Ford Field
Encyclopedia
Ford Field is an indoor American football
stadium
located in Detroit, Michigan
, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL
's Detroit Lions
. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball
. The naming rights
were purchased by Ford
at $40 million over 20 years; the Ford family (including Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr.
) holds a controlling interest in the company.
, 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.
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 the few venues in the NFL that has end zones in the east and the west (the others being Arrowhead Stadium
, Cowboys Stadium, Sun Life Stadium, the Georgia Dome
and Cleveland Browns Stadium
). The NFL has a rule against this type of construction, so that the sunlight can not 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.
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
.
Madonna
played to a sold-out Ford Field on November 18, 2008, as part of her record-breaking Sticky and Sweet Tour.
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.
The stadium is home to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl featuring a top Mid-American Conference
team and a Big Ten Conference
team. It has also hosted the annual Mid-American Conference Championship Game
since 2004.
On December 13, 2003, Ford Field hosted the largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game up to that time, as 78,129 people packed the stadium for the Basketbowl
, where the University of Kentucky
defeated Michigan State University
, 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, 2008), and hosted the 2009 Final Four
(April 4 and 6, 2009). 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.
The Division I NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
, known as the Frozen Four, was held on April 8 and 10, 2010 with Boston College
defeating University of 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.
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 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 in Ford Field. Field Painter Paul Kurdi had to paint the "Norsman" on the center of the Lions home field to ensure swift event assurance for the Football game to feel like Minnesota. The Lions hosted their first ever Monday Night Football game in Ford Field on October 10, 2011, hosting the Chicago Bears
.
Kid Rock
held his 40th birthday party at Ford "40" 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 will bring 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 will visit; they had visited The Palace of Auburn Hills
in 2001 and 2007.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. The naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
were purchased by Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
at $40 million over 20 years; the Ford family (including Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr.
William Clay Ford, Sr.
William Clay Ford, Sr. is the youngest of the four children of Edsel Ford and the youngest grandchild of Henry Ford.-Biography:...
) holds a controlling interest in the company.
Design
Ford Field was originally planned to be an outdoor stadium, simultaneously with Comerica ParkComerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
, which opened in April 2000, as part of a public project to replace Tiger Stadium and the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
. 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
Hammes Company
Hammes Company is a healthcare consulting firm, providing strategic planning, facility development and real estate advisory to the healthcare industry. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Hammes Company grew from a real estate consulting firm founded in 1991 to the No. 1 developer of health...
, a real estate development company in Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It is a western suburb of the state capital, Madison but it was actually founded before Madison. It got its name from Middletown, Connecticut; the "w" being dropped was due to a paper work error made by long time historian Edward Kromrey...
, developed the new stadium, as well as the warehouse.
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
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, 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
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
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 the few venues in the NFL that has end zones in the east and the west (the others being Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is a stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri and home to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs....
, Cowboys Stadium, Sun Life Stadium, the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
and Cleveland Browns Stadium
Cleveland Browns Stadium
-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
). The NFL has a rule against this type of construction, so that the sunlight can not 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 XLSuper Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
on February 5, 2006, as the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
defeated the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, 21–10 to win their fifth Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
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
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, Jerome Bettis
Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
played to a sold-out Ford Field on November 18, 2008, as part of her record-breaking Sticky and Sweet Tour.
On April 1, 2007, Ford Field hosted World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 was the twenty-third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 1, 2007 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan...
. This event set a Ford Field attendance record of 80,103. It was the first WrestleMania
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
held in the Detroit area since 93,173 fans set a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
for WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
in 1987.
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
team and a Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
team. It has also hosted the annual Mid-American Conference Championship Game
MAC Championship Game
The Marathon MAC Football Championship is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference to determine the conference champion. The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions and since 2003 has been...
since 2004.
On December 13, 2003, Ford Field hosted the largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game up to that time, as 78,129 people packed the stadium for the Basketbowl
Basketbowl
The Basketbowl was a college basketball game between Michigan State University and the University of Kentucky held on December 13, 2003 at Ford Field, a domed American football stadium in Detroit, Michigan. The announced crowd of 78,129 set a record for verified attendance at a basketball game in...
, where the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
defeated Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, 79–74.
The University of Detroit Mercy
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Detroit Mercy is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational university in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy. Antoine M. Garibaldi is the president. With origins dating from 1877, it is the largest Roman Catholic university...
and Ford Field hosted the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...
regional semifinal and final games (March 28 and 30, 2008), and hosted the 2009 Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
(April 4 and 6, 2009). 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.
The Division I NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...
, known as the Frozen Four, was held on April 8 and 10, 2010 with Boston College
Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. The women's crew team competes in the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing...
defeating University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
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.
The MHSAA
MHSAA
MHSAA can refer to:*Michigan High School Athletic Association*Mississippi High School Activities Association*Missouri High School Athletic Association...
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
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
vs. Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as members of the Sun Belt Conference....
in 2010 and Western Michigan
Western Michigan Broncos football
The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference . Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played three games in their inaugural season...
vs. Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
in 2008.
On December 13, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
played a home game at Ford Field against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
after the 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 in Ford Field. Field Painter Paul Kurdi had to paint the "Norsman" on the center of the Lions home field to ensure swift event assurance for the Football game to feel like Minnesota. The Lions hosted their first ever Monday Night Football game in Ford Field on October 10, 2011, hosting the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
held his 40th birthday party at Ford "40" Field to kick off the tour of his new album Born Free
Born Free (Kid Rock album)
-Critical:Upon its release, Born Free received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable...
on January 15, 2011.
Ford Field hosted two group stage matches of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and 21th CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence...
soccer tournament on June 7, 2011. Panama
Panama national football team
The Panama national football team is the national team of Panama and is controlled by the Panamanian Football Federation. Panama reached the 2006 World Cup CONCACAF Final Round in the qualifiers and finished as runners-up at the final game of the 2005 Gold Cup...
played Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe national football team
The Guadeloupe regional football team represents the French overseas department and region of Guadeloupe in international football. The team is controlled by the Ligue Guadeloupéenne de Football , a local branch of French Football Federation ....
in the first match, and the United States
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
played Canada
Canada men's national soccer team
The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
in the second match.
The Professional Bull Riders will bring their Built Ford Tough Series
Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series is the "major league" tour of the PBR competitions. It is a 30-city event series culminating in the PBR World Finals every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top 45 riders of the PBR compete in the BFTS with the rankings determined by points and money won...
tour to Ford Field for the first time ever in March 2012. Ford Field is the second Detroit-area venue the BFTS will visit; they had visited The Palace of Auburn Hills
The Palace of Auburn Hills
The Palace of Auburn Hills, often referred to simply as The Palace, is a sports and entertainment venue in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1988, it is the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association...
in 2001 and 2007.