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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall was | ||||||
| 3 | opened on March 2, 1963, born out of the need for a single | ||||||
| 4 | arena that could seat an entire university class; the hall was | ||||||
| 5 | designed by renowned architect Max Abramovitz and cost $8.7 | ||||||
| 6 | million to construct; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall was | ||||||
| 8 | constructed entirely of poured concrete; the dome is just 3 1/2 | ||||||
| 9 | inches thick, but its steep folds and light-weight aggregate | ||||||
| 10 | combine to give it tremendous strength; the hall "floats" | ||||||
| 11 | thanks to 614 miles of steel wire very tightly wrapped around | ||||||
| 12 | the edge of the dome; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall is the | ||||||
| 14 | largest venue in Illinois outside of the Chicago United Center; | ||||||
| 15 | and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall has | ||||||
| 17 | hosted countless performers and events, including the Rolling | ||||||
| 18 | Stones, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, U2, Frank Sinatra, "Les | ||||||
| 19 | Miserables", Bob Hope, Whitney Houston, Mikhail Baryshnikov, | ||||||
| 20 | Aerosmith, Cher, Tina Turner, "Cats", Bill Cosby, the | ||||||
| 21 | University of Illinois Commencement, the Harlem Globetrotters, | ||||||
| 22 | Bruce Springsteen, and "Sesame Street Live!"; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall has | ||||||
| 2 | hosted Big Ten Championship basketball teams in 1963, 1984, | ||||||
| 3 | 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005 for the men, and 1997 for the | ||||||
| 4 | women; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, 25 Fighting Illini men's teams and 8 women's teams | ||||||
| 6 | that have played in the Assembly Hall advanced to NCAA | ||||||
| 7 | Tournament play in the last 50 years; 2 NCAA Final Four men's | ||||||
| 8 | teams called the Assembly Hall home in 1989 and 2005; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, The Assembly Hall hosted the Illinois High School | ||||||
| 10 | Association State Boys Basketball Tournament from 1963 to 1995, | ||||||
| 11 | the IHSA State Girls Basketball Tournament from 1978 to 1990, | ||||||
| 12 | and the IHSA State Wrestling Championships from 1967 to the | ||||||
| 13 | present; the Assembly Hall has also hosted Big Ten and NCAA | ||||||
| 14 | Championship events in wrestling and gymnastics; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Home attendance at the Assembly Hall for men's | ||||||
| 16 | basketball ranks in the Top 25 nationally for 33 straight | ||||||
| 17 | seasons; average home attendance at Assembly Hall for men's | ||||||
| 18 | basketball has averaged 16,000 fans over the last 11 seasons; | ||||||
| 19 | the Assembly Hall has enjoyed sold-out crowds (16,618) 125 | ||||||
| 20 | times in the last 11 seasons; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Assembly Hall serves as | ||||||
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| 1 | both a part of the rich history of the University of Illinois | ||||||
| 2 | and as an architectural marvel of this State; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 4 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 5 | we congratulate the staff and administration of the University | ||||||
| 6 | of Illinois on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the | ||||||
| 7 | university's Assembly Hall; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to the University of Illinois as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 10 | esteem and respect.
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