Ford Field
| Ford Field | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location |
2000 Brush Street Detroit, Michigan 48226 |
| Coordinates | 42°20′24″N 83°2′44″W / 42.34000°N 83.04556°WCoordinates: 42°20′24″N 83°2′44″W / 42.34000°N 83.04556°W |
| Broke ground | November 16, 1999 |
| Opened | August 24, 2002 |
| Owner | Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority |
| Operator | Detroit Lions |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Construction cost |
US$430 million ($558 million in 2014 dollars[ 1]) |
| Architect |
Rossetti Architects Hamilton Anderson Associates, Inc. Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz Architects[1] |
| Project manager | Hammes Company[1] |
| Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti[1] |
| Services engineer | SmithGroup[1] |
| General contractor | Hunt/Jenkins/White/Olson JV[1] |
| Capacity |
Football: 65,000 (expandable of up to 70,000) Basketball: 78,000 |
| Record attendance | WrestleMania 23: 80,103 (April 1, 2007) |
| Tenants | |
|
Detroit Lions (NFL) (2002–present) Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2002–present) MAC Championship Game (2004–present) Michigan High School Football Championship Game Divisions 1–8 (2002–present) WWE WrestleMania 23 (2007) NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four (2009) Minnesota Vikings (NFL) (2010, one game) | |
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It is the home field of the National Football League's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball. The naming rights were purchased by the Ford Motor Company at $40 million over 20 years; the Ford family (including Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr.) holds a controlling interest in the company.
Design
Ford Field was originally planned to be an outdoor stadium, simultaneously with Comerica Park, which opened in April 2000, as part of a public project to replace Tiger Stadium and the Pontiac Silverdome. Ford Field was constructed after Comerica Park, opening in 2002. It cost an estimated $430 million to build, financed largely through private money, public money, and the sale of the naming rights.
The stadium's design incorporates a six-story former Hudson's warehouse, which was constructed in the 1920s. Hammes Company, a real estate development company in Middleton, Wisconsin, developed the new stadium, as well as the warehouse.[1]
The presence of the warehouse allows for a seating arrangement that was unique among professional American football stadiums at the time of Ford Field's opening. The majority of suites at Ford Field are located in the Hudson Warehouse along the stadium's southern sideline, as are the lounges that serve the premium club seats on that side of the field. The bulk of the grandstand seats are located along the northern sideline and both endlines, with gaps in the stadium's upper half at the southwest and southeast corners. The upper deck on the stadium's northern sideline also contains one level of suites and a smaller section of club seating. A similar design was implemented at the renovated Soldier Field, albeit with the use of a new structure (as opposed to an existing building) to house four levels of suites.
Unlike most indoor stadiums, Ford Field allows a large amount of natural light to reach the FieldTurf field, thanks to immense skylights and large glass windows at the open corners. The windows along the ceiling are frosted to mimic the automotive factories that are prevalent in Metro Detroit. The southwest corner provides the seating bowl and concourse with sunlight year-round and also offers fans a view of downtown Detroit. To prevent the stadium from becoming an overly imposing presence in the Detroit skyline, the playing field and lower bowl (100 level) were set below street level, similar to the design at adjacent Comerica Park.
Ford Field is one of ten venues in the NFL that has end zones in the east and the west (the others being Qualcomm Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, AT&T Stadium, Sun Life Stadium, Ralph Wilson Stadium, M&T Bank Stadium, the Georgia Dome, FirstEnergy Stadium) and Wembley Stadium. The NFL has a rule against this type of construction, so that the sunlight cannot be a major distraction to the players on the field. The NFL had to give permission for the east–west end-zone construction, because the Hudson's warehouse would have required alterations otherwise. The natural light is not a distraction to the players in a day game, because the light only reaches as far as the sidelines, leaving the field still properly lit with the combination of artificial stadium lighting and sunlight.
Major events
Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21–10 to win their fifth Super Bowl championship in front of 68,206 in attendance. It also marked the final game in the 13-year career of Detroit native and 10-year Steelers running back, Jerome Bettis.
Despite hosting the Super Bowl, Ford Field remains one of only two current NFL stadiums (the other being Cleveland Browns Stadium) that have yet to host an NFL playoff game, which generally requires the home team to win the division.
On April 1, 2007, Ford Field hosted World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania 23. This event set a Ford Field attendance record of 80,103. It was the first WrestleMania held in the Detroit area since 93,173 fans set a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III in 1987.
The stadium is home to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl featuring a top Mid-American Conference team and a Big Ten Conference team. It has also hosted the annual MAC Championship Game since 2004.
On December 13, 2003, Ford Field hosted the then largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game, as 78,129 people packed the stadium for the Basketbowl, where the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Michigan State Spartans, 79–74.
The University of Detroit Mercy and Ford Field hosted the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament regional semifinal and final games (March 28 and 30). Ford Field was the site of the 2009 Final Four (April 4 and 6). For the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament, the court was placed in the center of the football field rather than in an end of the stadium. This was the first time this configuration was used for NCAA Tournament play with the new 70,000-seat capacity rule in effect.[2]
The 2010 Frozen Four was held on April 8 and 10 with Boston College defeating Wisconsin to win the championship. This has been the only time NCAA hockey has used a football stadium for the championship and resulted in the largest attendance (37,592) at a Frozen Four event.[3]
The MHSAA Football Finals take place on Thanksgiving weekend, typically drawing over 60,000 fans. The stadium is also used each fall to host the MCBA finals, where Michigan high school marching bands compete to be the best in the state.
Ford Field has been the site of several neutral-site regular season college football games, including Michigan State vs. Florida Atlantic in 2010 and Western Michigan vs. Illinois in 2008.
On December 13, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings played a home game at Ford Field against the New York Giants after the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome's inflatable roof collapsed due to a rip in the roofing material caused by heavy snow accumulation. The roof failure forced the already postponed game to be moved elsewhere, and after deliberations, the NFL chose Ford Field. It was the first ever regular season Monday night game played at Ford Field. The Lions hosted their first ever Monday Night Football game in Ford Field on October 10, 2011 against the Chicago Bears.
Kid Rock held his 40th birthday party at Ford Field to kick off the tour of his new album Born Free on January 15, 2011.
Ford Field hosted two group stage matches of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament on June 7, 2011. Panama played Guadeloupe in the first match, and the United States played Canada in the second match.
The Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to Ford Field for the first time ever in March 2012. Ford Field is the second Detroit area venue the BFTS has visited; they had visited The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2001, 2006 and 2007.
The United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) holds multiple Monster Jam Monster Truck races at Ford Field. These races were previously held in the Pontiac Silverdome until it was closed. The USHRA usually runs 2-3 events a year at Ford Field.
In 2015, Ford Field will house the large group gatherings of the ELCA Youth Gathering.
Concerts
| Date | Main performer(s) + supporting act(s) | Tour | Tickets sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 22, 2002 | The Rolling Stones + No Doubt | Licks Tour | |
| November 18, 2008 | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 30,119 |
| June 11, 2011 | Taylor Swift + Needtobreathe, Frankie Ballard, Randy Montana | Speak Now World Tour | 47,992 |
| August 18, 2012 | Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw + Jake Owen, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals | Brothers of the Sun Tour | 48,943 |
| May 4, 2013 | Taylor Swift + Ed Sheeran, Austin Mahone, Brett Eldredge | Red Tour | 48,265 |
| July 18, 2013 | Bon Jovi + The J. Geils Band | Because We Can | 43,142 |
| August 6, 2013 | Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z | Legends of the Summer Tour | 42,035 |
Photo gallery
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A Wide Angle View of Ford Field before a Detroit Lions game.
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Ford Field allows natural light to penetrate through gray translucent roof panels.
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Before 2006 Mid-American Conference Championship game.
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Looking from section 111 towards press box and club suites.
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View of Brush Street from Comerica Park. Ford Field on left across the street from Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.
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Ford Field playing surface.
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2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan University vs. Ohio University.
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Aerial view of Ford Field.
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Front of Ford Field on December 26, 2006.
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Thousands wait to enter Ford Field for WrestleMania 23 on April 1, 2007.
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An attendance record setting 80,103 fans at Ford Field for WrestleMania 23.
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WrestleMania 23 stage at Ford Field.
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Ford Field on Super Bowl XL Sunday, countdown to kickoff on Comerica Park's scoreboard.
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View of Ford Field from Comerica Park
References and further reading
- Fisher, Dale (2003). Building Michigan: A Tribute to Michigan's Construction Industry. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1-891143-24-7.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Ford Field Facts & History". Detroit Lions. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ↑ Mandel, Stewart (March 28, 2008). "Mandel: The Ford Field Experiment". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ↑ NCAA. "Attendance Records and Sites". pages 46–47. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ford Field. |
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pontiac Silverdome |
Home of Detroit Lions 2002 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Pontiac Silverdome |
Host of Little Caesars Pizza Bowl 2002 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by ALLTEL Stadium |
Host of Super Bowl XL 2006 |
Succeeded by Dolphin Stadium |
| Preceded by Allstate Arena |
Host of WrestleMania 23 2007 |
Succeeded by Citrus Bowl |
| Preceded by Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
Home of the Minnesota Vikings Temporary 2010 |
Succeeded by TCF Bank Stadium |
| Preceded by Alamodome |
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals venue 2009 |
Succeeded by Lucas Oil Stadium |
| Preceded by Verizon Center Washington, D.C. |
Host of the Frozen Four 2010 |
Succeeded by Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Preceded by Renaissance Center |
Headquarters of Bodman PLC 2006 – present |
Succeeded by current |
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