'New' Memorial Stadium to be unveiled to public Sept. 6

CHAMPAIGN - Dick Butkus is coming. Bruce Weber isn't going.

And, depending on whether Assembly Hall stays, Illinois basketball could play several games in Chicago a few seasons from now.

That's the word from longtime Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther, who offered these insights during an hour-long, state-of-the-department conversation Thursday.

With six decorated football game balls on display in front of his office's picture window - and books such as "Success On Your Own Terms" and "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" stacked upright on his credenza - Guenther started with talk about his current pride and joy:

The $120 million Memorial Stadium restoration will be unveiled to the public Sept. 6 when Illinois hosts Eastern Illinois in the home opener.

Butkus and dozens of other former Illini greats have confirmed they'll be at Memorial Stadium to see the 84-year-old treasure looking like new.

"It's long overdue," Guenther said, "and it has probably far exceeded what I thought it'd look like by the way we did it with our architects and engineers."

Strangely, Illinois has yet to sell out the Eastern Illinois opener despite coming off a Rose Bowl appearance and setting a record for season-ticket sales.

Approximately 5,000 tickets in the 62,000-seat stadium - as well as four of the 47 suites in the 77 Club and Colonnades Club - remain available.

As part of the celebration, Illinois is offering a 40-page commemorative magazine and an oversized commemorative ticket to the fans. The Illini will be decked out in Butkus-era uniforms.

Other home games bring other marketing concepts. After the Oct. 11 homecoming battle with Minnesota, the school will host World's Biggest Basketball Practice.

In a different take on Illini Madness, the men's and women's teams will work out on a sport court just beyond the south end zone.

While it's too soon to know whether this promotion will be repeated in years to come, Guenther promises Bruce Weber will be running the men's team in 2009 and beyond.

"The only time we've made changes here," Guenther said, "is when I've felt the confidence - I've lost confidence personally - that we can't get it done. That certainly isn't the case with coach Weber and the basketball program."

Illinois finished 16-19 last year. Some fans fear the team is headed in that direction again now that junior guard Jamar Smith, expected to be the leading scorer, has been dismissed from the team.

"Jamar Smith's situation was just a sad, sad situation," Guenther said. "We worked very, very hard here to support Jamar with his issues and it didn't work out.

"That's a one-year, that's a two-year (aberration). But if I'm right, which I think I will be, I think you'll see this thing turn and begin to settle into what we expect: And that's the basketball program competing for championships."

In January, Guenther hopes to determine where the basketball programs will play for at least the next 40-50 years.

A new arena remains an option, though an official site has yet to be chosen. Guenther's staff has spent much time figuring out how to renovate Assembly Hall.

If the 45-year-old arena undergoes a $100-million-plus reconstruction, Illinois must decide how to schedule it.

The department can space it out over two seasons to allow the basketball teams to play home games at the Hall.

However, a bigger, better renovation would require a one-year commitment that forces the Illini to play elsewhere.

That has Guenther eyeing United Center and Allstate Arena - as well as stadiums in St. Louis, Peoria, Bloomington, Springfield - as potential hosts.

He believes the year-long road trip would be worth the hassle.

"Believe me, if we renovate (Assembly Hall), people will be excited about it," Guenther said.