Illinois Removing 2,200 Seats from Stadium

The University of Illinois will permanently remove about 2,200 seats from Memorial Stadium because the bleacher seats are getting too old to use.

Illinois spokesman Kent Brown said Tuesday the move will drop the stadium's capacity from 62,870 to about 60,600.

Brown said the aluminum bleacher seats in the stadium's south end zone were installed in 1982 and intended to be temporary.

Engineers who have examined the seats say they should be removed. Brown said the seats aren't unsafe yet, but might be in a few years.

He added that the next phase of stadium renovation could include work in the south end zone so there's no point in replacing the seats yet.