The NEXT form of expansion at Michigan Stadium

A couple things.

1) I would LOVE to see another deck for numerous reasons. The obvious huge capacity would be incredible, the noise would be downright terrifying, etc. The problem is, I don't know where another 20,000 people would park, how they would get that approved by a fire marshal, yada yada. I don't know the rules, but it seems like it could be a logistical nightmare.

2) I think it would be great to get some bigger/better scoreboards. I'd like to see a monstrous HD videoboard in each endzone. I want to see each and every drop of spittle forced from the Buckeye QB when he gets pounded into the ground. I want to see the look of fear in a Spartan defender's eyes when he realizes there's a ninja quarterback coming right at him.

I actually agree with you about the 2nd deck in the endzones. It would work and it would be imposing as all get out and make it even louder. I only wonder if you could get 128,001 in a stadium for Michigan vs. Delaware St.

I may have no idea where I got this but I heard that the stadium was built to someday hold a capacity of around 200,000.

I think a second deck would have many more than 20k seats. It already looks bad enough when we play any team not OSU/PSU with either empty seats or an rather large contingent of road fans (such as games against [TEAM REDACTED]). Seeing another potentially empty section or sections worth would be pretty crappy.

I'm on board with Maize N Brew that we need to install a cloverfieldatron sized high def screen on one of the endzones.

There was a lot of fuss about the current expansion, and of course, not all of it positive, it may take a while before people warm up to the idea of expanding the stadium further. Also - scoreboards? Wouldn't they have to be moved? Personally I think the only thing needed for the stadium are larger screens at either end. Texas' massive screen aka "Godzillatron" is just crazy, but UM stadium's are a bit small in my opinion.

I would love to see them move the student section from the corner, to the first 15 - 20 rows all the way around field. That would increase the noise tremendously! Can you imagine all of the "down in front" screaming, coming from the rest of the stadium?

i want two things:

1) huge HD board

2) more men's bathrooms

Bill Martin said that this construction left the endzone's open for more expansion in the future if necessary. I think it would be sweet to add a second deck just to the end zones. That would be sweet.

I've been thinking the exact same thing ever since I saw the plans for the stadium: one or both end-zones filled in with a double deck. Preferably both, I like symmetry and we now have that going more than ever.

Being down on the field, looking up and being closed in on all sides by over 120k people who all want nothing more than for you to fail at what it is you've set out to do... yikes.

I'd want to do it because of that old son of a bitch that yelled at me every game last year. I'll up bang you too. I feel like an upbang whore right now, giving it to everyone.

They're going to build the seats up in the end zones till they come out as far as the new additions.

Boring, but that makes the most sense from a pack the seats in standpoint.

120,000+ sounds awesome. I wonder what the saturation point is. That's probably another thread unto itself. I suspect the parking would work itself out if they were to add additional seating. I've always appreciated the symmetry of the stadium (which has of course actually improved with the expansion), and while I'd be willing to sacrifice that if necessary to add capacity (I'm neither an architect nor an engineer but there's a lot more room on the North side of the stadium versus the South side for expansion), I'd prefer that they maintain the stadium's symmetry with any further expansion. I join the chorus on upgrading the scoreboards as the next project to tackle.

Supposedly, Yost had the original metal footings built strong enough to support 140,000 seats. (BTW, he did this at a time when Ann Arbor had 30,000 people - talk about forward-thinking.) Whether that's actually the case, I don't know, but architects could probably figure a way to add the seats on somehow. The bigger issue revolves around demand. One upper deck endzone might be feasible, but I don't know if two are.

The only thing about adding more seating is that I don't want upper and lower bowls to develop. One of the things I like about the Big House is that it's one continuous bowl rather than being divided. That might not be the best way to keep sound in, but I'd deal with that.

The only way that I could deal with a second bowl is if the seats were on top of the new skyboxes. I feel like that wouldn't look like a second bowl but instead look more like a continuation of the "[pseudo] lower bowl".

And I of course echo the other statements that we need some Godzillatrons on each side of the stadium.

Need to get rid of the blue halo. It looks very tacky now with the new additions. Would love to see it replaced with brick.

When talking saturation, take into account that the estimated waiting list for tickets is 10,000 for this year. Since every game sells out anyway I think you can safely add 15k and be able to fill the stands. And if it doesn't work we could always bring in Nickelback for halftime shows(brah?) to fill the seats. As far as parking, as soon as U-M finishes buying the rest of Ann Arbor I don't think that will be a problem.

http://www.ticketwaitinglist.com/2009/04/michigan-wolverines-season-tick...

helicopterS that hold said gargantuan scoreboard above the field (that can be raised for punts and kicks, unlike in Dallas)

seriously. we're MICHIGAN!!!

That second deck would be very far from the field. The stadium is such a shallow bowl that a second deck would put the fans so far horizontally away from the field. I guess if they actually built it to hang over the current seats it could solve that problem, but would then create many more.

I might put structures in each end-zone, similar to the new ones along the sidelines, and then put new scoreboards in the corners of the stadium.

I want to install an electromagnet in the turf and plant magnetic strips in OSU footballs. Next step would be to turn the magnet on while pass is in the air for a brief second and watch it fall faster to the ground.

..if they sell out against Delaware St. I would love to see the capacity at either 120k or 140k to keep the pretenders in Tennessee and PA from even thinking about attempting to usurp the Big House's standing as the largest stadium in the US.

It would be great to see a lot of tickets available, and it would also be great if they made a dent in the "scalping mafia" that works together outside the stadium. I can remember going to games before Don Canham started agressive marketing. There used to be plenty of empty seats; the only games that were guaranteed sellouts were MSU or OSU, whichever played there that year.

I agree about the bathrooms, though. Maybe they should build an adjunct facility next to the stadium. They definitely need to do something for overcrowding.

constantly running scores of other games. It drives me nuts that we only get those score updates twice or three times a game.