University of Michigan Home Field Chronology
| 1883 | First home game played on May 12 at the Washtenaw County Fairgrounds in Ann Arbor. Michigan defeats the Detroit Independents, a team made up largely of former U of M players. |
| 1890 | The Regents of the University of Michigan authorize $3,000 for the purchase of 10 acres of land for a football field. |
| 1891 | The Regents vote $4,500 to "put the field in shape." At may meeting, $400 added in October. |
| 1893 | "The Athletic Field," later known as Regents Field opens with a capacity of 400. |
| October 7--Michigan plays the Detroit Athletic Club in the opening game at Regents Field. Michigan prevails, 6-0. | |
| 1895 | The original stands at Regents Field burn down. |
| 1896 | The Regents order the construction of another covered stand in order to offer seating to 800 people. |
| 1902 | Following the donation of 21 acres just north of Regents Field by Detroit businessman Dexter Ferry, the Regents change the name of complex to Ferry Field. |
| 1906 | The home field of the Wolverines moves to a new site, on the land that Dexter Ferry had donated in 1902. The new field carries the Ferry Field name and is located where the Michigan outdoor track now stands. |
| 1914 | Concrete stands are erected at Ferry Field, increasing capacity to 25,000. |
| 1921 | The stands at the west end of Ferry Field are enlarged and connected to north and south bleachers, expanding Michigan's home site to hold 42,000 people. |
| 1925 | The land where Michigan Stadium now stands is purchased for $240,000. This land is located where a spring had been, a source that had served the University of Michigan's water needs in its earlier days. |
| 1926 | The Athletic Association increases the capacity of Ferry Field by adding wooden structures to both ends. |
| The Michigan Board in Control of Athletics offers bonds at a price of $500 each to pay for the construction of Michigan Stadium. The bondholder is offered the right to purchase tickets from the 1927 season through the 1936 campaign, when the bonds are scheduled to be retired. The seats offered to these bondholders were guaranteed to be between the 30 yard lines. | |
| 1927 | Michigan Stadium is constructed at a cost of $950,000. It contains 70 rows and is designed to seat 72,000 fans, capacity was increased to 82,000 with the addition of wooden bleachers. |
| October 1--The first game in Michigan Stadium is played as the Wolverines defeat Ohio Wesleyan, 33-0. | |
| October 22--In the dedication game of Michigan stadium, the Wolverines blank Ohio State before a then Michigan Stadium record crowd of 84,401. | |
| 1928 | Stadium capacity is upped to 85,753. |
| 1930 | Michigan erects electronic scoreboards at both ends of the stadium, becoming the first stadium to use electronic scoreboards. |
| 1946 | 514,598 of the Wolverine faithful file into the stadium in this successful season, as Michigan breaks the half million mark in a season for the first time. |
| 1949 | Permanent steel stands replace the wooden bleachers, raising capacity of Michigan Stadium to 97,239. |
| 1949 | In the first year that NCAA attendance records are kept, Michigan leads the nation, with an average of 93,894 for each of its six home games. Michigan's nearest competitor, Ohio State, averages only 76,429. |
| 1956 | The capacity of Michigan Stadium is increased once again, and the "Big House" can now hold 101,001 people. |
| A state-of-the-art press box is added at a cost of $700,000. Dedicated on September 22, 1956, it included a host of amenities, such as a press area, photo deck and dark rooms. | |
| October 6--Michigan Stadium hosts over 100,000 people for the first time, as 101,001 see Michigan and Michigan State square off. | |
| 1968 | August--The scoreboards at each end of Michigan stadium are replaced at a cost of $75,000. They measure 41 feet by 16 feet and kept fans informed through the 1997 season. |
| November 16--Michigan crushes Wisconsin, 34-9, in the final Michigan Stadium game on grass for the next 22 seasons. | |
| 1969 | June--Upon the evidence that turf required less maintenance than grass and could withstand any type of weather, the Regents of the University of Michigan approve artificial turf for use at Michigan Stadium. At a cost of $250,000, 88,285 feet of Tartan Turf are installed in July. |
| September 20--The Wolverines break in the newly installed Tartan Turf with a 42-14 defeat of Vanderbilt. | |
| October 4--The Wolverines lose at home to Missouri, 40-17. Michigan would not lose another game at home until November 22, 1975, a streak of 41 games. | |
| 1972 | The University of Michigan leads the nation in attendance, as 513,398 (85,566 average) fans watch Michigan go 6-0 at home. |
| 1973 | Michigan stadium capacity is upped again, to 101,701, as the box seats and railing are removed from the first few rows and replaced with bleacher seats. |
| 1974 | Michigan again leads the nation in average attendance per game, a streak that continue through 1995 and resume in 1998. |
| 1975 | The playing area is resurfaced with a new covering Tartan Turf. |
| November 8--102,415 fans are on hand as Michigan shuts out Purdue, 28-0. This begins a streak of crowds of over 100,000 at Michigan Stadium, a streak that is still alive today. | |
| 1976 | The stadium seats are repainted, and workers discover nineteen new seats, fifteen where the old box seats and rails were eliminated and four new ones above the tunnel. The painting of the seats is part of a $250,000 face-lift the stadium undergoes in the mid 1970s |
| 1982 | The playing area is once again resurfaced, this time with All-Pro Turf. |
| 1990 | October 13--Michigan draws 106,188 to their game against Michigan State, the 100th consecutive crowd of over 100,000. |
| November 17--Michigan defeats Minnesota, 35-18, in their last Michigan Stadium game on artificial turf. Since 1969, when the turf was installed, Michigan compiled a 120-17-3 record while playing on artificial turf in Michigan Stadium. | |
| 1991 | May--Michigan Stadium returns to grass, as 87,000 feet of Prescription Athletic Turf are installed. Eight thousand square yards of sod were brought in to make up the actual playing surface. In addition, the playing surface was lowered three and a half feet to provide better sightlines for those seated in lower rows. The conversion from turf back to grass costs $ 2,250,000. |
| The rows in Michigan stadium now number 91, up one from the 90 rows Michigan had maintained since the 1950s. | |
| September 14--Michigan plays on grass on its field for the first time since 1968, as the Wolverines defeat Notre Dame, 24-14. | |
| 1992 | After nearly 20 years of constant capacity, Michigan Stadium begins the 1992 campaign with space for 800 more fans, now totaling 102,501. Michigan also adds another row to its home field, giving it the 92. |
| 1993 | November 20--Michigan sets a Stadium and NCAA record with an attendance of 106,867 for the Ohio State game. The attendance at this game increases the Wolverines total home attendance for the season to 739,560, an NCAA record, breaking the one Michigan set in 1987. |
| 1994 | November 12--Michigan ends the home season with a crowd of 105,624 against Minnesota. The season average for the six Wolverine home games is 106,217, breaking the NCAA record that the Wolverines set in 1992. |
| 1996 | Michigan Stadium Champions Plaza added. Brick pillars and wrought-iron fence built around stadium perimeter. |
| 1998 | Stadium expansion adds 5,000 seats bringing official capacity of 107,501. Six rows of seats were added around the top of the stadium, except for the east side and the area occupied by the press box. The new seating area is surrounded by a yellow parapet bearing familiar Michigan icons, including the winged helmet, the university seal, and words from the "Victors." Two video scoreboards are installed in north south ends of the stadium. |
| The Wolverine Plaza, phase three of the Michigan Stadium Brick Program, is completed at the northwest entrance to the stadium. | |
| September 12 - - the Wolverines inaugurated the expanded stadium before 111,012 fans in a game against Syracuse University. | |
| September 26 - - Michigan sets an NCAA single-game attendance record as 111,238 fans watch the wolverines defeat Michigan State in the Big Ten season opener for both teams. | |
| November 14 - - Michigan completed the six game home schedule against Wisconsin, drawing 111,217 fans to the "Big House" The second largest stadium crowd in stadium history helped Michigan set a new NCAA season average attendance record of 110,965 fans per game (665,787). | |
| Michigan regains the total and average attendance title. | |
| 1999 | September 4 - Michigan set the NCAA single-game attendance record in the season-opening 26-22 victory over Notre Dame. U-M draws 111,523 for the home-opener, breaking the previous Michigan Stadium and NCAA attendance record set on September 26, 1998, |
| September11 -- The Wolverines play their 150th consecutive game in front of at least 100,000 fans. Michigan defeats Rice 37-3 before 110,501 fans in the "Big House." | |
| November 20 -- Michigan sets a pair of NCAA records in the season-ending victory against Ohio State (24-17). The Wolverines break the single-game attendance record set against the Irish, topping 111,575 fans for "The Big Game." The NCAA record crowd helps U-M sets a new NCAA season average of 111,008 fans per game (666,049 total attendance). | |
| 2000 | Bowing to criticism from the alumni, fans, and the community, "the halo," symbols, and words the "Victors" are removed from the stadium. UM President Lee Bollinger acknowledged that "the depth of the criticism and concern seemed to be genuine and coming from reasonable people..." |
| 2001 | Michigan plays its 75th season of action at Michigan Stadium, compiling a 6-1 record. |
| 2002 | The Board of Regents approved the expansion of a new home lockerroom (Nov. 12) and an artificial surface field (Dec. 12) at Michigan Stadium. |
| 2003 | The new team lockerroom, designed by Rosetti Architects from Birmingham, Mich., provides U-M with improved medical facilities and an updated locker room where all players can dress at the stadium, The 10,208- square-foot facility is three times larger than the previous locker room (3,145 square feet) and cost $3 million to build. |
| April 28 through early July - The field at Michigan Stadium returns to an artificial surface as FieldTurf is installed, replacing the Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) that had been in place since 1991. The surface cost $620,000 to install at the stadium, with the fee including removal of the existing surface, installation of the new field and replacement of the urethane track around the field and tunnel. It also included a $46,000 donation by Ford Motor Company for the crushed rubber infill used in the field. | |
| September 13 - The Wolverines set the NCAA single-game attendance record as 111,726 fans witness a 38-0 shutout win against Notre Dame. | |
| November 22 - U-M eclipses the NCAA single-game attendance mark set earlier against the Irish as 112,118 spectators are in attendance for the Big Ten title clinching 35-21 victory over Ohio State. U-M led the nation in average attendance for the sixth straight season, with its seven-game total of 776,429 fans breaking the previous school-record mark of 774.033 patrons set in 2001 |
top | previous | next
| Stadium Home Page | Ath. Dept. MGOBLUE |
Ath. History | Bentley Library