Will December Games Be Played at Ford Field, Other Indoor Venues?
The championship game on Dec. 19 will obviously be played in Indy, but what about the other games that day and in the rest of December?
Back in August, when we were looking at a January-March season, the Big Ten was reportedly talking to Ford Field and some of the other indoor venues. It will be interesting to see if those talks revive.
Within the Big Ten footprint, or close by, there are indoor stadiums in Detroit, Indy, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and St. Louis. There's also a venue in Atlantic City that hosted college games in the 70s that's still standing. Hell, what about the Superior Dome in Marquette? I'd love to see Michigan v. Wisconsin there on Dec. 11 as a prelude to those two teams meeting again a week later in Indy.
I'm guessing they'll just make those poor kids play outside in December - after all, the NFL does it - but it will be interesting to see.
September 16th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
Finally, sound public health measures align with my own personal preferences: play all the games outdoors!
Even in "normal" times I'd much rather see a December (or any time of year) game in the Big House--or at Soldier Field-- than in one of these indoor, antiseptic Wal-Marts that pass for NFL stadiums these days. And now, the weight of public health evidence strongly suggests that moving interactions outdoors is about the single most effective measure you can take to limit spread of the virus (short of not having the interactions at all.)
PLAY THE DAMN GAMES OUTDOORS!
September 16th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
I’m not sure if this has been discussed anywhere (to lazy to check and can’t make my own thread), but UM 100k+ stadium attendance streak will be officially broken this year!!!
i know it was probably actually broken at the Minnesota game (i think?) under Hoke
i wonder how they’ll add modifier words to keep some sort of streak alive
September 16th, 2020 at 1:05 PM ^
you fail to recognize the power of the asterisk.
September 16th, 2020 at 1:03 PM ^
Green Bay and Chicago play games outdoors in the winter. Why not just play the games outside?
September 16th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
Well Chicago and Green Bay are professional teams. I don't at all disagree with you and I do think you should be able to play these games outside regardless of what level you play at. I think just about anyone on Michigan's team would tell you the same thing.
But its easier to tell paid professional athletes "tough shit, sack up and get out there and play, no matter the elements." That's probably one of the main reasons, if not the only reason, they avoid playing outside.
September 16th, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
I imagine that logistics like this are why we don't have schedules yet.
September 16th, 2020 at 2:01 PM ^
Snowy games are the best.
September 16th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
I assume all games in the "regular" season will be on campus sites but the last weekend may be in domed, neutral site NFL stadia. Here's why.
One of the reasons you can't do doubleheaders in football is that there is no way to logistically handle two sets of fans in and around the stadium, the way you do for basketball and hockey. So, playing without fans makes it somewhat easier to schedule the B1G consolation game for, say, noon on 12/19 in Indianapolis, with the championship game at 8 pm. They could similarly pair up in Minneapolis and Detroit and play games Friday night/Saturday afternoon, all leading up to the Saturday night CG.
Note that the Colts and Vikings (and Packers, for that matter) are all home on 12/20, so they may not want to/be able to host B1G games the day before. Lions, Bears and Browns are all away, so presumably could be considered to host a game or two. At first I was thinking indoor only, but threw in Green Bay, Chicago, and Cleveland as additional NFL cities in the B1G footprint to think about. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore/DC are all technically in the footprint as well, so maybe we should think about them as well.
There are still issues with having enough hotels, lockerrooms, practice facilities, etc. for four teams, but I see it as possible to overcome. Also, having set neutral site games at the end of the season may be preferable to forcing half the league to plan on hosting on short notice when they're already well past the normal season. Finally, an additional bonus is that the last game of the year is as close to a bowl game experience as anyone is going to get this year.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^
Dude, it’s football.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:36 PM ^
Now and again, we are fortunate and the desperately cold temperatures hold off until after Christmas, but then of course, there is the other type of season where we are already snow-weary and it isn't even Christmas, like this past winter...
September 16th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^
Unless something changes there aren't going to be any fans. Playing at a neutral, domed site doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.
Detroit, Miinneapolis, Indy, Milwaukee - those all seem viable. I can't imagine they'd consider St. Louis - why play in a stadium/state not in B1G footprint?
While I'd be fine with no-attendance neutral site games, they'll probably just play outside on campuses. Gonna be some crazy snow/ice games.