Ford Field

Ford Field
Ford Field in September 2006
Data
place	2000 Brush Street Detroit , Michigan 48226
Coordinates	42 ° 20 '25 "  N , 83 ° 2' 45"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 20 '25 "  N , 83 ° 2' 45"  W.
owner	City of Detroit Wayne County Stadium Authority
start of building	November 16, 1999
opening	August 24, 2002
surface	Artificial turf (FieldTurf) parquet
costs	430 million US dollars
architect	Rossetti Architects Hamilton Anderson Associates, Inc. Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz Architects
capacity	65,000 seats ( football ) 78,000 seats ( basketball )
Societies)
Detroit Lions ( NFL , since 2002)
Events
Super Bowl XL (2006) WrestleMania 23 (2007) MAC Football Championship (since 2004)

The Ford Field is an American football - stadium in the US city of Detroit in the state of Michigan . It serves as the venue for the Detroit Lions games in the National Football League (NFL) and is completely covered. In contrast to many other indoor stadiums, large skylights and glazed corner walls allow plenty of natural light into the interior.

construction

The stadium was built in downtown Detroit from 1999 to 2002, at the same time as neighboring Comerica Park , the baseball stadium of the Detroit Tigers , to bring major sporting events back from the suburbs to the city center. The Detroit Lions, who previously played their games at the Silverdome in Pontiac , moved, as did the Detroit Tigers, who now play their games at the ballpark across the street from Ford Field.

The playing surface for the football games was made from car tires that the Bridgestone-Firestone company had to have recalled.

The cost of the new building, around 300 million US dollars, was largely raised by public funds and the sale of naming rights. Ford secured the name of the stadium for 20 years for a price of 40 million US dollars. At the same time, the Ford family, in particular William Clay Ford Senior as the owner of the Detroit Lions, is involved in the stadium operating company.

Audience capacity

Ford Field can accommodate 65,000 people for normal Detroit Lions football games. The capacity can be expanded to up to 70,000 with different seating. The basketball game between Michigan State University and the University of Kentucky on December 13, 2003 was followed by 79,129 fans, but some seats had been removed in favor of standing room. At a wrestling event on April 1, 2007 (WWE WrestleMania 23), a new attendance record was set with 80,103 spectators.

Major events

In addition to the football games of the Detroit Lions and some college basketball games, Ford Field is also the destination of the Detroit Marathon , with the runners covering the 42.195 kilometers exactly on the 50-yard line of the football field.

Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006 . In 2009, the NCAA's Final Four basketball tournament was held at Ford Field, and a year later the Frozen Four, the ice hockey equivalent.

On April 1, 2007, Ford Field was the venue for WrestleMania 23.

See also

• List of the largest stadiums in the world

Web links

Commons : Ford Field  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website
• Ford Field concert list

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Record for Highest Grossing Live Event in WWE . Retrieved January 25, 2007.