Sunset on the Assembly Hall

Last week I blipped a sunrise. Those are way too early for me. Tonight I thought I'd try for a sunset. This is what used to be called the Assembly Hall. All of that changed in the last week.

Assembly Hall's new name: State Farm Center

Known for decades by fans as the Assembly Hall, the University of Illinois' landmark arena has a new name: the State Farm Center.

Thanks to a $60 million donation, the flying saucer-shaped home to Illini basketball, Broadway shows and commencement exercises is undergoing the name change as part of a major renovation to the hall.

The university announced the 30-year, $60 million agreement with the Bloomington-based insurance company Monday. Officials also unveiled a logo for the building featuring the hall's iconic domed roof and the three circles used in State Farm's logo.

UI athletic director Mike Thomas called the announcement "one of the most significant highlights in the history of Fighting Illini athletics."

He called State Farm an "outstanding partner" with the university for more than two decades, "and this agreement will carry that partnership forward for at least three more."

Some utility work on the site may begin this summer, but the bulk of the $160 million renovation is not expected to begin until March 2014, with completion in November 2016. The campus will start using the new name sooner rather than later.

"This is exactly what the campus had hoped for to achieve when this project was undertaken a couple of years ago," Chancellor Phyllis Wise said.

The intent, she said, was to build a place "like no other" where the community could assemble together while preserving the campus's architectural and academic heritage.

"It is our academic center. It is our athletic center. It's our cultural center. It's our community center, and now it's the State Farm Center," Wise said.

The $160 million renovation calls for adding air-conditioning, more student seating near the floor, private boxes, new restrooms, entrances and more.

Thomas said from the early stages of planning, naming rights would play a big part in how to pay for the renovation.

that as a community center. The company also has donated to Illinois State University (for the State Farm Hall of Business) and Illinois Wesleyan University (for the instructional building State Farm Hall).

"We felt this was the right place and the right time. We really like the idea of being connected to a university not only in our home state but a university we've had a long-running partnership with," Harbert said.

State Farm has been a donor to the university for years in athletics and educational programs. Many of its employees are UI graduates and students have found internships at the State Farm Research and Development Center in the UI Research Park in Champaign.
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