New stadium features louder or not?

Submitted by blue95 on

So what's the consensus from those who have been at the games?

Perhaps I've missed it, but I haven't seen a proper mention of the effect of the stadium updates on actual, not anecdotal, noise levels.

coldnjl

September 26th, 2011 at 12:32 AM ^

I think it makes it way louder... it absolutely feels more confined and more intimidating...People may hate the music, but that adds alot to the atmosphere

IronDMK

September 26th, 2011 at 9:21 AM ^

The SDSU game was my first this year and there weren't many instances where the crowd got loud.  A few times we were decent, but just on 3rd and 4th downs.  But I haven't heard a single person tell me that the ND game wasn't the loudest game they've ever been to in the Big House.  For big games, it will be a big deal.  Minnesota shouldn't make for a loud game unfortunately (for your listening experience that is-- fortunate otherwise).

WolverineHistorian

September 26th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^

I guess it wouldn't matter anyway even if this were a big game.  I'm usually so focused on the game itself that it's harder for me to notice how loud the crowd can get.  I went to the triple overtime game against MSU in 04 (13 rows up, south end zone), Henne to Manningham against Penn State in 05 (14 rows up, north end zone) and I didn't notice THAT much of a difference at last year's triple overtime game against Illinois with the structures in place. 

unWavering

September 26th, 2011 at 8:57 AM ^

It probably depends on where you sit.  If you sit right next to the band, of course there is going to be delay, because the band is much closer than the speakers.  If you sit next to the scoreboards, you might actually hear the speakers before the band (but you probably wouldnt hear the band at all because they would probably be drowned out by the speakers).

Red is Blue

September 26th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^

I sit in the south endzone.  It is interesting to watch the "wave" of fan reaction to the hails in The Victors and other songs.  I think it is because the sound is traveling from the north end zone area and takes a little over half a second to reach the far end of the stadium.  So, not everyone is hearing the same note at the same time.  It is an interesting phenomenon.

aratman

September 26th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

Why can't they  just make sound faster from the speakers than the instraments then the sound would reach you at the same time. The time shift should change for every seat in the big house.  Don't get me started on how they should take care of echos.  Damn you again Physics.

TheLastHarbaugh

September 26th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^

It is definitely louder. Has been since they built the new luxury/press boxes. My elderly uncle and his wife told me after the Notre Dame game that he shant be attending any more "big time" Michigan games, as the fans were too raucous for his taste. I have not heard this about MICH stadium since EVAR.

beangoblue

September 26th, 2011 at 12:40 AM ^

Definitely. I was at the ND game and it was very loud. My brother in law was with me and he's a gator fan who has been to many games in the swamp and he said it was the best game experience he's ever had, with particular mention of the crowd noise.

BlueinLansing

September 26th, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^

than it was, does it put us in the top 10 or so, probably not the configuration will never allow that.

 

However at one point during the ND game my ears hurt, this has not happened to me at Michigan ever.

 

It will always depend on the opponent.   ND=loud  SDSU/EMU=not so much

NeilGoBlue

September 26th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^

I think there are two issues.. the loudness of the fans... definitely louder.. by far.. maybe 40%.

And, secondly, the loudness of the music, band, etc.  They mic (sp?) the band now and it comes through incredibly loud.  

It's a much better gameday experience.  

They do a good job of playing the music when the band can't play.   Almost every single time I heard music, I looked for the band and the band was either, walking on sideline getting ready for halftime, getting back in their seats after halftime, the drum line just finished... etc.

Picktown GoBlue

September 26th, 2011 at 1:03 AM ^

I don't have much to go on, were folks able to be loud enough in the Notre Dame game to affect QB play, especially no-huddle O's, or QB's that need to audible?  I'm not sure I've seen any opponent in quite a while need to call a timeout because they couldn't get directions to their offense.   That's not going to be a product of the electronics, but now that we've got the wraparound boxes on both sides and bigger walls at the ends (scoreboards), are we able to keep more sound in and disrupt and intimidate opponents?  I'm not seeing that aspect, yet.

tdcarl

September 26th, 2011 at 1:07 AM ^

I don't remember any timeouts, but I think I remember ND having a few false starts.





I must say though, ND was the loudest I've ever heard Michigan Stadium, including MSU '04 and Wisconsin '08. Towards the end of the game it actually was hurting my ears. Granted I was in the student section so it was probably a bit louder than other sections, but still, it was nice.

Section 1

September 26th, 2011 at 1:08 AM ^

I think the business of the two concourse structures  "holding in the noise" is a lot of baloney.

What we have now, in 2011, is a new and vastly improved PA system in the North Scoreboard, and they are using it with a lot more intent.  They are really cranking up the volume on the band at every opportunity.  Plus all of the recorded stadium-rock.

I didn't think the crowd at the SDSU game was making much noise.  The student sections were about 1/3 empty midway into the First Quarter.

I will say, with the experience of having sat in a lot of different areas of the Stadium and having been to games for many years, the sound is very different in different sections.

ZooWolverine

September 26th, 2011 at 1:41 AM ^

I was a student for ten years, and for the last fourish, my tickets were in the same general area, so my experience wasn't from moving afound the stadium. My last year as a student was two years ago, and the ND game was consistently and significantly louder than I had ever heard it before. ND behaved differently than I had ever seen any team behave at Michigan Stadium and it took me a while to realize that they were having trouble communicating because it was so much louder than they had expected.

It's definitely louder, and it's almost definitely due to the buildings reflecting the noise in, particularly since they were designed with exactly that purpose in mind. The difference happened once those buildings were together, and before they put mics up for the band.

I have heard different people report not hearing an increase in volume (Brian was one, at least initially)--that may be due to stadium location. Possibly some sections don't get nearly as strong an effect, or it's focused on the field and gets weaker as you move up, but there's no way that I was mis-judging the difference that year--it was too different, and the reaction of the team on the field confirmed that even further to me.

TheLastHarbaugh

September 26th, 2011 at 1:47 AM ^

As someone who has attended quite a few games over the years (although not not as many as some of the older folks on the board), and has sat in many different sections, I would definitely say that the stadium is louder with the addition of the new boxes, and I think the players/coaches/people on the field would generally agree with that statement.

Section 1

September 26th, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^

I wouldn't necessarily argue that our home games are not noisier affairs.  The Athletic Department is trying lots of things (amplified music, amplifying the band, "Hype" videos) to create more noise.

My one point is that the concourses don't noticeably "hold in" crowd noise.  Having sat in the same place (in the middle of the two concourses) before they went up, and then as they went up as new construction, and then as they were glassed in, and then finally with a renovated PA system, I can tell you that I noticed no difference as a result of their "holding in" crowd noise.  The Stadium operators have been adding amplified music; more and more every one of the last four years.

The Notre Dame Under the Lights game was a different kind of game, and perhaps even a different kind of crowd.  Not representative.  I have been to other loud games.  A lot of Michigan State games have been very loud, on the order of the Notre Dame game(s).

I didn't say things weren't louder now; they are.  But it is not because of the new "structures," unless two gigantic stacks of loudspeakers count as "structures."

Red is Blue

September 26th, 2011 at 9:52 AM ^

When the band is not being broadcast over the PA system, I can still hear them playing (albeit not very loud) in the South endzone.  Before the addition, that never happened.  I attribute that change to the sound bouncing off the east structure back into the stadium.

Don

September 26th, 2011 at 5:21 AM ^

It's not baloney. It's a matter of physical structures and their effect on architectural acoustics. The concourse structures don't "hold the noise in" so much as they partially reflect sound waves generated by the crowd back into the bowl. If the crowd is on their feet and screaming, it's definitely much louder, even without the aid of the PA system. I agree that the sound system is certainly used to goose the crowd at strategic moments, but that's not the only source of the increased noise levels.

However, the structures by themselves won't make a somnolent crowd sound like a raucous, insanely drunken pit of lunatics like, say, Tiger Stadium down in Baton Rouge. I got to the SDSU game just a couple minutes before halftime, and as I was walking up the stairs to enter on the eastern side there was absolutely no sound coming from inside the bowl. I thought the half must have already started, but when I got in play was still going on. It was reminiscent of all the games I attended during the 70s when the only noise you heard during large portions of many games was the droning of the banner-pulling airplanes circling the stadium.

When UM fans are really into it, we can be as loud as any venue in the country, and this is aided by the new architectural profile of the stadium structure. We'll just never be as consistently ear-splitting as those venues whose fans appear to be screaming at the tops of their lungs regardless of what's happening on the field or who the opponent is. Why the crowds at Michigan Stadium and Yost should be so different in this regard is an interesting cultural question.

winged victory

September 26th, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^

The inward-tilting facades of the new sideline structures were designed in part to redirect sound back into the bowl.  This is a predictable and measurable acoustical effect, and has been confirmed post-construction in the stadium.  It's not really a matter of interpretation.  The effect is more pronounced the closer you get to field level.

The new scoreboards do nothing to "hold in sound", however, as they do not tilt inward.  Any reflected sound off of them goes up and out.  The new speaker array in the North scoreboard and how it's used does add to game day noise.

BPocern

September 26th, 2011 at 1:11 AM ^

was very affected by the crowd noise. The play clock was under 5, they had a few false starts, and a couple delay of games and timeouts. I was in the middle of the student section, and it was absolutely nuts, loudest game i've been to by far, I think the night atmosphere had a lot to do with it though

elhead

September 26th, 2011 at 1:37 AM ^

I used to go to Michigan-Ohio games that were crowded, intense and with people yelling as much and as loudly as they did at the ND game - the first one I had been to in nine years. There is simply no comparison. Between the press/suite boxes and the scoreboards, the sound is contained to the point where the place just roars - and you hear the folks on the other side or end of the stadium. All that sound used to just dissipate into the air. Outside the stadium, it used to sound as if it was louder than it really was inside! Now if you are in there, the place just rocks.

radfan5

September 26th, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^

I have been going to games for over 20 years, and it is definetly much much louder since the expansion. The ND game is the loudest i have ever heard that stadium, and i was opposite the student section. (section 11). It was deafening. 

bluebyyou

September 26th, 2011 at 5:11 AM ^

I have been to almost every home game for the last ten years.  I can remember a couple of games since the new construction commenced that were really loud, but absolutely nothing like UTL, which was deafening.  As someone already noted, my ears were ringing for two days after that game.  To some extent, even if the new accoustics, while better, may not focus sound as well as some stadiums, remember that when you start addiing tens of thousands more fans, that is a lot of noise.

Here is a link to football stadiums by size - college and pro, although the larger stadiums are all college.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_football_stadiums_by_capacity

There are only six stadiums that hold 100,00 or more and by the time you reach the seventh largest stadium, the Rose Bowl, we have 20,000 more fans.  20,000 people can generate a lot of noise.

 

 

bluepow

September 26th, 2011 at 5:48 AM ^

For ND I was on the 25 yard line, about 40 rows up.

What impressed me the most was how much louder the crowd sounded when the line of scrimmage was directly in front of me.  The structures absolutely focus sound towards the action on the field.  If you are in this plane, you are in a churning cauldron of emotion. 

I have never been to a sporting event where I knew I was a fundamental part of the outcome.  No question ND was having trouble communicating.  I was so proud of how loud we were on every defensive down even when the game was not looking so good.

Remember the post-game vibes?  I recall people consistently not wanting to talk about football, or whatever, but just expressing how they felt to have witnessed such a spectacle.

I don't think the RAWK can take much credit; it needs to go to acoustical design and a record crowd doing their part.  

Allow me to introduce a welcome addition to the college football landscape: MICHIGAN HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE.  What a beautiful thing!  YES YES!!  As one who grew up in the shadow of the stadium and went to school with Desmond, I shiver even now recalling how proud I was of the scene.

It was a great night to be a Michigan Wolverine.

Keep it LOUD people!  We can now DO this!  We can INTIMIDATE!

ClearEyesFullHart

September 26th, 2011 at 8:11 AM ^

All I've got is anecdotal evidence.  They should have done "Who wants some pizza?" before and after expansion with a noise meter.  The crowd is louder this year.  What percentage of that is due to the structural difference I could not tell you.

Just out of curiosity...Could someone point me towards the rules for electronic stadium noise?  I'm sure we cant mic up the student section(that would be ideal)  but I guess I would like to read the fine print(and google has failed me).

ClearEyesFullHart

September 26th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^

Somehow I thought they would be more specific, but "Those governed by the rules shall not hamper communication"  is a pretty good catch-all.  So as I feared basically everything but the fans has to stop when the visiting offense comes to the line.  

Bando Calrissian

September 26th, 2011 at 9:01 AM ^

Personally, while the crowd noise is certainly an improvement, I'm not a fan of the sheer deafening jet-engine loudness of the scoreboard speakers.  I really think they could get just about the same effect without literally blowing our eardrums.  Turn it down to 10, or even 9.5, and it will probably still do what they apparently think it does.

Also, personally, I think mic'ing the MMB, while it may be one solution to the problem, it's weak.  It sounds strange, and for a 300-member marching band, it really shouldn't be necessary.  There's still a delay, and they pop in between turning the mics on and off so that it's completely obvious that's the route we're taking with our band.  It seems really amateur-hour to me.

And, seriously, let's talk about the piped-in Victors at the end of the first half.  I realize there are logistical issues with getting the band to the sidelines to get ready to march onto the field for the halftime show, but when those logistics make it impossible for the band to play after a score, it's time to rethink the schedule.  To my ears, it didn't even sound like an MMB recording!  RAWK is one thing, but the moment the PA system takes over playing the damn fight song...  Too far.

Section 1

September 26th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^

about all things band- and PA-related.

And I thought of you last Saturday -- when I encountered what I think were some newly-added StubHub advertisements on the pillars below the East Concourse at the entrance of Section 1.  It was really alarming; to see that kind of advertising in the Stadium.  Even something as innocuous as StubHub, which is a quasi-public service advertisement in that particular spot.

UMxWolverines

September 26th, 2011 at 5:39 PM ^

Dude, Michigan just signed a deal with Stub Hub. DB knows people would have a shit fit if those ads were inside the stadium. It's no different than Michigan's deal with Coca Cola. They have to put ads somewhere. As long as it's not inside the stadium who cares?

Section 1

September 26th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^

It degrades the experience.  Makes it more commonplace as, say, attending a Tigers, Lions, Pistons or Red Wings game.  Michigan is not a professional sports franchise.  I don't make donations to pro franchises.

I didn't pretend to be able to change Brandon's mind or change the status quo.  I only mentioned it to Bando because he had observed the same thing a couple of weeks ago and wrote about it on this Board.  His concern, and mine, is the "slippery slope."