Renovation Plans On Track at State Farm Center

Good news for Fighting Illini basketball fans.

University of Illinois officials say the $165 million renovation of the State Farm Center will be 80 percent complete when the arena opens on Dec. 2.

During a tour of the venue on Wednesday, senior associate athletics director Warren Hood added that the project is on budget and on schedule. Here are some of the new features that will await fans:

But fans can expect to walk through new gleaming West and East entrances. Loge seating and club seating as well as restrooms on the upper concourse level will be new features as the overall capacity decreases about 1,000 to 15,700.

The current interior is mostly concrete. But Hood laid out details that will offer a more intimate view of games.

Orange Crush student seating will expand from about 570 seats to 1,200 and ring two-thirds of the court, including behind the Illini and opponent benches.

The Tribune also reports that several items won't be installed until the final completion date next November. So a new scoreboard and locker rooms will have to wait until next year.

Don't forget, Fighting Illini football kicks off September 4 on WROK.