CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium this fall. A rededication ceremony on Oct. 18 will be held 100 years to the day after its dedication game when Red Grange scored four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes of the game to lead Illinois to a 39-14 win over Michigan.
Illinois architecture professors Kevin J. Hinders and Benjamin A. Bross wrote a historic analysis of the stadium in their new book, “The University of Illinois Memorial Stadium: The First 100 Years.”
Memorial Stadium is not just a site for football games, Hinders and Bross said. The stadium is an economic engine for the area and a symbol of school spirit.
It has hosted national championship track meets, concerts, marching band competitions and Scouting jamborees. Temporary barracks were built on its terraces for soldiers returning from World War II and entering college. Its Great West Hall once housed a Navy diesel school and an antenna for early WILL radio broadcasts.
In their book, Hinders and Bross examined the context in which the stadium was built — the state of Illinois as an agricultural and industrial power, the importance of the university to the state’s economic development, the rise of college football and the influence of athletic director George Huff and football coach Robert Zuppke on plans for the stadium. The authors also considered how the building shapes the campus, the community and the state.
“Buildings embody place, time and economic and political systems,” Bross said. “There was World War I and the necessity to memorialize those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We also had a nation that was experiencing economic and technological booms with radio that could transmit college football games. We had transportation to move people by train and by car. We had a real regional need to host sports events like college football games. College football really led the way.”
The book has more than 240 photos and illustrations, including historic photos from the University Archives and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics archives and images of the construction of the stadium in progress.
Prior to the construction of Memorial Stadium, the football team played at Illinois Field on the north end of campus, nicknamed the Lumberyard for the wooden bleachers lining it. In 1920, Illinois had lost only once going into its final game of the season against an undefeated Ohio State University team. Illinois Field could seat 17,000 fans, with standing room for another 3,000. The game was sold out and thousands of fans were turned away. Huff lamented that he could have sold between 40,000 and 60,000 tickets if he had the space for that many fans. He took the opportunity to build support among students and alumni for a new stadium, the authors said.
U. of I. President David Kinley in 1920 planned to build 40 new campus buildings when Huff proposed a new stadium. Huff received permission to pursue building a stadium, but he had to raise the money for it. Memorial Stadium was built with contributions from students, alumni and the community; no state or federal funds were used. In that way, it is unique among all the buildings on campus, Hinders said.
“The stadium helped create Illinois’ spirit because it needed everybody to buy in,” he said.
The 1920s were a time of explosive growth in stadium construction. Many stadiums were designed to memorialize those who served in WWI, the authors said. Big Ten universities built eight stadiums in the 1920s.
The design of Memorial Stadium was a hybrid, with a hemispherical shape and tiered seating instead of a bowl. Its columns are engraved with the names of Illinois students and alumni who lost their lives in WWI. The wooden bleachers from Illinois Field were relocated to the new stadium’s horseshoe before it was enclosed in 1929.
“Our stadium, when it was built, had more seats between the goal lines than any other stadium in the country,” Hinders said.
Sports conferences and rivalries also were being established during the 1920s, and Illinois football ticket sales increased tenfold between 1915 and 1925.
Huff proposed the stadium be built at a central campus location, but the architects said it would be better situated at its site at First Street and Florida Avenue. It has become an anchor for the southwest area of campus, along with State Farm Center, the authors said.
Memorial Stadium has an enormous effect on the local economy, with hotels and restaurants benefiting from game day crowds. It generates revenue for the athletic department to help pay for other sports programs and student scholarships, Hinders and Bross said.
It’s a testament to the vision for the stadium and its design that it has lasted for 100 years, they said.
Renovations to the stadium added a press box in the 1960s and the Colonnades Club, other premium seating areas and the student section in the north end zone in the 2000s. Hinders said he expects the building will continue to evolve, with changes that will increase revenue and add to fans’ experiences, such as field-level seating and a Wi-Fi network that will handle cell phone service for tens of thousands of fans.
“The University of Illinois, and particularly the DIA, has committed to making the existing building that much richer because, with layer upon layer of history, we can read how each generation has modified the building,” Bross said. “It’s a really good lesson about valuing and preserving what you have.”
Beyond the physical structure, Memorial Stadium adds to the social sustainability of the community in its role as a site for all kinds of activities, the authors said.
“Huff from the beginning wanted it to be that way,” Bross said. “He planned for it to be something that any Illinoisan from a rural community could look at the place and dream of being a student here, watch a game or even be on the team. It helped inspire residents of the state that they could come here and be part of the university.”