“Welcome to the State Farm Center in Champaign, where the Fighting Illini will battle it out with …”

Doesn’t have the same ring, right?

Some saw it coming; corporate sponsorship was inevitable. Still, the announcement this week seemed unexpected and caught many off guard.

Illinois’ athletic department on Monday announced that State Farm agreed to purchase naming rights for 30 years to the building formerly known as Assembly Hall. In exchange, the University will receive $60 million to go toward the center’s renovation project, which will increase the size of the student section and include more concessions and bathrooms along with other additions. 

Even with the $25-per-semester student fee that recently passed, this money is crucial in the long term. But in our hearts, the circular arena will always be known as Assembly Hall — the same arena that for more than 50 years provided us with memories of a lifetime, most recently Tyler Griffey’s buzzer-beating layup against then-No. 1 Indiana.

Consider this example: Though insurance broker Willis Group Holdings took over naming rights for Chicago’s tallest building, many Chicagoans and those from the suburbs still refer to the structure as “the Sears Tower.” 

That’s the name that we grew up with, and Assembly Hall is the name that we have come to know, too. But it isn’t just clothed in basketball history, it has become a campus icon.

Thousands of graduates and parents file into the building each spring to celebrate an exhaustive list of accomplishments by the graduating class. For most, it’s a culmination of a four-year run.

Multiple times a year, high-profile names in the entertainment sphere visit, performing anything from rock concerts to “Sesame Street” sing-alongs to national tours of Broadway musicals.

Name changes represent intelligent business transactions. If State Farm wants to showcase its name on our beloved arena so that we can afford a better home for our basketball team, then we are OK with that. If it means a little adjusting so that more students can experience an Illini game, if more band members can fit and produce more sound, or if alumni don’t have to wait 20 minutes to use the restroom, then we can deal with a new name. 

While many of us will call it Assembly Hall — accidentally or flat-out intentionally — this move is just a reality of business. The funds will help the renovation process run smoothly, while at the same time creating a basketball atmosphere which athletes and fans alike can be excited to take part in.

Assembly Hall has not been laid to rest. In fact, it will be born again. A new name doesn’t mean its storied 50-year history will be forgotten, but it does mean a better future for the arena.