Ford Field
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Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan that is the home of the Detroit Lions of the NFL. It is across the street from Comerica Park. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball. The naming rights were paid for by Ford at $40 million over 20 years; the Ford family (including Lions owner William Clay Ford, Jr.) holds a controlling interest in the company.
Ford Field was built simultaneously alongside Comerica Park, opening in 2002, as part of a public project to replace Tiger Stadium and the Pontiac Silverdome. Ford Field cost an estimated $300 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. The presence of the warehouse structure allows for a seating arrangement unique among professional American football stadiums, with the club seats and loges located along a single side of the field, and the bulk of the grandstand seats along the other three sides. To prevent the stadium's exterior from becoming an overly dominant presence in the Detroit skyline, the playing field and a majority of the stands were set below street level.
Unlike most indoor stadiums, Ford Field allows a large amount of natural light to reach the playing field, thanks to immense skylights and glass-enclosed corners. The southwest corner of the stadium offers fans a fine view of downtown Detroit.
Ford Field features a FieldTurf playing surface, made from recalled 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 79-74.
Ford Field will be the host of the Super Bowl XL, which will be played on February 5, 2006. It will also host the 2009 Final Four, and the Frozen Four either in 2010, 2011 or 2012.