With the renovation almost complete, Lambeau Field will come alive Saturday night when the Green Bay Packers host the Carolina Panthers.
Complete with a new club level -- still under construction during the football season last year -- that seats over 3,000 fans indoors, a new atrium which houses the Packers Pro Shop and the soon-to-open Packers Hall of Fame, wider concourses, new scoreboards and more, Lambeau Field is certainly a sight to behold.
And on Saturday night, fans will get their first sneak-peek of the stadium that will officially be rededicated September 7, vs. the Minnesota Vikings.
"In terms of fans and gameday usage, we'll be ready to go (Saturday)," said John Jones, Packers executive vice president & chief operating officer. "All of the new restrooms, all the new seating will be online. We'll still be doing some work in the Hall of Fame and in Curly's Pub and other areas, but for fans, in terms of game experience, the stadium should be ready to go.
"We'll still be cleaning things up and tucking things in right up until the time that people get into the stadium, that's just our nature. But it should be a very good experience for fans on Saturday night."
In addition to gameday activities, the club level offers fans a multi-purpose area used for special events, weddings, and corporate functions available 365 days a year, and according to Steve Klegon, director of atrium business development, the dates are already filling up.
"It's exceeding our expectations quite honestly," Klegon said. "Total event numbers are exceeding 300. Wedding-wise we have quite a few dozen booked. Most of the Saturdays between now and 2004 are gone.
"The mystique of Lambeau Field has something to do with it, and our food and beverage provider does an outstanding job as well."
For more information on booking special events at Lambeau Field, click here.
For photos of the renovated club level at Lambeau Field, click here
Lambeau Field Fun Facts
Stadium
Lambeau Field opened on September 29, 1957 with 32,150 seats. It now has 72,515 seats.
Lambeau Field is the longest continuously occupied stadium in the league (47 years)
Lambeau Field now has 72,515 seats...compared to 60,890 prior to the renovation
There are 6,100 club seats: 3,200 outdoor and 2,900 indoor
There are 281 concession stands on the main and upper concourses...up from 186
Women's restrooms now total 556 - up from 180
Men's restrooms now total 708 - up from 436
The new scoreboards are 41 feet high and 162 wide. The full color, LED video displays are 27' x 48'.
The staging area leading to the Packers "tunnel," where the players emerge each game, is large enough to hold six semi-trailers.
Field
The new field lights are eight times brighter than the previous stadium lights.
The new field lights on the Ridge Road side of Lambeau extend to 161 feet off of the ground.
On the east side of Lambeau, the field lights extend 181 feet off the ground (compared to 161 feet on the west side), because the east side parking lot is 20 feet lower than the west side lot.
The field heating system includes more than 30 miles of radiant heating pipe, has thermostats under the field and can keep the field from freezing in the middle of winter.
Lambeau Field's "field" is a blend of 100% Kentucky bluegrass.
The square footage of Lambeau's turf is 87,000 square feet.
Lambeau's turf is mowed every other day to a height of 1-1/8 inches
Lambeau's turf has an in-ground sprinkler system and receives approximately 700 pounds of nitrogen per year.
Game Day
On average, more than 7,900 brats are consumed at each home Packers game
On average, more than 10,650 hot dogs are consumed at each home Packers game
On average, more than 103,250 hot and cold beverages are consumed at each home Packers game
Construction
The $295-million redevelopment of Lambeau Field took 32 months and was completed on time and on budget.
The "new" part of Lambeau was built like a donut around the existing seating bowl. The two structures were connected by rows of seats.
It took more than 2.4-million work hours to redevelop Lambeau Field.
There are nearly 6.65-million feet of wiring and cabling in the new Lambeau.
More than 12,100 tons of steel was used for Lambeau's redevelopment.
The Atrium
The Lambeau Field Atrium is 366,000 square feet and five stories high.
The Miller Brewing Company entrance features a wall of glass measuring over 208' x 85'.
The "football field" outlined on the Atrium floor is directly in line with the actual football field. When you stand in the end zone area of the Atrium, you're standing in line with Lambeau's end zone!!
Hall of Fame
The new Packers Hall of Fame totals more than 25,000 square feet, including 18,000 sq. feet of exhibit space - that's more than double the previous location.
The new Packers Hall of Fame has:
- 15 new videos
- 27 plasma screens and projectors
- 77 exhibits
- 363 graphics
- 753 artifacts
- 900+ photos
Pro Shop
The new Packers Pro Shop is two stories tall and is more than double the size of the old Pro Shop.
The Packers Pro Shop has more than 2,000 items in stock.
The Packers Pro Shop (retail, catalogue and Internet divisions) is the most successful team run retail operation in the NFL.
Q: How many footballs are in the football chandelier in the new Packers Pro Shop?
A: 53. Of that total, 39 are authentic game balls and 14 are lights shaped like footballs.
Tickets
Packers games have been sold out, on a season-ticket basis, since 1960.
As a result of the redevelopment, 2,800 people have come off the season ticket waiting list. There are still more than 60,000 names on the list.
4,000 tickets per game go to Brown County residents - as a way of saying thank you for approving the referendum, which provided funding for the redevelopment.
This and that...
The Packers have an estimated annual economic impact on Brown County of $144-million.
Q: How many 747s can you fit in the Don Hutson Center (where the Packers practice)?
A: Two
