What would the stadium look like with the south endzone enclosed?
With DB stating that he wants to enclose the southern part of Michigan Stadium with bleachers to expand capacity close to 120,000, I can't stop thinking about what that would look like.
I am perplexed at what it might look like though because the new scoreboards will block seating in the middle of the new proposed section. Since nobody will want an obstructed view, it seems like the bowl would be broken.
Are there any other stadiums that have this sort of seating arrangement that we can look to? Are there any MGoArchitechtes out there who could do at least an ariel diagram of how the seating would look?
way i would envision it would be from hearing what DB is saying is the brick part of the concourse would be expanded around. and the scoreboard would be mounted to that maybe? then two upper decks added on ether side? would give a nice apearence from the outside I would think and not look like just some added seats
Remember this is Michigan !
If Yost had wanted upper decks, he would have built them. It is the perfect stadium for college football.
I have no problem with adding capacity. The additional sections would allow us to move all the visitor's fans to an even more remote section of the stadium. I think we should give them the last 2 rows at the top of the expansion. The sound delay may be entertaining ....
Go Blue !
Yost built the stadium with supports in place for a second tier to be put on the bowl. He saw football expanding rapidly and realized they would be needed someday. Foresight, brother.
Info from Bacon's history of college athletics class.
I believe Yost had planned for capacity somewhere near 200,000. He probably did not factor in Godzillatrons or concessions, suites, etc.
But to say Yost didnt want more capacity couldn't be further from the truth.
I say, if we can fill it up, build more seats.
If Yost had wanted upper decks, he would have built them.Yost wanted the stadium to hold around 140,000. The regents only agreed to finance a 70,000-seat facility (though he did make sure to have footings put in to allow for future expansion).
I'm not sure I understand the need to add so many more seats, particularly when they will be awful from the standpoint of watching football being played. IMO, not only has Michigan Stadium reached its reasonable capacity maximum, but football stadiums in general shouldn't have more than about 100,000 seats.
I made it to a Bears game in the renovated Soldier Field in 2009 and found it a great contrast with Michigan Stadium. Full football capacity is about 61,000 and there truly isn't a bad seat in the house. Since all of the football games I've attended in the past 20 years have been at Michigan and a few other Big Ten venues, being in Soldier Field felt like being part of a studio audience.
Not saying at all that I preferred the Bears game experience; far from it. Just saying that, at some point, the capacity exceeds what is reasonable in terms of providing every fan the chance to see football action without a telescope and an oxygen tank.
Brandon mentioned in DC that with the addition of more handrails and wider seating that will reduce the present capacity for the bowl section of the stadium, there may be enough demand to adding additional seats. As I understand it, they way it's currently envisioned is that approximately 6-7,000 seats would be added, they would go around the new scoreboards and would be as high as the structures on the east and west sides of the stadium.
Brandon also mentioned that those seats at the very high end of the stadium would be set aside for visiting fans. So when Nebraska plays in Ann Arbor and the Cornhusker fans comes en masse, that's where they will be seated.
I've been watching Michigan football games in the stadium since 1978, and with the exception of those that were limited visibility near the old press box, I really don't think there was a bad seat in the house because of the bowl structure. Without an upper tier plus the supporting beams, etc., there really are no obstructed view seating.
I've also been up in the luxury boxes and was very surprised by how good the view appeared from up there. For lack of a better way to describe it, it really is panoramic from up there--especially since those structures are angled toward the playing field.
Yes, the Big House has no obstructed seats. But sightline is one thing. Proximity to the field is another. Sitting in the proposed end zone upper deck will be looking over the Grand Canyon trying to spot a kayaker in the river. The thing that struck me about Soldier field is, I was about 40 rows up but I still felt like I was breathing down the players necks. You don't get that feeling anywhere outside of 10 rows at the big house.
On the other hand, thanks for reminding me that that section would be for visiting fans. That makes perfect sense. They can take their shitty seats and like them, which they will.
We were placed right next to the old pressbox. We never stayed in our actual seats for long, but if we did we had a good view of about half of the field. With the new press boxes I believe this is no longer an issue.
Brandon mentioned in DC that with the addition of more handrails and wider seating that will reduce the present capacity for the bowl section of the stadium, there may be enough demand to adding additional seats. As I understand it, they way it's currently envisioned is that approximately 6-7,000 seats would be added, they would go around the new scoreboards and would be as high as the structures on the east and west sides of the stadium.
Brandon also mentioned that those seats at the very high end of the stadium would be set aside for visiting fans. So when Nebraska plays in Ann Arbor and the Cornhusker fans comes en masse, that's where they will be seated.
I've been watching Michigan football games in the stadium since 1978, and with the exception of those that were limited visibility near the old press box, I really don't think there was a bad seat in the house because of the bowl structure. Without an upper tier plus the supporting beams, etc., there really are no obstructed view seating.
I've also been up in the luxury boxes and was very surprised by how good the view appeared from up there. For lack of a better way to describe it, it really is panoramic from up there--especially since those structures are angled toward the playing field.
Seems like the NFL has discovered that the perfect size for a stadium is around 60 - 65K. This gives them the best chance to fill the seats (avoid home blackouts) and be able to charge a higher than "normal" price for a ticket. Also most NFL teams are in larger cities and that is a tough draw.
College football is significantly different. Simply look at the number of schools that can easily draw 100K or more fans every single home game. The larger the stadium, the harder it is to have that "close" to the field experience. In a large stadium - unobstructed views are critical and with replay screens now, the viewing in Michigan Stadium is good everywhere (unlike at Penn State where there are seats where you cannot see the corners of the field).
The live atmosphere is why I go ... tailgating, the walk to the stadium, the band, the crowd - it hits all senses.
Go Blue !
especially if they extend the brickwork around the outside. DB said the top of the scoreboards will be even with the top on the box structures. He also said they would extend the concourse around (I am assuming behind the extension of the bowl.
The one thing I don't like about the box structures is they interrupt what used to be a defined horizon all the way around the bowl, only broken by the press box. If this visually restores the horizon (albeit much higher), I think it will be awesome.
Adding additional seating around the scoreboards will look like this:
I'm still OK with adding seats, though. 120k FTW!