A typical box-type design would have required walls that rose above Memorial Stadium, undesirable to the board of trustees. Building such a facility somewhere farther from the stadium and the locker facilities within would have created a logistical nightmare for athletic teams. Building additional locker room and meeting space would have substantially increased the costs for the project. The trusses would allow for a lower building profile than the typical design, leaving the stadium comfortably out of the shadow of the practice facility. I don't know of anyone who has used a similar design.
Ratio is one of the leading designers of indoor practice facilities for universities.
The box design was the industry standard, but Browne said he hopes that the new design will further enhance Ratio's reputation. The Daily Illini Carl Mintz of Tuscola works on top of one of the concrete pillars that will form the lower end of the new football practice dome on Feb. 15, at the corner of Fourth and Peabody streets.