Hindsight: Stadium construction/expansion
Had a random thought earlier as I driving past the Big House. I remembered back to the mid-2000s when talk about adding suites and changing the stadium was in full force. A lot of people didn't want to see the stadium changed from it's iconic simplicity. I remember a lot of friends and alums were joining groups on Facebook like "Say no to changing the Big House" and things like that. So I thought it would be interesting to check back in and see where people stood now. How did you feel back then? Now that we see the final product (or close the final product if future plans are any indication), how do you feel about what has been done? Has your mind been changed?
I guess I took kind of a business approach to it back then and saw how many other stadiums were adding them and thought we should. It could be a way to bring in a lot of money. Where things stand now, I think it was definitely the right decision. The stadium has never looked better (or been louder!) in my mind and I'm really happy things came out the way they did.
and I am in favor now
and I think it's been a great improvement to the facility in all kinds of ways.
That was exactly my response when I went to my first game as a high schooler. Walking from the west and seeing that small chunk sticking up I was very underwhelmed... When I got into the stadium and looked down I was blown away.
I absolutely love the additions to the stadium. I feel the suites opposite of the press box finishes things out nicely.
My first game was when I was at grad school at Michigan. We drove past it the night before. It looked even more podunk at night.
Then the day of the game, we walked up to it and it was still no big deal. But then when I walked through the entrance portal all I saw was and absolute ocean of people. I was stunned. Chills.
I was in favor then and am very happy with how things turned out. The Big House used to sneak up on you as you were driving into town. Not any longer. The Big House combined with the video boards combined with the Crisler Center renovation really created a unified look to the athletic campus, and serve as a strong selling point for the University.
I like the looks of it now. And I like how it's a louder environment.
And I like that we're keeping ahead of those lousy rat bastards who had the audacity to increase their capacity over 100,000. Yeah, I'm looking at you Penn State, Ohio State, Tennessee and Alabama.
The Big House used to sneak up on you as you were driving into town.
The one minor thing I'll miss is taking someone to a game who's never been in the Big House. Approaching the stadium there was always a sort of "What's the big deal?" attitude. Then that first moment walking through in when the vast stadium opens up ... that usually produced a moment of silence, then ... "Wow."
I got chills reading that last part and remembering my first Michigan football game and experiencing that exact feeling.
I really don't see how anyone could be against making the Big House... bigger.
What is this HALO everyone is speaking of? Forgive my ignorance.
NO. I don't like talking about it and I don't like talking about why.
Let's go bigger!
I've said this plenty of times on here but what we have now is not the endgame.
I have a couple friends who are stadium ushers and in their annual meeting with Dave Brandon before the season he said that plans are being drawn up for an upper deck in the South endzone to take the capacity to above 120,000.
The Big House is beautiful. It definitely needed a facelift at the end of 2007. And it was even more evident in 2009 when I went on a tour and saw some of the decaying parts.
Still though, part of me has a bit of sadness when I look at the large picture of Old Michigan Stadium on my wall. By Old Michigan Stadium, I refer to it in the years 1927-2007.
New Michigan Stadium is a completely new building to me. Someday if I am fortunate enough to have kids, they're going to look at that picture and laugh because it looks so bare.
Seeing that overhead shot of the stadium in 1997 vs ohio just makes me kinda....homesick I guess is the word.
Thought of making a comment, then saw I wasn't the only one whose attention was caught by it. I find it funny that whenever I see classic broadcast footage or video, the first thing I always do is look at the scores and rankings of other games/teams. Glad to see that I'm probably not the only one.
Aesthetically, I love the new stadium. It is truly a collosseum. And I love what Hoke and Co. is doing for the program. I don't think a national championship is at all beyond our reach. But we're officially in a new era of college football where kids aren't just coming to Michigan for the same reasons we did. Nowadays, the kids aren't going to come to Michigan simply because they want to be part of its tradition. Instead, they want more tangible things, like facilities - weight rooms, and stylish new arenas and stadiums.
I wonder - did these things always matter as much to recruits in years past?
Definitely not in the old days.
Today we have Schembechler Hall. But lets go back in time....
I give you, the Ferry Field Club House. And yes that square thing with the M on it in front of the Club House was the scoreboard.
Tomorrow I'm actually heading over to Ferry Field and getting a strip of sod to freeze dry since they're tearing it out in a couple years and making it a parking lot.
I'm not in town anymore, could you grab me a 1x1 sqf of sod? I will pay for shipping and throw a few bucks at you.
Yours is one of the ones I appreciate the most. I love seeing these old photos, how many external hard drives and things you have to store it all, and how you keep track of it, must be quite impressive and worth it.
Seeing that overhead shot of the stadium in 1997 vs ohio just makes me kinda....homesick I guess is the word.Even the patchy, brown spots of the natural turf that would never properly take root and was alway half dead by the end of the season? I have a lot of nostalgia for the old place too, but getting rid of that natural grass was a good thing.
I think they did a really classy job. (So many stadiums are form follows function with ugly stairs and ramps hanging off the sides.)
We also needed to modernize - the same with Crisler. Short of paying the athletes the only way to keep up in the arms race is to keep the facilities up with the Joneses.
I don't miss the ugly old pressbox at all. The Michigan Stadium letters up on top were the only thing worth saving there.
However, I have to say it is a different feeling sitting in a canyon,
than a bowl
you feel enclosed, and less out in the broader world (and elements). (Of course the view of Crisler's roof was nothing to write home about.)
There is the loss of the first impression as described above (like when you walk up to the rim of the Grand Canyon the first time), and the communal "for three hours on Saturday we are all just coming together as common Michigan fans" thing. Of course the latter never was the case - our betters were being fleeced -- I mean entertained -- up in the box before. Now we just have that many more (and more opulent) milk machines available. (Mixed metaphors, I know.)
I have never been to the Rose Bowl (c'mon Team 134!), but I imagine it is going through a similar transformation in feel (http://www.rosebowl-renovation.com/). While not as classic by any means from the outside
The field view is improved over the old structure:
And the still only have boxes on one side.
If he thinks the economics support it, go for it I guess. But the last thing I'd want to see is them spend a bunch of money for seats that will either be empty or (worse) occupied by Ohio fans.
But their ticket pricing strategies don't seem to support the idea that further expansion is realistic anytime soon. I'm not sure the demand is there to go to 120,000, not at the prices they're charging now.
I think it's outstanding. I remember friends razzing me about it being the biggest and claiming it wasn't that impressive in real life. Though I certainly disagreed with them, I'm very happy with the changes and truly wouldn't mind wrapping the bowl to meet the video boards.
The plans were pretty cool then and they look really nice fully implemented. As awesome as the traditional atmosphere was, Michigan Stadium pre-2008 was already physically obsolete in many regards. Even when they set forth on the project, it was made clear from the beginning, as I recall, that each step of the process would add to the positive nature of the fan experience, be financially responsible and be of appropriate quality (along with some other things, like laying the groundwork for future expansion, if so desired, ADA compliance and other niceties). I believe they have achieved that here and then some really.
and the expansion for an upper deck is a great idea to stay # 1 in attendance and keeping the noise in the stadium so it can be more intimidating for foes, it was badly needed and like was said before, you gotta keep up witht the times if you want to be/stay the Leaders and Best!!!
2. I don't care when he visits as long as he does.
3. If he doesn't come this weekend (and I do hope his family is fine) it may be a blessing in disguise, would love him to be in campus with peppers and or hand.
but I'm for it now. The current changes are pretty nice and I think it did really help keep the noise in the stadium. I feel like it's much less of a library now than it was 5 or 6 years ago
I had a couple of major objections:
- First, the creation of luxury boxes would create a need for luxury parking, and probably ruin the character of the Blue Lot. I was partly right. They have ruined a part of the Blue Lot's character. Bill Martin knew it would happen, but the imperatives of the entire project outweighed the negatives. Parking and gameday tailgating space continue to be a big problem for Michigan. OSU and even MSU are more hospitable. Brandon needs to deal with that.
- I was concerned about light in the Stadium. That the concourses would create too much darkness with too many shadows. I was right about that too, but it is not as bad as I feared. Still, it is a negative.
The big thing that I was unconcerned about: "Luxury." Remember, the really big objection were all of the crunchy Birkenstock-wearing members of the Ninety-nine Percent who objected to any "luxury" seating at all. That's like 89% of Ann Arbor, right? They didn't want two classes of ticketholders in any way, shape or form.
I changed my overall views overnight, in one meeting with Bill Martin and the Victors Club in the Junge Center. Martin was completely brilliant, with one of the best powerpoint presentations I have ever seen. He had the architects, and the planners. He quoted Bo Schembechler, and it is nearly true to say that Bo's dying wish was to get the Stadium expansion and renovation completed. The entire presentation was pure mastery. The University of Michigan will forever be in Bill Martin's debt for his management of the Stadium and the other physical improvements of the athletic campus. Arguably, Fielding Yost's greatest legacy was not the point-a-minute teams (although I don't think I'd argue that); rather, it was Michigan Stadium. Bill Martin ought to rank alongside Old Man Yost in that regard.
Everybody thinks about seating, and perhaps about crowd noise. Those are lesser concerns. The really big things were infrastructure. Entrances and exits. Elevators to the handicapped mezzanine. Bathrooms (still in terrible need of imporvement and expansion -- the new "green" waterless bathrooms are unconscionably bad). Concessions. The year-round utility of the Stadium Club. And the revenue that flows from that Club.
And doing his best to foment opposition in the earliest days when plans were first leaked and then announced, was our old buddy Michael Rosenberg at the Detroit Free Press.
Rosenberg's opposition to the expansion appeared to fold at precisely the same time as the Democrats on the Board of Regents decided that they'd support it.
In addition to the "that's it" feeling from the outside to the impressed inside sensation, I miss that everyone had to sit in the same seats. There was sort of a brotherhood there. Having corporations buy boxes or superweathy buy them sort of takes away from it.
Overall though, I really like what we did. The brick looks fantastic. As long as we ruined the suprise giant stadium I think we should add the second decks on the endzones. Another 40k to 60k would be great.
I like the suites and lights. But I'm not exactly thrilled with the plan of a second deck. I know upper decks hold the sound but I'm fond of the bowl look.
I usually go for the bowl too, but sometimes you just need a good upper decker.