Ford Field
Location: 2000 Brush Street, Detroit, Michigan 48226
Broke ground: November 16, 1999
Opened: August 24, 2002
Owner: Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority
Operator: Detroit Lions
Surface: FieldTurf
Construction cost: $430 million
Architects:
- SHG, Inc.
- Rossetti Associates Architects
- Hamilton Anderson Associates, Inc.
Tenants: Detroit Lions (NFL) (2002-present)
Capacity: 65,000
Ford Field was planned simultaneously with Comerica Park, 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 public money and the sale of the naming rights.
The stadium's design incorporates a six-story former J.L. Hudson's warehouse, which had stood since the 1920s. Architecturally, the stadium shares a likeness with its sister stadium Ford Center, a multipurpose sports/concert arena located in downtown Oklahoma City.
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 playing field, thanks to immense skylights and large glass windows at the open corners. 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 features a FieldTurf playing surface made from recycled Firestone tires.
On December 13, 2003, Ford Field hosted the largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game, as 78,129 people packed the stadium to watch Michigan State University and the University of Kentucky. Kentucky won 84-79.
Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL, which was played on February 5, 2006. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10 to win their fifth Super Bowl championship.
The annual Motor City Bowl featuring a top Mid-American Conference team and a Big Ten Conference team.
The stadium is set to be the stage for WWE WrestleMania 23, which is the major event in profesional wrestling and is referred to as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment, on April 1, 2007. It will be the first WrestleMania held in the Detroit area since a reported world record setting 93,173 fans filled the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III in 1987.
On April 13 and 14 Ford Field will host Teen mania productions Acquire the Fire. ATF is a Christian event that is held throughout the year all over the USA.
The University Of Detroit Mercy and Ford Field is also scheduled to host 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament regional semifinal and final games (March 28 and 30, 2008), the 2009 Final Four (April 5 and 7, 2009), hosted by University of Detroit Mercy, and the 2010 Frozen Four (April 8 and 10, 2010).
The stadium has hosted the annual Mid-American Conference Championship Game since 2004.
It also hosts the Michigan High School Athletic Association's football championships on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.
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Ford Field