Lambeau expansion

[red]

I guess we haven't talked about this yet. the news first came out that the packers were wanting to expand the newly refurbished stadium a couple months ago. they asked fans for input i what they would like to see

http://www.totalpackers.com/2010/05/28/options-numerous-for-expanding-lambeau-field/

i really wish they wouldn't have closed off the top of 3/4 of the stadium with sky boxes again, IMO it greatly limits the ability to expand in the future

i guess i would like to see them add 8-10,000 new seats to the south endzone, maybe with a second deck like beaver stadium



http://api.ning.com/files/Jr8oyRhpCfh99MMaQP25dGZ61ZG3BHsfoTT9LiPSMGP7vs0dU* CKF5*0pc6R1XPFej5X9dqwt0JKd5bjS9FSRgCR2SodkdmM/PennStateBeaverStadium.jpeg

the packers have a season ticket waiting list of over 81,000 people. thats a lot of money the team is losing out on ever season.

IMO with the fan support the team has and the giant waiting list it has the team needs to realistically think about bringing the stadium capacity up to 90-100,000 people

this really should have been done during the last renovation. if i'm not mistaken, lambeau and michigan stadium are the exact same design, lambeau could have easily been expanded to a more appropriate capacity before it was capped off with the sky boxes

[packrulz]

Here's the options the Packers are considering:

1. A tailgate-theme area, with barbecues, seating in front and picnic tables in the back.

2. A large seating area, half of it indoor and half of it outdoor.

3. A Bavarian-style brew-pub setting, in which fans would sit at long tables to watch the game.

4. A play-zone area, featuring pool tables, arcade games and other interactive types of games. This area would have minimal seating, according to the rendering shown to attendees.

5. A fully enclosed press box-type setting, in which radio or TV stations could host live events, and fans would sit in traditional seats. One attendee said this concept called for moving the current press box to the south end-zone area, and building the new press box-themed area for fans in the current press box area. The current press box is in the southwest corner of the stadium.

6. Another concept would be the creation of a restaurant along the lines of Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill at Miller Park. Fans would be able to sit at tables and watch the game at the restaurant. The Packers presumably would contract with a national chain to run the restaurant.

7. There was some talk of a rooftop type setting, similar in nature to what fans can do in buildings across the street from Wrigley Field in Chicago. Cubs fans sit in bleachers atop buildings on Waveland and Sheffield avenues.

The Journal Sentinel’s Don Walker also mentions the possibility of a simple expansion of club seats, which would add the aforementioned 6,000 to 8,000 new seats to Lambeau.

Whatever project the Packers end up choosing wouldn’t be completed in time for this season, but this is ultimately good news for fans, especially those on the season-ticket waiting list.

It’s also good news for the Packers’ bottom line. Expanding Lambeau Field will generate additional revenue for the team and allow the Packers to remain competitive financially with clubs who have new stadiums, such as those in Dallas and East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the Giants and Jets will open the New Meadowlands this season. NFL teams keep all of the revenue generated by their stadiums.

Personally, I think they should just add more club seats, and give the public what they want. More people in the seats means more revenue.

[Patler]

It’s also good news for the Packers’ bottom line. Expanding Lambeau Field will generate additional revenue for the team and allow the Packers to remain competitive financially with clubs who have new stadiums, such as those in Dallas and East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the Giants and Jets will open the New Meadowlands this season. NFL teams keep all of the revenue generated by their stadiums.

Personally, I think they should just add more club seats, and give the public what they want. More people in the seats means more revenue.

I believe the revenue from game tickets is shared 60% home, 40% visitor. What the teams get to keep exclusively is the "extra" money generated by their stadiums such as off-season use, various surcharges such as the price of a luxury box above the value of the ticket, etc.. That's why teams like to add the specialty seating options.

[retailguy]

Personally, I understand the allure of Lambeau field and am glad it is still around, but if there ever was a team that could support 100k or 125k seat stadium it's GB. You could build a case for leveling the place and starting over, as "unpopular" a thought as that might be.

[red]

i wouldn't want the thing leveled, but i do agree the team could support 100,000+

the actual original bowl is perfect for expanding to very large sizes. the problem is the team always caps off the top rows with the ring of sky boxes, making future expansion almost impossible

there is no excuse IMO for them to not add an extra 20,000 seats to the bowl during the last expansion. the cost of adding 20 or 30 more rings to the top of the bowl would have been pretty small compared to the total cost of the project

think of the newly expanded notre dame stadium(also the same design)which now holds 80,000 with sky boxes on just 2 sides, allowing for future expansion in the endzones (like beaver stadium). you add one more level to the sideline sky boxes as to not lose the sky box revenue from not having the sky boxes on the north enzone

you would have a stadium that could hold around 95,000, with room to expand on both endzones(like the beaver stadium endzone deck)that could bring the future total up around 120,000

and honestly, i don't think how it would have been more expensive to do it that way versus what they did. i would think it would be cheaper to just add one more story to the sideline boxes rather then build the whole north endzone up from the ground. and this difference in price might offset the price of adding on to the bowl.

[Fred's Slacks]

What about parking? I heard lately that their parking lot holds < 5000 cars so that's maybe 1/5 of the attendance (assuming about 3 people per car on average). The rest have to pay $10-$20 to park in someones lawn or a neighboring bar/restaurant parking lot. That seems like a considerable amount of revenue they are loosing out on.

I thought I heard they were considering putting a ramp under the stadium. Sounds like a good idea but can you light up a grill in the parking ramp?

[Lurker64]

The waiting list for season tickets is what? 81,000 or so? Let's add 80,000 seats.

[packerbacker1234]

Honestly, they need to add more seets. slap 8,000 more in, and fix it so were able to easily expand to 120,000 down the road. The packers franchise is one of the few places that can actually support such a mass amount of seating, and the sellouts wouldn't stop. There are plenty of people I know who can't go to as many games as they want to because the game is sold out. As long as ticket prices stay reasonable, those games will always be sold out.

[HarveyWallbangers]

1) Many of the people on the waiting list are on the waiting list only to say they are on the waiting list. If they actually had to pony up the thousands of dollars to get the seat, they wouldn't.
2) If the stadium isn't Lambeau Field, then much of the allure goes away.

Basically, I'm against expanding Lambeau too much. Finish closing the bowl, and leave it until I die.

[packerbacker1234]

1) Many of the people on the waiting list are on the waiting list only to say they are on the waiting list. If they actually had to pony up the thousands of dollars to get the seat, they wouldn't.
2) If the stadium isn't Lambeau Field, then much of the allure goes away.

Basically, I'm against expanding Lambeau too much. Finish closing the bowl, and leave it until I die.

Actually, from what I have seen...

The people who do get the season tickets do pony up the money - what they do then is hold a pool of their friends and stuff that purchase specfic game tickets, and they sometimes auction off the away games. Hence, they end up getting say, half the money back, and for having those season tickets they are guarenteed to be able to get playoff tickets for home games should they want it. It's actually not that bad of a deal overall.

I know if my season tickets finally came due, I would find a way to make that intial payment, knowing I am selling off a bunch of the tickets to compensate (UNLESS of course, I happen to be rich at the time).

[Fritz]

4. A play-zone area, featuring pool tables, arcade games and other interactive types of games. This area would have minimal seating, according to the rendering shown to attendees.

I do not like this idea at all. If you come to a Packer game & you wanna play arcade games or pool, then don't come to a Packer game.

[Little Whiskey]

Here's the options the Packers are considering:


Personally, I think they should just add more club seats, and give the public what they want. More people in the seats means more revenue.

have you ever sat in the Club seats? I had the opportunity last year.... and they suck! I honestly would rather watch the game at a bar.

the seats are more comfy than the bleachers but you don't get any of the feel of being at a game. windows don't open, the room is stuffy, people don't cheer. we should have scalped those tickets and bought some bowl seats.

[Little Whiskey]

I'm with Harv, leave it alone. that 81k waiting list is an insurance policy....if interest falls, those on the waiting list will fill the gaps. it also allows them the ability to raise ticket prices to a point where demand will reach supply.

[Pugger]

I hope they finish off the bowl and be done with it. I will say I wish they would have given us peons better seats (like those at Miller Park) in the bowl rather than those hard aluminum benches when they renovated.

[red]

4. A play-zone area, featuring pool tables, arcade games and other interactive types of games. This area would have minimal seating, according to the rendering shown to attendees.

I do not like this idea at all. If you come to a Packer game & you wanna play arcade games or pool, then don't come to a Packer game.

agreed, i don't like the gimmick ideas at all for a football stadium. baseball stadiums do it because they need some kind of a way to entice fans to come to their stadiums other then the boring shit happening on the field.

and football fans usually don't need to take a break from the game, like baseball fans do

[red]

I hope they finish off the bowl and be done with it. I will say I wish they would have given us peons better seats (like those at Miller Park) in the bowl rather than those hard aluminum benches when they renovated.

actually i bet you cut the capacity almost in half if you took out the benches and added comfy seats.

and the team wouldn't get any more money from those comfy seats. so the team would lose out huge

[swede]

I hope they finish off the bowl and be done with it. I will say I wish they would have given us peons better seats (like those at Miller Park) in the bowl rather than those hard aluminum benches when they renovated.

actually i bet you cut the capacity almost in half if you took out the benches and added comfy seats.

and the team wouldn't get any more money from those comfy seats. so the team would lose out huge

You are absolutely right, Red. However there should be a hundred dollar surcharge to those fat-asses that put their crack on #16 and their cheeks are all over #15 and #17. Get an usher to use an ice tongs to caliper those big butts and see if the one aluminum bench number/one ass policy is about to be violated.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/roll4/Icetongs_400.jpg

[Packgator]

[quote=packrulz]have you ever sat in the Club seats? I had the opportunity last year.... and they suck! I honestly would rather watch the game at a bar.

the seats are more comfy than the bleachers but you don't get any of the feel of being at a game. windows don't open, the room is stuffy, people don't cheer. we should have scalped those tickets and bought some bowl seats.

There are 3,000 Club Seats outside and 3,000 inside. The outdoor ones are a great way to watch the game.

[Pugger]

I hope they finish off the bowl and be done with it. I will say I wish they would have given us peons better seats (like those at Miller Park) in the bowl rather than those hard aluminum benches when they renovated.

actually i bet you cut the capacity almost in half if you took out the benches and added comfy seats.

and the team wouldn't get any more money from those comfy seats. so the team would lose out huge

You are absolutely right, Red. However there should be a hundred dollar surcharge to those fat-asses that put their crack on #16 and their cheeks are all over #15 and #17. Get an usher to use an ice tongs to caliper those big butts and see if the one aluminum bench number/one ass policy is about to be violated.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/roll4/Icetongs_400.jpg

That's right, when Lambeau was built every fan was given 18 inches of space to plant their fannies on those hard benches. I don't know too many folks today with 18" fannies these days. Our seats are on the aisle and when we used to go (since we moved to FL my sister uses our tix) my husband had to use a C-clamp to hold our stadium seats down so he wouldn't get pushed out into the aisle after everyone was in. I usually got squished inbetween. :P

[digitaldean]

You are absolutely right, Red. However there should be a hundred dollar surcharge to those fat-asses that put their crack on #16 and their cheeks are all over #15 and #17. Get an usher to use an ice tongs to caliper those big butts and see if the one aluminum bench number/one ass policy is about to be violated.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/roll4/Icetongs_400.jpg

Whenever I get my in-laws tickets we get two spots near then end of a row where my kids may fit in one of the spots. But when my wife's rather large (and obnoxious) cousin comes in and bolts done his XXXXL bench seat the fun begins. He's complaining about other people taking up more than 1 spot. To avoid starting any interfamily strife I ignore him as much as possible.

[CaliforniaCheez]

Most men can fit well within 18" easily.

[Iron Mike]

3. A Bavarian-style brew-pub setting, in which fans would sit at long tables to watch the game.


This would be kewl, as long as they also sold shots of Barenjager....

http://www.killingtime.com/Pegu/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Bear-Bait.jpg

[Joemailman]

If it's a Bavarian-style brew pub setting, can I punch the first person that orders a Miller Lite?

[Little Whiskey]

If it's a Bavarian-style brew pub setting, can I punch the first person that orders a Miller Lite?

i'm ordering the $8 miller lite instead of the $20 whatever beer.

Good beer is for the parking lot, "cheap beer" is for the game!

[Pugger]

Most men can fit well within 18" easily.

But not in late November when folks are wearing 3 layers to keep warm...

[Little Whiskey]

Most men can fit well within 18" easily.

But not in late November when folks are wearing 3 layers to keep warm...

......and winter weight.