Is Soldier Field Too Small To Host A Big Ten Championship Game?
Couldn't they just charge more for the tickets to make up for the capacity? There are craploads of luxury and club seats at Soldier Field (the entire east side of the stadium is either Club seats or luxury boxes) on which they can jack up the price.
A good reason not to play it at Soldier Field is that it's one of the worst playing surfaces in all of football (right there with Heinz Field).
Are Cleveland and Green Bay.
I know from a purely ticket-sales POV you're right, 12k is a big deal, but New Soldier is amazing. There is not a bad seat in the house, and I think you'll get a LOT more travel to this game in Chicago than you would in Cleveland or Green Bay.
I've been to green bay, it's a terrible city (not just speaking as a bears fan), and travel for thousands of Big 10 football fans is out of the question. The Green Bay airport has 4 GATES, not terminals, gates.
I'd like the game being outdoors, but I think Lambeau is a bad choice
Green Bay a terrible city? Green Bay isn't a cultured metropolis but I think it can handle two Big Ten fanbases, many of which would drive. They could stay in Milwaukee if they don't like the local airport. Traveling fans are going to be looking for three things: football, beer, and food. Green Bay does all of those things very, very well.
The beauty of Green Bay is its central location in the conference and incredible stadium. A championship game at Lambeau once every few years would be incredibly exciting. I also think a trip to the country would be a welcome change up from the Indy/Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland industrial depression tour.
As far as the stadium goes, Lambeau would be a much more exciting option than any other venue. No other potential stadium has the history and magic of the frozen tundra. No other stadium on the list is a shrine to midwestern football like Lambeau. It has a college atmosphere to it and the new luxury boxes to generate the big bucks. The new Soldier Field might look good on the inside, but on the outside it's an embarassment. It looks like a monument to bad science fiction movie UFOs. Play championship games in a stadium that has a real championship history. Can you imagine Michigan winning a Big Ten title in a snowy game at Lambeau Field? Epic.
Green bay is 2 hours from Milwaukee, 4 from Chicago or Minny/SP. The whole town fits in the Big House.
I will concede that Lambeau is a very nice stadium, I was there just after the revisions and they look great, they did a better job than the Soldier field team did.
But Industrial Depression tour? Have you been to Chicago? It's not an industrial city, and it's not depressed. We love our football, and yes, Snowy Lambeau is great, so is Snowy Soldier.
At this point we're just a Bears fan and a Packers fan (judging by your avatar) throwing barbs. I'm just jealous that I can only root for Charles Woodson Pick-6's 14 weeks out of the year.
Not sure I agree with the notion of Green Bay being centrally located in the conference. There is no easy way to drive there from SE Michigan, let alone Ohio or Pennsylvania, and it's not exactly a quick drive for most other conference cities, either. Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit are more accessible.
Ha, you got me on the partisan barbs. The last thing a Packer fan wants to hear is a Bears fan ripping his team's town. My response is ingrained. I don't think Green Bay is a yearly destination by any means, but I think it could handle a part in the rotation. Green Bay can handle NFC Championship games and NCAA tournament weekends, so I'm pretty sure it could handle a Big Ten championship game. The prospect of traveling in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the winner playing at legitimate winter travel destination in the first week of January is going to cut into size of the traveling crowd.
A lot of Big Ten fans, especially from the western division, aren't going to be as excited to go to Chicago and its big city hassles as you may think. (And trust me- Iowa and Nebraska fan is driving). That's another once every three or four years kind of thing. I think Soldier deserves a spot in the rotation. Its location is fantastic and within walking distance of the museum and aquarium and anything else you want. I'll give you that. Any bad weather game is worth much more at Lambeau in atmophere and posterity, though. I would just like to see Green Bay and Lambeau in the mix. It's not a bad town for everybody. If you're some 25 year old professional looking to party it up high class, well...Green Bay might as well be an outpost on Pluto. If you're a forty-something alumni married couple- it's not so bad.
I think that a 4 City rotation would be good as well, and I do tend to forget that Chicago feels like "Big City Hassle" to a lot of people unfamiliar with the area.
Something not many people know about the weather and new solider field though is that it was designed to help the defenses. Chicago (football especially) is a defense town, and if you look at the end zone/score board you'll see it was designed to allow winds to whip through.
I think the weather/wind definitely won us 2 games... there was a MNF game against atlanta a few years ago where the falcons looked miserable, and the NFC Champ game when the saints/reggie bush were shut down by the weather and the Tampa 2
I live outside of Chiago. Don't shoot us down because you don't like being here. And, early December isn't that cold with daytime temps closer to 40º than 20º (I'm still riding my motorcycle at that time of year). Chicago is certainly more centrally located than GB or Minny (no offense) and while it doesn't have that "small town" feel of Indy it definitley isn't the "scare fest" that other big(ger) cities are.
I'm not saying don't go to Chicago, I just don't want to see the biggest cities monopolize it. Also, I don't want to see Green Bay excluded because it can't compete with the big boys in terms of size and amenities when their stadium would add something special to the rotation, logistical problems be damned. There are things I like about Chicago and things I don't, just like any other place, and it would be a perfectly fine host once every few years. I guess the sentence "Green Bay is a terrible city" forced me (as somebody who used to live in Wisconsin) to respond in typical Wisconsin vs. Illinois fashion. The one city I'd really like to see shut out is Cleveland, but I guess we could throw them a bone (no pun intended).
Those stadium improvements are interesting. I remember the Packers game at Soldier in Favre's last year with the team. He called it the worst conditions he'd ever played in. Even the rockets he was throwing that day were dancing like whiffleballs in that insane wind. That's why I don't understand the Bears going all out after a quarterback like Cutler. They're supposed to be all about running and defense. Kinda left me scratching my head, and now Martz is going to try to bring some high octane offense to the Windy City? Strange times.
I know you weren't bagging on Chicago (just like I wasn't bagging on GB). I was just being a "homer" because I live so 'close' (~20 miles) to Soldier Field. My parents live outside of Indy so "the Luke" is just fine, too. Actually, I wouldn't mind Lambeau but only for the Big 10 Champ. game as I've decided not to give my money to NFL teams (over priced and not as exciting - my $0.02). I was just a little bummed because Brian seemed so down on it being here (in Chicago). I think a rotation of cities is a good thing just as long as it doesn't favor one of the finalists (but, that may be hard to avoid, too).
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