U-M Indoor Track Building hosts final event ever Saturday
The final lap for the U-M Indoor Track Building will happen this Saturday when both Men's and Women's Track teams host the Silverston Invitational.
After 40 years, the building will shut down and prepare for a summer demolition.
Built in 1974-75 as the U-M Indoor Track and Tennis Building, the then-shiny new building was created on the site of the long forgotten Ferry Field Tennis Courts that were installed back in early 20s-
The Building eventually changed it's name to the U-M Indoor Track Building once that Varsity Tennis Center was completed in 1997, allowing Michigan to host all of their tennis matches on University property as opposed to when they used Liberty Sports Complex as their outdoor home for matches.
Michigan's track teams combined for 12 B1G Indoor Championships while at the Indoor Track Building. It hosted the B1G Championships in 1977, 1984, 1994 and 2004 with BOTH the Men and Women capturing the B1G Championship in 1994 in arguably the 'Building's finest hour.
Probably the most recent famous video that was shot at the Indoor Track Building was when a freshman Denard Robinson won the 60M dash against Ohio State.
As mentioned, the Indoor Track Building will be demolished this summer along with.....sigh....Ferry Field. Unlike the indoor facility, Ferry Field does not get a final event. It has been deemed no longer in shape to host competitions and will sadly be turned into a parking lot.
Here is the map of what the athletic campus will look like once all renovations are completed. Keep in mind, this map won't be a complete reality for another 3-4 years.
1- Site of the new unnamed outdoor and indoor track stadiums
2- Site of the current U-M Indoor Track Building. The building you see at the #2 slot is the future unnamed sports arena that will replace Cliff Keen Arena which will be built in 2017.
3- Ferry Field after it becomes a parking lot. Very, very sad.
Here are photos of the unnamed indoor track stadium that will open next winter-
February 16th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^
Denard video
February 16th, 2015 at 10:11 PM ^
Should have cut his hair... Drag probably prevented him from doing so.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:46 PM ^
All hail, Denard.
Even with the drag he crushed the field.
Watching Denard run is always inspiring.
February 17th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
February 16th, 2015 at 9:52 PM ^
February 16th, 2015 at 9:58 PM ^
Just history in general, really.
From 1906-1926, Ferry Field was the home to Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Football teams and the 1925 team which he claimed was the greatest he had ever coached.
It was where Benny Friedman became football's first great passer, connecting with Bennie Oosterbaan for TDs on a normal basis. Ferry Field was home to 2 claimed football national championships.
Ray Fisher Stadium will be the last surviving piece of the original land donated by Dexter M. Ferry. As you see in the photo above, that whole area was called Ferry Field. Ray Fisher Stadium was called Ferry Field until it was renamed in 1967.
February 16th, 2015 at 9:59 PM ^
Good riddance. Spent a lot of time in there between two years of UM Basketball Camp as a kid, Dance Marathon and a bunch of MMB stuff as a student, all sorts of Victors Club events... It's a pretty atrocious facility, built before these kinds of spaces stopped looking and feeling like oversized tool sheds.
As for Ferry Field, it seems to me there are a lot more creative solutions for the parking problem (and it is a pretty pressing problem), but there unfortunately aren't a lot of adaptive reuses for tracks and large fields that aren't things like parking lots. Speaking as someone who has done a lot of activism work for historic preservation, it's unfortunate that not everything can be saved, even if it is something as historic as Ferry Field.
And, really, aside from the gate (which, IIRC, isn't even in its original location), there's absolutely nothing left of historical value there from a structural standpoint. The stands are gone, the track is new, etc. So what exactly do you want to save?
February 16th, 2015 at 10:12 PM ^
A small flagpole display with four plaques that could be easily moved or reinstalled on site... OK.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
Of course things happened there, and of course people have memories of the building. But the fact of the matter is it's being replaced by something far better for the student athletes, it has almost no architectural value, and is in a location that is in dire need of improvement and redevelopment. Heck, it backs up to a broken-down wooden fence and a patch of busted-up parking lot. We're not talking about the Taj Mahal of sports here.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:19 PM ^
If it makes anyone feel better, Yankee Stadium was probably the Taj Mahal of sports (or baseball) and it got blown up for a fancy new stadium too...
If old Yankee Stadium couldn't survive, nothing will.
Fenway and Wrigley are next on deck.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:32 PM ^
Considering the Ricketts family is currently turning Wrigley and environs into Disneyland.... Probably not, actually.
February 17th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
I'm not sure how this parking lot will generate much revenue, aside from some hockey/football/baseball fees.
If you're just now getting upset about sports getting moved futher south, you've probably missed the boat. Soccer, Tennis, Wrestling, Gymnastics all are down south of the golf course.
I understand there is history for Ferry Field, but I would be careful to confuse that with tradition.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:27 PM ^
February 16th, 2015 at 11:11 PM ^
Even though dancing/being on your feet for 30 hours sounds brutal, it really is a good time and a good cause. Definitely would recommend it to any and all students.
February 17th, 2015 at 3:24 AM ^
As someone who will be doing it for the second time next month, I cannot agree more. The entire event is a whole lot of fun and if you keep in mind what the cause is for (pediatric rehabilitation therapies), standing up for so long seems just so worth it. By the way, the event is 24 hours this year (and likely will be that long moving forward).
February 17th, 2015 at 5:56 AM ^
Is this the first year it's gonna be 24 hours instead of 30? I remember people were still dead tired the Monday after and often missed class that day, so I'd imagine that might have something to do with it. Or have they specified other reasons for scaling back?
February 16th, 2015 at 10:07 PM ^
Ferry field a parking lot?!?!
February 16th, 2015 at 10:27 PM ^
February 16th, 2015 at 10:07 PM ^
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February 16th, 2015 at 10:10 PM ^
February 16th, 2015 at 10:13 PM ^
One of the hardest things I had to do in my work recently was assign the work orders to get the demolition of both the services and all the system conduit that we had across the propert started (well, in the spring - a bit hard to do that work right at the moment). There is a lot of history that we will be - for the final time - ne taking out of service on South Campus throughout the year.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:27 PM ^
will have banks. So hard running on a flat indoor track. Gonna try to make this track meet on Saturday. Thanks for the heads up.
February 16th, 2015 at 10:39 PM ^
I mean I'm all for historical preservation but Ferry Field isn't much anymore. Regents Field was demolished at one time too. Just leave the Jesse Owens Plaque up. I'd rather our athletic teams have the best chance for success which they clearly didn't have at Ferry Field/Indoor Track Building than preserving the history and undermining our program.
February 16th, 2015 at 11:14 PM ^
Yes, leave the Jesse Owens plaque up - a plaque on our campus honoring an Ohio State athlete. But right next to it, put up an even bigger plaque honorong Willis Ward, the Michigan man who beat Jesse Owens TWICE just a few weeks before Owens sent those world records.
February 16th, 2015 at 11:05 PM ^
February 17th, 2015 at 12:18 AM ^
Also, there will be no tracks for student use on central/ south campus with the demo of Ferry.
February 17th, 2015 at 12:29 AM ^
There were definitely trains on those tracks when I was in school (04-08). Interrupted more than a few MMB practices. They also used to occasionally come through at night.
February 17th, 2015 at 12:34 AM ^
That's the unfortunate part for me. Used to run intervals on that track over the summer. :(
Now that horrible humidity CCRB track will be the only one left...
Good thing they're also renovating the rec buildings too.
February 17th, 2015 at 5:44 AM ^
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February 17th, 2015 at 1:08 AM ^
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February 17th, 2015 at 9:56 AM ^
For your dad someday. We'll be there Saturday. Go Blue!
February 17th, 2015 at 7:26 AM ^
baseball players hit the roof over the years. Otherwise an ugly building that always looked out of place compared to Michigan's other athletic facilities. Long overdue.
February 17th, 2015 at 9:48 AM ^
I think the only two I recall seeing hit the roof there were Hal Morris and a certain Spartan who went on to play for the Tigers.
There were probably a few more; I don't know if an official list exists, but maybe WD can help us out on that. The late baseball AD, Jim Schneider, might have compiled an official list.
February 17th, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^
February 17th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^
Add in North Hall, and you ROTC guys spent a lot of time in crappy facilities.
February 19th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^
Haha yea I guess. Never really thought of Ferry FIeld and the Indoor Track as crappy, but North Hall certainly was - but it was also prime real estate and filled with memories! Needs to go but I wish ROTC could keep that space.
February 17th, 2015 at 7:47 AM ^
they couldn't turn Ferry Field into a soccer venue instead of building on way out on State Street.
Cool backdrop with some history, but space in that area has always been very limited.
February 17th, 2015 at 8:08 AM ^
I think Ferry Field (95% sure) is where we would have the IM track meet in the spring, correct? I somehow got nominated to run the 400 for my fraternity, and I thought I was going to die - just so pathetic. I had never run a track event before, and to my surprise, the 400 was not a leisurely stroll around the track. The 400 and the 800 must just be brutal to train and compete in.
February 17th, 2015 at 11:14 PM ^
being brutal. The 800 not so much, at least at the high school level where I ran those two events (although back then they were the quarter-mile and half-mile/ 440 and 880). The 400 is a sprint; when I first started running the 440 as a junior after being a half-miler up until then, I thought, 'this is gonna be gravy'. Anything but, as sprinting for a full quarter-mile quickly turned my legs to mush after being accustomed to running the 880, 80-90% of it at a pace followed by a sprint the last 100 yards or so.
February 17th, 2015 at 8:43 AM ^
or at least, saw the winning mile run by our own chris brewster. he trailed the leaders by at least 1/2 of the track with about 1/3rd of a mile to go, and reeled them in and won going away. my memory says it was around a 4:28 mile, but hopefully WD will help me fact check all of this. i had never been to a track meet before then and had no idea how cool they were.
as an aside, chris was captain of both cross country and track teams, an all american, and he was a fun guy. by my senior year i was no longer playing 'real' hockey at michigan, only playing IM's. talked him into playing with us and he was very good. i don't think the track coach was overly fond of him playing hockey, but such is life.
February 17th, 2015 at 9:03 AM ^
February 17th, 2015 at 9:43 AM ^
"Built in 1974-75 as the U-M Indoor Track and Tennis Building..." Small correction: It was simply the "Track and Tennis Building."
February 17th, 2015 at 10:11 AM ^
Used to run in the winter meets during HS.
Of course way more important things also happened.
February 17th, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
So does that mean the only outdoor track for student use is the crumbling concrete one at Palmer Field? I know I and many other students used that Ferry Field track regularly when not in use by one of the Track and Field teams and unless I'm mistaken, it was the only "soft" track surface on or around central campus.
February 17th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
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February 17th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
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February 17th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
February 17th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
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February 17th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^