City Stadium

"East Stadium," "Old City Stadium"
Location	Green Bay, Wisconsin
Opened	1926
Owner	Green Bay East High School construction_cost =

City Stadium is the name of a football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1926 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School football team. Previously, the Packers had played their home games at nearby Hagemeister Park (the site of East High School itself) and Bellevue Park.

Contents 1 History 1.1 After the Packers 2 Sources 3 External links

[edit] History

Although City Stadium was the Packers' official home field, in 1933 they began playing part of their home schedule at Milwaukee. They held one game there in 1933, and after that played two or three games a year in Milwaukee, a practice that continued through 1994, after which they became based solely in Green Bay.

The horseshoe-shaped stadium was made of wood and originally did not have any toilet facilities. It stood behind Green Bay East High School and next to the East River. The Packers used the school for locker room facilities. Visiting teams often dressed at their hotel before the game rather than use the lockers at East.

The stadium originally seated 6,000. Its capacity would be gradually expanded to 25,000, but by the 1950s that was still too small. While its playing surface was consistently praised, the leaders of the NFL, including George Halas, informed the Green Bay club owners that they needed to improve their stadium facilities, or else the Packers would be moved to Milwaukee permanently.

The residents of Green Bay responded by building a new City Stadium, which opened in 1957, with old City Stadium becoming a high school field. The new stadium was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965 and has become one of the most revered stadiums in the NFL.

[edit] After the Packers

In recent years, ornamental fencing and monuments to the history of the field have been erected. Before the 2008 renovations, it was often referred to as East Stadium or Old City Stadium.

The 100th Green Bay East-West football game was played at City Stadium in 2005. About 8,000 people watched the historic event. The final score was Green Bay East 56, Green Bay West 8.

As an observance of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Lambeau Field, the Packers held practice at City Stadium on July 31, 2007.

In the summer of 2008, City Stadium was renovated with a new press box, new bleachers on the home side of the field, and two new football goal posts. Much of the structure dated to the 1960s and had become unsafe.

[edit] Sources

• Cameron, Steve. The Packers. 1995.

[edit] External links

• LambeauField.com page, "Packers Stadium History"

Preceded by Bellevue Park

Home of the Green Bay Packers 1925 – 1956

Succeeded by Lambeau Field

Coordinates: 44°30′27.4″N 87°59′33.3″W / 44.507611°N 87.992583°W / 44.507611; -87.992583

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