Lambeau Field

Lambeau Field

Lambeau Field is the home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. It opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing the original City Stadium at Green Bay East High School as the Packers’ home field. With a capacity of 81,441, it is the fifth-largest stadium in the NFL with standing room, but is third in normal capacity. It is now the largest venue in the State of Wisconsin, edging out Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

About Lambeau Field in brief

Summary Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is the home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. It opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing the original City Stadium at Green Bay East High School as the Packers’ home field. The stadium’s street address has been 1265 Lombardi Avenue since August 1968, when Highland Avenue was renamed in honor of former head coach Vince Lombardi. With a capacity of 81,441, it is the fifth-largest stadium in the NFL with standing room, but is third in normal capacity. It is now the largest venue in the State of Wisconsin, edging out Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In 2007, the Packers completed their 51st season at Lambeau, breaking the all-time NFL record set by the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field. The playing field at the stadium has a conventional north–south alignment, at an elevation of 640 feet above sea level. The land had once been farmland belonging to Jacques Vieau, who owned the land on which the stadium sits. The new stadium officially opened in week one of the 1957 season on September 29, with the Packers upset the rival Bears 21–17 in front of a capacity crowd of 32,132. In August 1965, it was renamed New City Stadium for its first eight seasons, and in August 1965 in memory of Packers founder, player, and long-time head coach, Curly Lam beau. It was the first modern stadium built specifically for an NFL franchise.

Only the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and the Chicago Cubs at Wriley Field have longer active home-field tenures in American professional sports. In 1995, the stadium made it financially realistic for the Packers to play their entire regular season in Green Bay for the first time in over 60 years. Former Bears’ owner George Halas, on a brief leave from coaching now they had a modern facility to play in, said they had now had a “modern facility” to play at. The Packers moved to Green Bay in 1998, and have played there full-time since then. The team’s home games are now played in the Bay Area, with a seating capacity of 80,000, making it the third-largest NFL stadium with a standing room capacity of 60,000 or more. The home field is located on a site bordered on three sides by the village of Ashwaubenon, which was selected because it had a natural slope, ideal for creating the bowl shape, along with expansive parking. The nearby outdoor practice fields and Don Hutson Center are in Ashwaubon, as was the Packers Hall of Fame until 2003. The Green Bay team has played at City Stadium since 1925, but by the 1950s it was considered inadequate for the times. In April 1956, Green Bay voters responded by approving a bond issue to finance the new stadium. The original cost in 1957 was USD 960,000, and its seating capacity was 32,500.