Big House No Longer Biggest
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5 CommentsI briefly mentioned earlier today that the University of Michigan had resolved the issue of not having enough disabled seating in Michigan Stadium by agreeing to install more disabled seats over the next few years. At the time, I wondered how the capacity of Michigan Stadium would be affected and worried that it would go down. Well, my fears have been confirmed by The Detroit News.
U-M will drop down to a capacity of 106,201 in 2008 season — below Penn State’s 107,282.But that won’t be for long. U-M is in the midst of a $226 million renovation of the stadium that will widen aisles and seats and create a new press box, concourse, luxury boxes and indoor and outdoor club seats. The pricier luxury boxes and club seats will add about 5,000 spots, including about 135 wheelchair-accessible seats.
U-M should reclaim its title in 2010.
“Ultimately, the seating will increase over time and we expect to have the largest capacity of any stadium in the country,” Hage said.
By dropping below Penn State, Michigan Stadium will no longer have the largest capacity in the nation. To some that may seem like no big deal as it is just a number, but having the biggest stadium in the country is a great honor. I know it is important for Michigan to provide enough seating for disabled people, but to lose so many seats is a tough price to pay, especially when the current renovation was only planned to add around a thousand seats anyways. My thinking is that when 2010 rolls around and this renovation is finished, Michigan Stadium may end up having a capacity that is lower than the current one (107,501).
Again, I realize the importance of providing enough disabled seating, but Michigan needs to come up with a future plan to add more seats if they do want to make the Big House the nation’s largest stadium again. My opinion is that it was only a matter of time until some other stadium passed Michigan by anyways, but to have it happen like this kind of sucks.
Something else that should be pointed out is that even if Michigan Stadium’s capacity does come back to where it is now in 2010, the amount of regular bench seats for the fans will decrease by 2,500. The luxury boxes will help cancel out that loss, but the fact remains that regular fans are going to end up getting the shaft in this whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the idea of having luxury boxes and am strongly behind the current renovation, but I do think Michigan needs to make up for that loss somehow. Whether it be a second deck or adding on to the lower bowl in the endzones, something needs to be planned in the future to add on to the capacity rather than lower it.
Go Penn State, and your coach stinks too.
Hey anon, very mature post. Were you even alive the last time psu beat UM??? Also, a certain 4 star RB recruit seems to like RR more than joepa!!
I honestly don’t care that the Big House won’t be the largest capacity stadium. What I do care is that RR gets builds a powerhouse of a team that strikes the fear into every team it plays, kills OSU making them look like the lil bitches that they are, and gets recruits to name UM as their #1 choice no matter where they reside.
is it me or did the article answer the question of the new capacity for 2010?
I could have sworn it said once the luxury and club seats were added… it would add 5,000 more seats.
That puts the total at over 111,000. Not around the previous 107,501.
Maybe I missed something.
i think because of the wider aisles some seating will be lost,i.e. maybe a few thousand, then when the suites are built that will that will make up some of the ones that were lost. as a handicapped person i like what is being done, i’m just not sure that many had to be put in. i have been to many games in the past but none since i’ve been disabled, it’s just way too crowded for me.