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°W / 42.34000; -83.04556Coordinates: 42°20′24″N 83°2′44″W / 42.34000°N 83.04556°W / 42.34000; -83.04556
Owner Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority
Operator Detroit Lions
Capacity Football: 85,000[1] (expandable of up to 70,000)
Basketball: 78,000
Record attendance WrestleMania 23: 80,103 (April 1, 2007)
Surface FieldTurf
Construction
Broke ground November 16, 1999
Opened August 24, 2002
Construction cost US$430 million
($566 million in 2016 dollars[2])
Architect Rossetti Architects
Hamilton Anderson Associates, Inc.
Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz Architects[3]
Project manager Hammes Company[3]
Structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti[3]
Services engineer SmithGroup[3]
General contractor Hunt/Jenkins/White/Olson JV[3]
Tenants
Detroit Lions (NFL) (2002–present)
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2002–2013)
Quick Lane Bowl (2014–present)

Ford Field is a multi-purpose indoor stadium located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States, owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It is primarily used for American football as the home field of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) as well as the annual Quick Lane Bowl college football bowl game. The regular seating capacity is approximately 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 holds a controlling interest in the company, and a member of the Ford family has controlled the Lions franchise since 1963.

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.[3]

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 nine 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, and FirstEnergy 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 three current full-time NFL stadiums (the other two being FirstEnergy Stadium and Levi's Stadium) that have yet to host an NFL playoff game, which generally requires the home team to win their division's championship (at the end of the regular season). In addition, the New York Jets have never hosted a playoff game at their current stadium (MetLife Stadium), while the co-tenant New York Giants have once since its opening in 2010. The Lions are unbeaten at Ford Field against the Cleveland Browns (1-0), Kansas City Chiefs (2-0), and Oakland Raiders (2-0), but winless against the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2), Indianapolis Colts (0-2), Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1), New England Patriots (0-2), New York Jets (0-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1), and Tennessee Titans (0-1).

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.

Ford Field is transformed into a basketball arena in preparation for the 2008 Midwest Regional Finals.

The stadium was home to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl sponsored by Detroit-based Little Caesars (previously known as the Motor City Bowl and jointly sponsored by the Big Three automakers headquartered in Detroit - Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors) from 2002 until 2013. It featured a top Mid-American Conference team and a Big Ten Conference team. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was replaced by the Quick Lane Bowl, featuring teams from the Big Ten Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, and backed by the Detroit Lions and Ford Motor Company. 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.[4]

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.[5]

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 2014, Ford Field hosted the 2014 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)Midwest Regional Conference sponsored by Department of Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center. This is the second time Ford Field has hosted this conference (2007 and 2014) and the 24th Midwest Regional SAEM conference.

A Buffalo Bills home game against the New York Jets was played at Ford Field on November 24, 2014 after a major lake effect snowstorm hit western New York, causing the game to be moved from Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills won that game 38-3.

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 Gross
October 22, 2002 The Rolling Stones + No Doubt Licks Tour
November 18, 2008 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 30,119 $2,395,900
June 11, 2011 Taylor Swift + Needtobreathe, Frankie Ballard, Randy Montana Speak Now World Tour 47,992 $3,453,549
August 18, 2012 Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw + Jake Owen, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals Brothers of the Sun Tour 48,943 $4,560,108
May 4, 2013 Taylor Swift + Ed Sheeran, Austin Mahone, Brett Eldredge The Red Tour 48,265 $3,969,059
July 18, 2013 Bon Jovi + The J. Geils Band Because We Can 43,142 $2,638,975
August 6, 2013 Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z Legends of the Summer Tour 42,035 $3,968,119
August 16-17, 2014 One Direction + 5 Seconds of Summer Where We Are Tour 92,428 $8,304,416
May 30, 2015 Taylor Swift + Vance Joy, Shawn Mendes The 1989 World Tour 50,703[6] $5,999,690
August 22, 2015 Kenny Chesney and Eric Church + Brantley Gilbert, Chase Rice + Old Dominion The Big Revival Tour 49,285 $4,903,524
August 29, 2015 One Direction + Icona Pop On The Road Again Tour 42,767 $2,700,684
September 8, 2015 AC/DC + Vintage Trouble Rock Or Bust World Tour 43,000[7] TBA
October 30, 2015 Luke Bryan + Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch, DJ Rock Kick The Dust Up Tour TBA TBA
June 14, 2016 Beyoncé The Formation World Tour TBA TBA
June 23, 2016 Guns N' Roses Not in This Lifetime... Tour TBA TBA

Photo gallery

References

  1. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/north-america/united-states/michigan/ford-field/
  2. ↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ford Field Facts & History". Detroit Lions. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ Mandel, Stewart (March 28, 2008). "Mandel: The Ford Field Experiment". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  5. ↑ NCAA. "Attendance Records and Sites" (PDF). pages 46–47. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 10, 2015. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ http://www.theoaklandpress.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150909/review-familiarty-breeds-contentment-for-acdc-fans-at-ford-field

Further reading

External links

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
Doyt Perry Stadium		 Home of
MAC Championship Game
2004 – present 		Succeeded by
current stadium
Preceded by
Pontiac Silverdome		 Host of
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
2002 – 2013 		Succeeded by
Discontinued
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
Ralph Wilson Stadium		 Home of the
Buffalo Bills
Temporary
2014 		Succeeded by
Ralph Wilson 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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