Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium, nicknamed the Big House, is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was built in 1927, and has an official capacity of 107,501, though football game attendance often exceeds 111,000 when bands, stadium staff, and other people are added. It is the largest football stadium in the United States. The one "extra seat" in its capacity is "saved" for former head coach Fritz Crisler, although its location is not specified. Virtually all home games are sellouts, and residents of Ann Arbor are aware of "football Saturdays" because of the influx of traffic and business at local establishments. The size of the crowd in the stadium nearly doubles the city's population of 114,000.
Michigan Stadium's immense size is not entirely apparent to ground-level observers, as it is constructed partially into the ground, leaving only the upper 20 rows visible from outside. The stadium's original capacity was 70,000, but then-athletic director Fielding Yost made sure to install steel footings that could allow for massive expansion; some believe that these footings can support up to 150,000 spectators if needed. Initally, all seating consisted of wood bleachers. These were replaced with permanent metal seating in 1949 by Crisler, who had become athletic director. The stadium has been dubbed "The Hole that Yost dug, Crisler built, Canham carpeted, and Schembechler filled." Since 1975 - Bo Schembechler's seventh season as coach - the stadium has held over 100,000 fans for every home game, a string of nearly 200 contests.
From 1927 to 1968, the stadium's field was covered in natural grass. This was replaced with AstroTurf in 1969 to give players better traction. However, this surface was thought to be unforgiving on players' joints, and the stadium returned to natural turf in 1991. This too became problematic, as the field's below-surface location near the water table made it difficult for grass to permanently take root. The field was converted to FieldTurf, an artificial surface that was designed to give grass-like playing characteristics, in 2003.
Michigan Stadium is also the site of University of Michigan graduation ceremonies.