Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther has agreed to delay his retirement and will use the 2010-11 academic year to push for progress in the expansion of Assembly Hall.

Guenther, 64, said today that he has agreed to extend his contract until the end of the school year and possibly through next summer to help in the transition of new president Michael Hogan.

In the meantime, he is taking steps to acquire funding for the arena project, which he estimated will cost between $150 and $200 million.

"There are projects to be done and on the other side there are administrative changes,'' Guenther said. "You've got a new board and so it might be a good time to make a change in my chair as well. The key word for me if we move on this is some kind of succession plan and I hope to work through that in the next couple of months.''

Guenther is awaiting the appointment of a new chancellor for the Champaign campus. He said it is possible he would stay on the job beyond next summer.

In the meantime, he will pursue several sources of funding for the arena, including corporate naming rights, which will account for about one-third of the cost. Several Illinois companies have been approached about the project, and Guenther is looking for a 30-year commitment.

He also must determine a price structure for suites that will be added.

"I have to find out what the marketplace is willing to pay,'' he said. "Then there are sponsorship opportunities that exceed the naming rights. So, it's a question of how much commercialization we want to bring into the building.''

The third aspect is to determine how much of the funding the student body is willing to shoulder through fees.

By lowering the arena floor, Guenther said Assembly Hall would be able to increase the number of student seats near the court from 750 to 1,400.

"Dropping the floor will create a hostile environment with class,'' he said.

Guenther said the work could be done in phases and that he no longer plans to have construction cut into a basketball season. He previously said the Illini might be displaced by the work.

"If I was staying, it's in the forefront of what we want to get done,'' he said.