Lambeau Field is an outdoor stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that plays host to the home games of the Green Bay Packers NFL team. It originally opened in 1957, the team having up until this year played at City Stadium.
The new stadium retained the old name until being renamed after the team’s founder, player, and head coach, Curly Lambeau in August 1965, two months after his death.
The stadium, built at 640 feet above sea level, holds the distinction of being the oldest NFL stadium that has been continually operating. The Packers set the record in 2007 after ending their 51st season at this stadium.
This broke the previous record of the Chicago Bears playing at Wrigley Field. The only other arenas in the country that have longer active tenures in US sports are Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs and Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox.
History of Lambeau Field
1950s
By the 1950s the City Stadium had become outdated, with its wooden structure and facilities needing significant work. Other owners in the NFL threatened to force the Packers to move over to Milwaukee, so to prevent this happening the decision was made to build a new stadium. It was the first modern arena that specifically built to be the home of an NFL franchise.
1957
The new stadium was opened in time for week one of the 1957 season and the Packers won their first game there, beating the Bears in front of a 32,000 crowd. The stadium was expanded to almost 39,000 a few years later due to high demand after Vince Lombardi arrived as head coach. The capacity has since been expanded numerous times.
1960
The first major renovation of Lambeau Field came at the turn of the century. The $295 million plan was paid for through a 0.5% rise in sales tax in Brown County, as well as a personal seat license fee for season ticket holders, with some proceeds of a stock sale also going towards the funding. The capacity was further increased to 72,500 and the ticket demand is still massive. Every home game since 1960 has been sold out.
2012
Further expansion took place in 2012. These modernization efforts saw the installation of a new scoreboard and sound system. New seats were also added to expand the capacity to more than 80,750 people. This made it the third-largest stadium in the NFL. Further renovations took place between 2013 and 2015, all of which were paid for by the team itself.
Traditions at Lambeau Field
A number of traditions are associated with Lambeau Field have developed. One of the most common ones is the Lambeau Leap. This sees Packer players jumping into the stand in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. There is also a myriad of songs that are always played at certain times during the game.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers were founded in 1919 and are one of the most notable teams in the NFL. Over the years, they have won a record 13 NFL league championships, as well as nine pre-Super Bowl NFL championships, and four Super Bowls. While Green Bay is the smallest markets for pro sports in North America, it is one of the most valuable and has a passionate fan base.
The Super Bowl trophy is named after the famous Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, who led the franchise to its first two Super Bowl victories. He also coached the only side that managed to beat an AFL team before the merger. The team’s most recent Super Bowl victories came in 1996 and 2010.
Betting on games at Lambeau Field
Games at Lambeau Field are known for having extremely tough weather conditions. With the passionate fan base cheering on, it is a tough place for opposition teams to play. You can find tons of betting options for Lambeau Field games.
To check out the best American football betting sites, you can check out the expert reviews at Roger.com. These unbiased breakdowns of the best site allow you to quickly find an operator that suits your needs. You can then start betting in minutes.