Does anyone else miss the pre-renovation Big House?

Submitted by DISCUSS Man on

i was having a conversation today about how the Big House feels kind of boxed in with the suite boxes as opposed to the open-air style of the stadium pre-renovation. the more i think about it, the more I miss it.

sure it may not have been as loud, but it felt like the stadium was much bigger then. Anyone else miss the pre-renovation Big House?

 

teldar

March 26th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^

I'm pretty positive those are pictures of the same field from different angles. I could be wrong,.. But a difference in perspective makes those identical. The bottom picture was taken from further into the field (the person was sitting to the left of the top picture) and from significantly closer to the field in terms of height.

 

Alton

March 26th, 2015 at 4:47 PM ^

Baseball diamond in exactly the same spot, permanent structure in exactly the same spot, bleachers laid out the same way all of the way around.  I think in both cases, that's Ferry Field photographed from the southwest corner. 

I think the newer photograph is the one that the poster is claiming as "Regents Field."

Wolverine Devotee

March 26th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^

This is not the current Ferry Field that still stands.

Regents Field was actually renamed Ferry Field. That's why you see old photos of games from Michigan's point-a-minute teams have "Ferry Field" on them when the Ferry Field that is still around today as the track facility and the Ferry Field known in the football history was built in 1906.

This is Ferry Field, 1906-

Very confusing. I actually wanted to correct this confusion so I edited the wikipedia pages.

Alton

March 26th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^

You said "Regents Field was actually renamed Ferry Field."

Okay, that's confusing.  The stadium where Michigan played from 1893 to 1905 was where Schembechler Hall / Oosterbaan Field House stand now.  At the time, the land north of that (where Yost, Fisher, Ferry Field and the Track/Tennis Building are now) was privately owned by Dexter Ferry.

He donated that land to the University in 1902, and they built Ferry Field (where the track is now) for the 1906 season.  So the field that I call Regents Field was named Ferry Field from 1902 through 1905.

So Regents Field (where Schembechler Hall is now), Michigan's home from 1893 to 1905, which was called Ferry Field from 1902 through 1905, and Ferry Field (where the outdoor track with the same name is now), Michigan's home from 1906 to 1926, were 2 different things.

The photographs in question are Regents Field, not Ferry Field as I asserted earlier, because they have the "gridiron" markings that were not necessary starting in 1906 due to football rule changes.  I suppose some fields might have kept the gridiron markings after that, just because they were familiar.

Reference:  http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/stadium/stadtext/regents.htm

I suppose it's just more convenient to call that field where Michigan played from 1902 through 1905 "Regents Field," even though "Ferry Field" was its actual name, because they built a new place and called it "Ferry Field."  Confusing.

Bando Calrissian

March 26th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^

Well, matters what you mean by that. Pre-1996 Yost was a lovable dump, but it was a dump. That goofy endzone scoreboard, the sideline seating that went all the way to the wall... It was great, but it needed some TLC. I loved Yost as it was from 1997 until they put that deck in. It was a perfect mix of the old, homely Yost and the modern upgrades the place needed. Seems like every tinkering they've done since then has made things worse and worse and worse. The open windows are nice, but I miss my old wooden bench seat. And I've grown to become really indifferent to the video boards, given how they use them. Yost is just like any other arena now, and it's sad.

As for Michigan Stadium, I miss the magic of the old stadium, the fact that you didn't know just what you were getting into until you got to the end of the tunnels and saw the bowl unfold. I used to run the steps all the time, and you'd see people come in and not know what to expect, and their jaw would invariably drop when they came out and saw the bowl. That magic is sort of lost now.

Sure, sure, loud and shit, whatever. I just don't really dig the vibe now. I really hate the dark, dank concourses underneath the towers. It just feels wrong. 

victors2000

March 26th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^

but only relatively recently have I attended games so I haven't enough experience there to build up nostalgia like many here have. I believe that change is inevitable and that the next generation and the ones after have a right - nay, have a responsibility - to build upon what has been laid down before. I don't share the feeling of wrongness; the darkness to me is more a shadiness from the sun, a property of the "Big House" that lends to an atmosphere of size. There have been some false starts but I for one like the direction taken with the "House" as of late.

Canadian

March 26th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^

I hear you on Michigan Stadium. I was lucky enough to go to a game before the renovation started (23 years old who grew up playing hockey on Saturdays so the opportunities war few and far between). I remember the feeling of being blown away by the size and when I bring buddies to games now they know nothing before the renovation and it's too bad.

But looking at that stadium I wouldn't go back. I think it is absolutely beautiful. I have said in the past and continue to feel that we should have a little Maize on those towers though. Honored numbers (or retired whatever's they are now), Big Ten championship seasons, national championships give me something inside the stadium honoring the past

Moonlight Graham

March 26th, 2015 at 4:56 PM ^

Yeah, I'm a little torn. My favorite aspect of the pre-renovation Big House was like you said Bando, the shock and awe of the bowl. With the towers — and don't forget the scoreboards — you get the sense that there's something massive in there somewhere. Before, you'd walk up Main Street from the south and not realize the stadium was there until you were almost to the corner of State. 

There was also something Field of Dreams-ish about the clean lines of the field, the bowl ... and the sky. Now the towers and scoreboard intrude. 

But I also dig the UTL games, and those wouldn't be the same if, say, they added simple light towers to the old bowl. The new additions to the architecture and UTL games go hand in hand quite beautifully, with the scoreboards supplying the "light" from the end zones. 

So I've accepted and embraced the renovations, but to answer the OP's question ... I miss it for daytime games. 

Hail-Storm

March 26th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^

Had season tickets from 98-02 and just loved the atmosphere. When they put the second level above in 03, I sat at the top of the lower bleachers and was suprised how quiet is was. Now when I go back, everything seems so stale and clean. Its weird to see people attend games now who have no intention of watching as they sit in big comfy chairs.  There is really no need to have more than score, time, shots, and penalty minutes on a scoreboard, so all the new score board is used for is to distract with ads and dumb games.  

Still a fun time, but the magic is gone.  Or maybe I'm just now old, and attending games as a student just can't be replicated. 

Alton

March 26th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^

Even 10 years ago, I can't imagine even entertaining the idea that it's time to get a new hockey arena.  But now, sadly, it is time.  Yost can't be saved, as far as I can see.  Because the ice is at street level, and the building is so cramped, they had to put the ADA seating at ice level, taking away much of the "atmosphere," for lack of a better word. 

A new arena is needed, with a concourse above the ice and bleacher seating all of the way down to ice level.  And a scaled-down premium section as well.

Venues clearly improved by recent renovations:  Alumni Field, Crisler Arena.

Venues clearly made worse by recent renovations:  Fisher Stadium, Yost Ice Arena.

Recent renovations about which I am ambivalent:  Michigan Stadium.

 

OccaM

March 26th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^

I thought stadium atmosphere got a lot better after renovations. It was pretty quiet before the boxes were put in. 

Not to mention games going into night time / night games are awesome!

 

This is the classic "Michigan never lets go of the past" type of post. 

wolpherine2000

March 27th, 2015 at 1:02 AM ^

...we synthesized Michigan's enormous tradition, progressiveness and culture of arts into a renovation of the Big House? It could be designed by one of the most esteemed architects in the world, feature the words to the Victors in 20 foot high letters on a traditional maize background, and...

Hang on. That's probably not the solution.

Bando Calrissian

March 26th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^

It's basically demolishing the Park Avenue Hotel while saving the Eddystone across the street, putting in a huge loading dock, providing for more parking (because there aren't enough empty lots for parking as it is in the CBD...), and a few other small things.

In other words, not much we didn't know already, but enough to get a better feel for how they envision the project. Which is to say, they're going to do what they're going to do.

bsand2053

March 26th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^

I do.  It looks really awesome from the outside, but I miss the clean, open bowl when I'm in the stadium.  I also really miss the Art Deco Michigan Stadium above the old press box.  I know they have it somewhere else in the stiadium but that was iconic to me.

Pelinka2Voskuil

March 26th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^

I'm a fan of the renovations but do miss the press box lettering.  The one aspect of the new press boxes I've always felt looked incomplete is the large blue panels at the top.  It's very plain and begging for something (thankfully Brandon is out because you could fit a ton of ads up there).  I'd always thought just painting UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN in the block/end zone font would look nice.  But enlarging the art deco and painting it on or (better) making new, bigger letters and affixing them to that section would look great.

justingoblue

March 26th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^

I like everything about post-renovation Michigan Stadium better, except that it's not open to run stairs/bleachers any more.

That timeline might not fit exactly, but it's close enough.