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City Stadium (Green Bay)
Encyclopedia
City Stadium is a football
stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin
. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers
of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School
football team. Before the advent of City Stadium, the Packers had played their home games at nearby Hagemeister Park
(the site of East High School itself) and Bellevue Park
.
. 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 High. The stadium originally seated 6,000. Its capacity would be gradually expanded to 25,000. The Packers compiled a record of 88-41-7 (.673) at City Stadium, including NFL world championship seasons in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936
, 1939
and 1944
.
Although City Stadium was the Packers' official home field, in 1933
they began to play part of their home schedule at Milwaukee
. After holding one contest there in 1933, the Packers played two or three home games each year in Milwaukee, a practice that continued through 1994, after which they were again based solely in Green Bay.
While its playing surface was consistently praised, by the 1950s City Stadium was seen as too small and inadequate, even after expansion. 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, or elsewhere, permanently.
The residents of Green Bay responded by voting in 1956 to build a new City Stadium, which opened the following year, as "old" City Stadium became a high school field. The new stadium would be renamed Lambeau Field
in 1965 after the death of team founder Curly Lambeau
, and has become one of the most revered venues in all of American sports.
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.
The stadium is not only for football. Many great soccer matches have also been played in the field. Green Bay East and Green Bay Preble soccer programs also shared the field (until 2004) for their home games.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School
Green Bay East High School
Green Bay East High School is a public high school in the Green Bay Area Public School District serving Green Bay, Wisconsin and its surrounding communities . The school's street address is 1415 East Walnut Street.-History:East High School has been located in three buildings over its 150-year history...
football team. Before the advent of City Stadium, the Packers had played their home games at nearby Hagemeister Park
Hagemeister Park
Hagemeister Park was the name of a park in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from their founding in 1919 through 1922. Owned by Hagemeister brewery, the park was located on the northern end of Washington Park .It was a classic sandlot, located near Baird and...
(the site of East High School itself) and Bellevue Park
Bellevue Park
Bellevue Park was the name of a stadium used for football games in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A minor league baseball park, it was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1923 and 1924....
.
History
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 RiverFox River (Wisconsin)
The Fox River is a river in eastern and central Wisconsin in the United States. Along the banks is a chain of cities, including Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Little Chute, Kimberly, Combined Locks, and Kaukauna. Except for Oshkosh, these cities refer to themselves as the Fox Cities...
. 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 High. The stadium originally seated 6,000. Its capacity would be gradually expanded to 25,000. The Packers compiled a record of 88-41-7 (.673) at City Stadium, including NFL world championship seasons in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936
NFL Championship Game, 1936
The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the 4th championship game played in the history of the National Football League. The game took place on December 13, 1936, at Polo Grounds in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field...
, 1939
NFL Championship Game, 1939
The 1939 National Football League Championship game was held on December 10, 1939 at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the seventh NFL championship game played...
and 1944
NFL Championship Game, 1944
The 1944 National Football League Championship Game was the 12th NFL title game. The game was played on December 17, 1944 at New York's Polo Grounds. The attendance for the game was 46,016. The game featured the Green Bay Packers , champions of the Western Division versus the Eastern Division...
.
Although City Stadium was the Packers' official home field, in 1933
1933 in sports
-Alpine skiing:Events* Taft Slalom, the first racing trail in North America, is cut on Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire-American football:NFL championship...
they began to play part of their home schedule at Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. After holding one contest there in 1933, the Packers played two or three home games each year in Milwaukee, a practice that continued through 1994, after which they were again based solely in Green Bay.
While its playing surface was consistently praised, by the 1950s City Stadium was seen as too small and inadequate, even after expansion. The leaders of the NFL, including George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, informed the Green Bay club owners that they needed to improve their stadium facilities, or else the Packers would be moved to Milwaukee, or elsewhere, permanently.
The residents of Green Bay responded by voting in 1956 to build a new City Stadium, which opened the following year, as "old" City Stadium became a high school field. The new stadium would be renamed Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
in 1965 after the death of team founder Curly Lambeau
Curly Lambeau
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
, and has become one of the most revered venues in all of American sports.
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.
The stadium is not only for football. Many great soccer matches have also been played in the field. Green Bay East and Green Bay Preble soccer programs also shared the field (until 2004) for their home games.