory. The stadium was dedicated officially Oct. 18, 1924, a day during which Illinois not only defeated Michigan, 39-14, for a Homecoming victory, but Harold E. "Red" Grange accounted for six touchdowns in what remains the single greatest performance in Memorial Stadium history. In the first 12 minutes of that game, Grange ran for a total of 265 yards and scored four times. He had his hands on the ball only six times and left the field before the end of the first quarter.
In the third quarter, Grange returned and ran 13 yards for his fifth touchdown, and in the final period he passed to Marion Leonard for his sixth score of the day. In 42 minutes of playing time, Grange gained a total of 402 yards, carried the ball 21 times and also completed six passes for 64 yards. Legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg called it "the most spectacular single-handed performance ever delivered in a major game."
The 1994 season represented the 70th anniversary of Memorial Stadium's dedication and the historic Illinois-Michigan game. To celebrate the event, Red Grange's wife, Mrs. Margaret Grange, attended the Oct. 22 Fighting Illini game against Michigan. She helped dedicate the Grange Rock, which sits at the north end of Zuppke Field near the Illinois locker room, as a tribute to her husband. The rock came from the same Indiana stone quarry that produced the granite columns of the stadium.
During the 1980s, Memorial Stadium saw 27 consecutive sellouts. The single-game attendance record is 78,297 for a 1984 victory over Missouri. Permanent seating capacity of Memorial Stadium, following the Illinois Renaissance project, is 62,870. Approximately 70 percent of Memorial Stadium seats are between the goal posts with 18,000 in the main stands and 10,000 in the east balcony; 10,000 in the main stands, 3,700 in the balcony and 2,300 in the premium seating on the west side. The north end zone seats 5,000 fans and there are 12,000 in the south stand horseshoe.
Installation of the first artificial turf and a field lighting system was made possible through a 1974 Golden Anniversary campaign drive. The lights have made games and practices possible after sunset. Even though the field is lit only from the towers on the four corners of Memorial Stadium, the light intensity is easily sufficient for major network telecasts of night games. The lights were upgraded as a part of the recent Illinois Renaissance project.
Other stadium improvements over the years include the 1967 installation of a press box, located at the top of the west balcony; construction of the Ray Eliot Varsity Room, a training table and trophy display area at the southeast corner of the stadium that was built with funds donated by friends of the Athletic Association; a million-dollar stadium renovation project in 1972, which included the addition of aluminum seating and other improvements; and a 1977 renovation of the varsity locker rooms and training facilities.
In April 1985, work on $7 million worth of improvements began. Out of this project came installation of new artificial turf and expansion of the football headquarters in the northeast corner of the stadium. AstroTurf was installed in the stadium in 1985 and the portion of it between the goal lines was replaced in the fall of 1989 after vandals burned a 40-yard swath in the middle of the field in the early-morning hours of Sept. 24. Employees from AstroTurf Industries began removing the destroyed pad and turf two days later, and worked around the clock to install a new surface in time for Illinois' scheduled Oct. 7 game against Ohio State.
An air-tight vacuum dome completely covering the field of Memorial Stadium, more commonly known as "The Bubble," was inflated for the first time in December, 1985, for the purpose of practice during the winter months. It was used for the last time during the spring season of 2000 when the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility was completed.
In 1986, Memorial Stadium was nominated among 62 other sites to become a national historic landmark which included Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, the Rose Bowl and Yale Bowl.
Memorial Stadium underwent still more major renovations between November of 1991 and August of 1992. The $18 million project included the replacement of all the concrete bleachers in both upper decks, as well as the replacement of the top 25 rows of the main stands. The stadium's electrical and drainage systems were also brought up to code and new restroom facilities, for both men and women, were installed in the corner towers and great halls. The project was financed through the issuance of revenue bonds by the UI Auxiliary Facilities System.
Before the start of the 1994 season, a new color matrix scoreboard was added to the north end of Zuppke Field. That board was replaced with a state-of-the-art video-replay scoreboard in 2002.
Renovations to the stadium surface came in the summer of 2001 with the replacement of the field's AstroTurf with AstroPlay, an artificial surface with a grass-like, non-abrasive, polyethylene fiber matrix, filled with special rubber granules. The Illini played on the new surface for the first time in the 2001 home opener against Northern Illinois.
Construction took place in the winter of 2002 on the expansion of the football complex. Locker rooms and meeting rooms were expanded and a new sports medicine facility was built on the first floor of the Irwin complex.
After the 2006 season, construction began on a $160 million renovation project known as Illinois Renaissance. New permanent stands were completed in August of 2007, in time to accommodate a new student and band seating area. The remainder of the stadium work, on the east and west sides, was essentially completed in September of 2008, in time for the start of the home season. Among the updates on the west side were the addition of luxury suites, indoor and outdoor club areas and a refurbishment of the concourses. An outdoor club space was added under the west balcony: the Colonnades Club features outdoor chairback seats for game spectators in a weather-protected area as well as indoor space for game day hospitality. A three-level structure was built aobe the west balcony to house two floors of suites and an indoor club space, as well as a new press box for media seating and game day operations. The indoor club, which seats 200, has been named the "77 Club" to honor the retired number of Illinois gridiron legend Harold "Red" Grange.
Other elements of the Illinois Renaissance included a major expansion of the football team's weight training facility and the addition of a recruiting center that overlooks both the weight training area and the north endzone of Zuppke Field. In addition, a new FieldTurf playing surface was installed at Memorial Stadium prior to the 2008 season.
The entire Renaissance project was conducted while keeping the stadium in a functioning capacity. The architectural firm HNTB of Kansas City, Mo., designed the renovation and Hunt Construction Managers handled the construction.
Illinois' record in Memorial Stadium is 236-200-14 entering the 2008 season.
Memorial Stadium has been the site of many other events, including the first-ever "Farm Aid," the IHSA Football Championships (since 1999) and Chicago Bears home games (in 2002, while Soldier Field was being renovated). Farm Aid was organized by Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and was held September 22, 1985, before a crowd of 80,000 people. It raised more than $7 million for America's family farmers. Performers included Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and many more.
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