Capacity of the stadium with renovations
So I did a little calculation based on the quote from the MgoBlue article on the new stadium rennovations released today.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/070810aaa.html
In addition, there is added seating on both the east and west side of the stadium. The west side will feature 650-plus chairback seats and 46 suites split across the first two levels. On the east side, there will be around 1,900 outdoor club seats, 250 indoor club seats and 850 covered club seats, with stadium lounges on the first and second level of the structure. There will also be 36 suites on the third level. With the added seats, Michigan Stadium will become the largest college football venue in the country again.
So there are:
650 chair back seats
1900 club seats
250 indoor club seats
850 covered club seats
82 suites
=
2420 seats
82 suites
assuming there is about 15 people per suite - that's 1230 seats in the suites
total that should add 3650 seats to the stadium.
Take our regular stadium capacity, 107,501, means that we're left with a total capacity of around 111,151 or using the 106,201 number: 109,851.
**This number will go down when they widen the seats**
Are they getting these suits from Charlie Weis? 15 is a lot of people to fit into just one.
EDIT: OP fixed it, nm. Still worth it for a Weis joke, though.
There are actually 16 tickets that come with the suite in addition the option to buy 4 standing room only tickets if my memory serves me. There was something about also being allowed to bring two fans from the bowl to the suite for the fourth quarter.
Unless I'm reading this wrong, we don't have 107,501 right now, or at least last year. It was something like 106,00 (not exact, obviously).
So, shouldn't it be in the 109,000 range?
The official capacity for the past two seasons was 106,201.
That was our capacity only the past 2 years during the construction. The normal capacity of the stadium was 107,501.
Oh. I did misread your post. I see now. Sorry for the misunderstanding!
The seat reduction the past 2 seasons wasn't because of the construction. It was because of UofM having to add handicap seating on the east side of the bowl due to the lawsuit. That took away alot of seats and that is mostly why the number went down so I would go off of the official capacity from the last 2 seasons instead of the one before the construction.
The official attendance record in NCAA college football history was 112,118 on November 22, 2003 for a game against Ohio State.
112,118
-
107,501
=
4, 617. Add this to the new total capacity of 111,151 and you end up with a possible potential sellout/stuffed sardine capacity of 115,768
**Complete guesstimate, just something to ponder.
The University of Michigan would like to thank you for being part of the largest crowd watching a football game anywhere in America today. Today's attendance 115,768.
Can't wait for UConn
...Chills...
The UConn game might set a record, but it won't be that high. The 2003 OSU game attracted a record number of media and on-field guests, being the 100th game in the series and also a game to decide the conference title.
It's about to be (again) the biggest stadium in the Western Hemisphere, third in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity
I think announcers should mention that more often.
This is what I was told to expect for attendance this year per the Victors Club folks I talked to on the Club tour a few months ago. Furthermore, they expect the game vs. MSU to beat out the attendance record established at the game against UConn.
They could hold off one more year on repainting the numbers, and let OSU come to town in 2011 to see how many they can get in there for that. Because any attendance record not held vs. OSU just doesn't seem right...
Michigan says the stadium's capacity will increase from 107,501 to more than 108,000, which includes the 81 suites and around 3,000 club seats
The seat expansions aren't supposed to happen for a few seasons. We're supposed to have an inflated capacity for a few years before they add to the seat size reducing this total down to somewhere around 108,000.
OMG HOW DARE YOU TRUST THE FREEP BURN FIGHT WIN ROSE BOWL
I took a tour before winter where they tried to sell us suits and they said that the seats were the final phase of the process, which wouldn't be done for a year or two after this season. The Freep says nothing about when the seats will be widened or when the final capacity of 108,000 is supposed to be reached.
actually I found an MgoBlog link:
http://mgoblog.com/content/michigan-stadium-construction-tour
# Michigan Stadium was down to 106,201 seats last year (from 107,501), making it the second-highest capacity stadium in the country (though more people strolled through its gates than #1, Penn State's Beaver Stadium). When the new structures are complete for the 2010 season, capacity will be around 110,000. # Over the next few years, the aisles will be widened in phases. Final capacity of just greater than 108,000 will be reached in about the 2013 season.
Well, did you buy any suits?
And, did they come with maize and blue cufflinks?
Damn, I did it again. I don't know why my brain doesn't let me add the "e" to the end of "suit(e)".
Not until 2013 will I be three off, I was speaking of this year - which will be around the capacity I listed.
I literally just gave you a link to show that the seat expansion project isn't supposed to be complete until 2013, which would not be this season. All the Freep is listing is the estimated final number. Sorry if I'm going to believe multiple athletic department officials vs. the Freep which just ripped that off the MgoBlue site as the final predicted number.
How long before all these posts showing you're wrong mysteriously vanish?
I'd bet soon, very soon. Geaux Blue can never ever ever be wrong. ever.
what i was pointing out is people in this thread have said a bit over 109k, which makes my 108 incorrect but is far less than what you seem to imply would be "standard" at 111.
I have heard this from mulitple sources as well. Feel free to make fun of my athletic department sources, but this is what I too, have heard from them.
It is to hear the plays down on the field during a sold out game. I don't care what Forbes or any of the lists say, the Big House is the hardest place to play.
Once we get a stop on 3rd and 20 I will agree.
While it has been shown the field is louder with the boxes, Michigan Stadium is not and will not be louder than Autzen. Then again, if they start piping in RAWK music things may get a little crazy
It's how you use it.
I havve never felt Michigan Stadium was a particularly loud place to play. My guess is that so much of the noise is directed up and out by the open bowl shape. I have been to a dozen OSU games, and I dont ever remember it being so loud that you couldnt talk to the person next to you.
At this year's Super Bowl, the Saints fans were out of their skulls. they made so much noise when the Colts were over the ball that I couldndt hear my buddy next to me.....and they turned the noise on and off like a tap.
It's true that the acoustics of Michigan Stadium haven't been great (though the boxes will change that somewhat), but honestly, that's just an excuse. When you have 110,000 people together, they don't need perfect acoustics to be heard. There have been times when the stadium has absolutely rocked. The bigger issue is that our fans just aren't that rowdy, whether by nature, habit or something else.
Autzen doesn't have decks; it's more like a bowl but very close in with steep sides. They also have an overhang on the side with the press box and luxury suites. I have often wondered if it was designed more to reflect sound than they let on.
You don't think the crowd really cheers that loud on 2 and 9 halfway through the second quarter with Oregon up by 14, do you?
They've already started piping in RAWK music. Yes, it has made me go crazy.
As an employee of the Athletic Department as an usher, this is what I know "officially":
The total number of seats this season is yet to be determined, but will be well over 110,000.
After seat widening next summer, the final capacity of the new Michigan Stadium will sit somewhere between 108 and 109,000.
Those are the numbers I recall from a couple of years ago. They were in a presentation to the Regents that was subsequently made available to the public. The presentation showed the official capacity increasing to over 110,000 in 2010, before seats and aisles are widened and handrails are installed, but dropping back down below 109,000 once that work is completed. I will try to find the presentation and post the actual numbers if I can.
Here is a link to a May 2006 Athletic Department presentation. This is not the one I remember, but it has projected capacity numbers. FWIW, it starts with the 107,501 number:
http://74.6.239.67/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=michigan+presentation+to+reg…--
Yeah, the projected numbers really haven't changed much. Every time they update us on the situation, they reiterate that the final projected numbers "change on a daily basis", but that the 110,000+ for this year and the 108k-109k final will hold.
According to the information at the most recent stadium staff meeting, the capacity will be over 109,000 (but not more than 110,000).
I am sure this has been discussed before, especially with that one guy that posted all the threads of suites last week, but if the suites are all sold, that would break the sellout streak, correct?
Do you mean if they are not all sold, the sellout streak will end? I think so long as the total attendance exceeds the official capacity they call it a sellout.
That is what I get for not reading what I typed. That metric would make sense to me...
I think we should all try and not be fat asses so we don't have to lose seats