Vol. 22, No. 6, Sept. 19, 2002
Assembly Hall changes would add air conditioning, better seating
Craig
Chamberlain, News Editor
(217) 333-2894; cdchambe@illinois.edu
9/9/02
CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. — The Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
could see more than $60 million in improvements and additions during the next
few years if the university follows recommendations in a recently released
study. The next step will be to identify private funding for the project.
The study by Minneapolis-based Ellerbe Becket Architects & Engineers Inc.,
sponsored jointly by the Assembly Hall and the university’s Division of
Intercollegiate Athletics, evaluates the feasibility of modernizing the 39-year-old
Assembly Hall in line with standards set by newer multi-use and basketball facilities.
When the facility opened in 1963, it was ahead of its time in many ways, said
Gene Barton, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, who oversees the
Assembly Hall. "But today, it’s behind its time," he said, especially
in many ways related to customer service. In commissioning the study, "We
wanted to find out what we could do, and what it would cost," Barton said.
"Obviously, it’s not feasible to use students’ fees to pay for
such a massive project."
"We’ve got a building that’s got a tremendous history,"
said Kevin Ullestad, the Assembly Hall’s director. "But we needed
to look at how we can provide modern amenities and conveniences and prepare
the building for the next 30 years." The changes would improve the hall
as a basketball and multi-purpose facility, Ullestad said, and make it more
competitive in booking additional events. "It will put us on a level playing
field."
Recommended outside changes to the facility include an expanded entry lobby
on the west side of the building; the addition of four small, two-story "satellite"
structures connected at points around the building, as one means of providing
additional space for restrooms, concessions and offices.
In suggesting these additions, the firm took into account the status of the
Assembly Hall as a campus icon, as a "unique design statement" at
the time of its opening, and in keeping with its listing on the National Register
of Historic Places. Barton noted that Max Abramovitz, the architect of the Assembly
Hall, was consulted on the design recommendations in the study. "He’s
excited about the possibility of how this can work, making an old building much
more functional."
"The study presents us with an opportunity not only to keep the historic
integrity of the hall but also to make it an exceptional venue for sports and
a wide variety of other events," athletics director Ron Guenther said.
"The changes the planners envision would result in a facility everyone
will be eager to visit."
On the inside, changes would include a lowering of the arena floor by four feet,
accompanied by new A Section seating lowered to the same level. One benefit,
the study noted, would be that students in A Section would be able to remain
standing without blocking the view of patrons in the higher B and C sections.
In addition, the new A Section seating on the east side of the arena floor would
be retractable, making it possible to bring seating closer to the floor for
basketball and yet provide additional floor space for other uses.
Among other significant changes would be new, wider and padded seats; handrails
and wider aisles in all sections; and more and better seating at all levels
for people in wheelchairs; the addition of elevators and escalators; air conditioning;
and courtside "club" space for gatherings and functions, located under
the A Section seats on the west side of the arena floor.
The plan also comes with three schemes or options, the second and third of which
would introduce suites into the facility’s seating arrangement. The second
option would include 26 suites distributed around the middle, or B, section
of seats, with some of the lost seating regained by closing up every other entry
in C Section and locating new seats there. The third option would also close
up every other entry in C Section, placing 10 smaller suites in those locations
and leaving the B Section as is.
All three options would mean a loss in overall seating capacity. The first option,
without suites, would lower capacity from 16,692 to an estimated 16,159. The
second would lower capacity further, to an estimated 15,650, with 312 of those
in suites. The third would lower capacity only to an estimated 16,279, with
120 of those in suites.
These options also affect the overall cost of the project, with the first option
estimated at $61.9 million, the second at $66.8 million, and the third at $63.4
million.
With the addition of satellite structures and other changes, the Assembly Hall
would have seven times as many places to buy concessions and three times the
current number of both men’s and women’s toilets, as well as more
space for offices and for the flow of people through the building. The existing
facility has restrooms only on the lower concourse, and most of the new restrooms
would be added on the upper concourse, in the satellite structures.
Other improvements include upgrades to bring the facility in line with Americans
With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and current building codes, extensions
and improvements to the sprinkler system, installation of a smoke exhaust system
in the seating bowl and concourses, improved lighting for the arena floor, energy-efficient
lighting elsewhere, and replacement of mechanical and electrical equipment.
The 3 1/2-month process involved in completing the feasibility study was a collaborative
one, involving personnel from the Assembly Hall, the Division of Intercollegiate
Athletics, the Campus Architect’s Office, and other campus units. Also
involved was an architectural class that used the renovation as their semester
assignment.
If funding is found and the recommendations go forward, the study proposes a
construction schedule that would extend over 28 to 30 months, and that works
around basketball seasons. The lowering of the floor and installation of new
A Section seating would take place between the first and second basketball seasons
that fall within the timetable. Exterior work would go on continuously, with
the satellite additions complete by the second basketball season and the entire
project complete by the third season.