When what is now Lambeau Field was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1957, then NFL commissioner Bert Bell was in attendance and in his own words declared it the crème de la crème of NFL stadiums.
"The dedication of this stadium today is the greatest thing that has ever happened in professional football," said Bell. "The facilities as they stand right now are the finest in the league."
In truth, by today's standards, the original was a barebones stadium enclosed largely by a cyclone fence topped with three strands of barbed wire.
Yet as the Packers approach their 70th season of play in what today looks from the outside almost nothing like what it did in 1957, the stadium that Bell considered the envy of the league then has aged so well that it is now widely viewed as a shrine to the NFL.
The stadium was built in seven months after years of wrangling over the need for it, considering the Packers rarely sold out their 24,500-seat wooden stadium located next to Green Bay East High School, and heated debate over whether it should be located on the east side or the west side of the Fox River.
Also, at the time, building a stadium for a professional football team was essentially unprecedented. Of the 11 other NFL teams in 1957, nine played in their city's major league baseball stadium.
San Francisco's Kezar Stadium was dedicated 21 years before the 49ers came into existence, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was completed 23 years before the Rams moved to LA.
Here is the chronological evolution of what is now storied Lambeau Field from then to now.
1957
Official Name: Green Bay City Stadium
Capacity: 32,154 (based on the Packers' official audit)
Population of Green Bay: 58,500 (estimated)
Configuration: Sixty rows of wooden bleachers from goal line to goal line on both the east and west sides of the stadium, including the first 25 dug out below ground level and supported by poured concrete, and the top 35 supported by steel abutments. Plus, there were 21 rows of wooden seats below ground level in the open north and south end zones. Behind them was a blacktop concourse that circled the stadium.
Additional structures: A building, originally painted pink, was located in the south end zone with two dressing rooms with 35 lockers each. The Packers' locker room with a training room was situated on the east side, and the visiting team's locker room on the west side. Both were accessible to the south ramp located directly behind the goal posts and leading to the field. There also were small ticket offices with windows open to the outside of the stadium, and restrooms under both the east and west stands. A three-decker press box at the top of the west stands was 80 feet long and 14 feet from front to back
Scoreboard: There was one at the south end of the stadium, 52 feet long and 24 feet high, with the center section – displaying the score, the quarter, time remaining and down-and-distance – operated electronically, while the left and right sides showed the scores of other games and those had to be updated manually. The name of the scoreboard's sponsor, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and its slogan ran across the top of the scoreboard with a time clock centered above it.
Season-ticket prices for three regular-season games: $14.25 ($4.75 per game) in east and west stands; $9.90, south end zone seats; $6.75, north end zone seats (cheaper than in the south end zone because they faced the sun); $2.25 (75 cents per game) in an 838-seat area in the northeast corner designated as a student section.
Season-ticket sales: 23,064, an increase from 12,112 at old City Stadium in 1956 but short of the Packers' goal of selling out that first year.
Usage: Three Packers' home games, all in the regular season; occasional Packers practices; and the annual Green Bay East-Green Bay West high school football game.
Field: Natural grass.
Parking: A gravel lot planned to accommodate 6,500 cars. Roughly three acres of the Vannieuwenhoven family farm remained in the west parking lot, with 652 feet of frontage along Ridge Road, and included their one-story wooden home with an unfinished upper level, a small barn, machine shed, chicken coop and silo.
Expansions, improvements, etc.
1960 – Eight light poles, 157 feet in height and four on each side of the stadium, were erected, making it possible for high school football teams to play in the stadium on Friday nights. While they met the NFL's required height, they did not meet the league's standard for illumination. As a result, the Packers could play night exhibition games at the stadium but not regular-season games.
1961 – The first major expansion added 6,519 seats above three sections to each side in the south end zone. The Packers also sold out the stadium on a season-ticket basis for the first time. When the NFL Championship Game was played on Dec. 31, 1,500 temporary bleacher seats were erected on the end zone concourse.
1963 – A two-story, $175,000 administration building was constructed at the north end, allowing the Packers to move their offices from downtown Green Bay. The first floor included a ticket office at the front entrance; and separate dressing rooms for the Packers players and coaches, a trainer's room, equipment room, storage room and a visitors' locker room toward the back. Administrative and coaches offices, along with meeting rooms, were located on the second floor. Meanwhile, the old locker room at the south end was converted into restrooms for Packers games but still used as dressing rooms for high school games. A total of 3,658 temporary bleacher seats were erected, mostly on the concourse in the north end zone, increasing stadium capacity to 42,327. Also, a new 22- by 32-foot scoreboard was erected at the northeast corner of the stadium, and the west parking lot was enlarged by the purchase of the Vannieuwenhoven farm property.
1965 – On Sept. 11, before the fifth and final preseason game, Green Bay City Stadium was officially renamed Lambeau Field during a brief ceremony. With another expansion that completely enclosed the south end zone, the stadium took on a horseshoe look. The 3,658 temporary bleacher seats erected two years earlier were removed and a second major stadium expansion added 12,183 permanent seats, increasing capacity to 50,852. More than 6,000 of those seats were added at each side of the north end zone. Also, a 190-foot tunnel with steps was constructed from the locker room area to the playing field for coaches and players to use upon entering and leaving it on game day. An addition to the administration building and more restrooms under the stands were also constructed.
1968 – The press box was basically rebuilt on the steel framework of the original and enlarged. The first two floors were extended back, a fourth deck was added for cameramen and staircases were added at each end. Wood paneling and a more elegant décor spiced up what had been steel and concrete work areas. Plus, an enclosed, sound-proof booth was constructed for now general manager Vince Lombardi so he could watch home games in private. At the same time, the east-west street bordering the north end of Lambeau Field, formerly named Highland Avenue, was renamed Lombardi Avenue.
1969 – The wooden, bench-type bleachers throughout the stadium were replaced with aluminum bleachers.
1970 – With the addition of 5,411 additional seats in the north end zone, Lambeau Field became a fully enclosed bowl. The fourth major expansion increased capacity to 56,263. Also, the original chain-link fence surrounding the stadium was replaced with a 16-foot-high green-baked aluminum wall and extended outward to ease congestion in the concourse. The entrance areas were constructed of brick, and the turnstile exits were widened and almost doubled in number. New ticket booths, concession stands and restrooms also were added.
1975 – A new visitors' locker room was built at the south end of the stadium. As a result, the Packers no longer had to share the hallway in the administration building that led to the ramp and then the field with the opposing team. A new, main scoreboard, measuring 52 feet long and 26 feet high, with a message center, replaced the old one at the south end, and a new but smaller auxiliary scoreboard replaced the old one in the northeast corner.
1979 – The old, 1,500-watt incandescent lights at Lambeau Field were replaced with new lamps that produced six times more lighting than the old system and allowed for regular-season night games, including Monday Night Football, to be played at Lambeau Field.
1984 – It was the last year of the half-priced seats in the kids section at the stadium. The seats were converted to adult seating in 1985.
1985 – Seventy-two private suites – 44 on the east side of the stadium and 28 on the west side – were constructed around the upper rim of Lambeau Field increasing capacity to 56,926.
1989 – A tunnel next to the ramp directly behind the south goal post was constructed, leading to the visitor's locker room at that end of the stadium.
1990 – Thirty-six new skyboxes and 1,920 club seats were constructed in the south end zone, adding 2,617 total seats and increasing capacity to 59,543.
1991 – A so-called Wall of Fame was added to Lambeau Field's interior façade. The names of Packers who had been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were etched in 15-inch gold letters on the green walls between floors on both the east and west sides of the stadium. The Packers' then 11 championship seasons were listed in gold letters above the club seats in the south end zone.
1993 – A 20,500-square foot addition to the west end of the team's administration building included an expanded Pro Shop – from 350 square feet to more than 2,000, – new public relations and marketing offices; a gymnasium; a theater-style media auditorium for press conferences; and a refigured corporate entrance. At that point, the Packers Corporation had spent roughly $22 million on additions and improvements to Lambeau Field and adjoining facilities over just the previous decade. Also, a 20 feet high and 26 feet wide Sony Jumbotron color replay board was added. As a footnote, that also was the year smoking was banned inside the stadium.
1995 – The Packers spent another $4.7 million to enclose the north end zone with 90 more suites, adding 1,347 seats, to increase capacity to 60,890.
2001-03 – A $295 million redevelopment project dramatically changed both the outer appearance and footprint of the stadium. It was paid for, in part, by a half-cent sales tax approved by Brown County voters in a referendum, and also a $125.9 million contribution from the Packers, the city of Green Bay and the NFL. The central component of the project was a five-plus story, 370,000-square-foot Atrium that not only served as the team's new administrative office building and football headquarters but also was open for business year-round, making it a tourist destination and money-maker for both the Packers and the local economy. The Atrium housed an expanded Packers Pro Shop, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, a full restaurant and bar, and other amenities. More than 11,600 additional seats, including roughly 6,600 in the bowl, increased capacity to 73,094. At the doorstep of the Atrium, imposing, larger-than-life, bronze statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi greeted guests. Inside the stadium, the names of the Packers' retired numbers were added to the stadium's north façade, as well.
2011-15 – A $312 million renovation project, this time with no funding from taxpayer money, included expansion of the south end of the stadium with 7,947 new seats and a standing-room-only area, increasing capacity to 81,041. Other changes included high-definition video boards; a new Packers Hall of Fame, as well as restaurant and bar; and updates to suites and club seats.
2018 – The latest update to the Lambeau playing field included the installation of Kentucky blue-grass sod, with SISGrass synthetic fibers stitched into the profile at ¾-inch spacing.
2023-26 – A new football headquarters on the east side of the stadium was built, adding more than 200,000 square feet of space, including an indoor, 35-yard field, new offices, meeting rooms, state-of-the-art weight room and most recently a renovated locker room, none of which was paid for with public tax money. Non-football offices in the Atrium were also renovated.
Overall, approximately $720 million, without public funding, has been invested in Lambeau Field renovations and expansions since 2011.
