Saturday Travel Feature
Lambeau Field
Green Bay, Wisconsin

"Originally built at a cost of $960,000, an amount shared equally by the Packer Corporation and the city of Green Bay, the facility was financed by way of a bond issue that received 2-to-1 voter approval in a municipal referendum conducted April 3, 1956.

"Located in southwest Green Bay, surrounded on three sides by the village of Ashwaubenon, Lambeau Field originally was built on farmland, purchased for $73,305. The stadium's original architect, Somerville Inc., favored the current site because it was sloped, making it perfect to build a bowl.


"Lambeau Field, now in its 53rd NFL season, is the longest continuously occupied stadium in the league -- 10 years more than the next-closest venue, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego at 43 years. In pro sports as a whole, only the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park (98 seasons) and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (96 seasons) have longer active home field tenures.


"Including the redevelopment, eight seating additions -- all paid for by the Green Bay Packers, Inc. -- have increased capacity from its original 32,150 to 38,669 in 1961, to 42,327 in 1963, to 50,852 in 1965 and to 56,263 in 1970. Construction of 72 initial suites in 1985 moved capacity to 56,926, and a 1990 addition of 36 boxes and 1,920 theatre-style club seats changed the number to 59,543. The seventh seating addition, a $4.7-million project in 1995, put 90 more suites in the previously open north end zone, for the first time giving the stadium the feel of a complete bowl and upping capacity to 60,890. ...the structure has been transformed from a football stadium that fans could use only 10 days during the season to a Packers cultural center that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Ultimately, the eighth addition bumped stadium seating capacity to 72,928. During the 2002 campaign, with work ongoing, capacity fluctuated between 65,290 and 66,110 as the season progressed.


"Not forgetting the Packers' rich tradition and history at Lambeau Field, then-GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman requested three slabs of concrete that were located in the team's former field tunnel at the north end -- which were walked over by many of the greatest players in club history -- to be moved to the new tunnel in the southeast corner; the players began using it during the 2002 season. A nearby plaque recognizes the presence of the concrete from the old tunnel.


"In 2007, the Packers installed an entirely new play playing surface, including a completely new drainage and heating system, bringing the latest technology in field management to the famous stadium. Also prominent within the stadium are the names of the 21 Packers players and coaches elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.


"Lambeau Field now is owned by the city of Green Bay and the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District; retirement of the city's original $960,000 debt was celebrated at a mortgage burning ceremony in May of 1978." (See Link.)


Photo: Taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.lambeaufield.com/stadium_info/history/