Last October, Josh Whitman stood in the Memorial Stadium press box to announce another major renovation to Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
Now that plan has been shelved.
After touring many other college football facilities throughout the country, Whitman and Lovie Smith have decided to build a “Football Performance Center” separate from the south end zone project.
The building will be built on the northeast side of the stadium, near or connected to the Irwin Indoor Practice facility. The standalone building would be built in 2018 with an opening date in 2019, with a price tag of $60-80 Million.
That however, isn’t good news for fans. The replacement of the horseshoe and renovation of the east main stands is off the table for now.
The horseshoe dates to 1930 and has seen minimal improvements since its construction. The east main stands also lag behind improvements made on the west side of the stadium.
Illini AD Whitman will have to deal with the south end zone eventually. When announcing the renovations in October, he said that structural issues with the horseshoe would need addressing.
In a wide-ranging interview, Whitman also said that he is weighing upgrades to facilities for Baseball, Gymnastics, Indoor Track, and Soccer.
