Michigan Stadium
Information on seating, prohibited items, parking, concessions and more.
Stadium Tours
Michigan Stadium is NOT open to the general public for exercising, walk-in tours, drop-in photo ops, etc. For a fee, guided tours are held on weekdays and may be arranged through the Special Events Office (734-764-4599 or stadium.tours@umich.edu) in the athletics department. Tour arrangements must be made at least two weeks in advance. For information on tour pricing, location, and policies, visit the Special Events site.
Big House Extras
• Michigan Stadium Premium Seating
• Michigan Stadium History
• The Michigan Stadium Story
• Zero Waste
• Facility of Merit Award
• MHSFCA Wall of Fame
• Photo Gallery
• Rental Information
FIELD SURFACE: FieldTurf
CAPACITY: 72,000 (1927); 85,752 (1928-48); 97,239 (1949-54);
   101,001 (1955-72); 101,701 (1973-91); 102,501 (1992-97);
   107,501 (1998-2007); 106,201 (2008-09); 109,901 (2010-14)
   107,601 (2015-present)
CONSTRUCTED: 1927
FIRST EVENTS:
   Football: October 1, 1927 (U-M 33, Ohio Wesleyan 0)
   Men's Lacrosse: March 17, 2012 (Bellarmine 13, U-M 9)
   Women's Lacrosse: March 20, 2014 (Winthrop 14, U-M 12)
Michigan Stadium. The Big House. Home of Michigan Football. One of the country's most iconic and widely recognized sporting facilities, Michigan Stadium has come to symbolize the pride, tradition, and excellence of the University of Michigan. There is truly no place like it on a fall Saturday afternoon.
In the early 1920s, Fielding Yost envisioned what would become Michigan Stadium. With winning teams and increasing fan attendance, Yost recognized the need for a larger venue. Though the Regents were initially hesitant, given the 1921 expansion of Ferry Field, Yost's persistence paid off, and approval was granted on April 22, 1926.
The new stadium was constructed on land that had once housed an underground spring. The moist ground created quicksand-like conditions that complicated construction, most famously, a crane was swallowed during the build and remains beneath the stadium to this day. Due to the high water table, nearly three-quarters of the stadium was built below ground level.
Yost originally hoped for a stadium seating between 100,000 and 150,000. After considerable debate, the University, Regents, and Yost settled on an initial capacity of 72,000, with the potential for expansion beyond 100,000. Construction was financed not by taxpayer dollars but by the sale of 3,000 bonds at $500 each.
Modeled after the Yale Bowl, Michigan Stadium was built using 440 tons of reinforcing steel and 31,000 square feet of wire mesh. The 44-section, 72-row stadium cost $950,000 to construct. Before completion, Yost requested an additional 10,000 temporary seats, increasing capacity to 84,401 -- making it the largest college-owned stadium in the nation at that time.
Michigan played its first game at the new stadium on Oct. 1, 1927, defeating Ohio Wesleyan 33-0. The stadium's formal dedication came three weeks later, on Oct. 22, in a matchup against Ohio State , another Michigan victory. The Buckeyes had hoped to avenge their own stadium’s dedication loss to Michigan five years earlier, but history repeated itself.
Through the 2014 season, Michigan Stadium hosted 258 consecutive crowds of over 100,000. The record-setting crowd of 115,109 witnessed a 41-30 victory over Notre Dame on Sept. 7, 2013, the largest attendance ever recorded at a college or NFL game. Continuous renovations have expanded capacity to 107,601. One enduring mystery remains: the location of Fritz Crisler’s seat, the one "extra" seat in the official stadium count since 1956. While its whereabouts are unknown, the legacies of Yost and Crisler remain woven into the stadium’s lore.
Varsity men’s lacrosse debuted in Michigan Stadium on March 17, 2012, in a 13-9 loss to Bellarmine before 858 fans. A month later, a record crowd of 4,458 attended "The Battle at the Big House" following the football spring game, watching Michigan fall 12-9 to Ohio State in one of the most-watched regular-season lacrosse games in NCAA history.
The women’s varsity lacrosse team made its stadium debut on March 20, 2014, falling 14-12 to Winthrop. The program’s first Big House win came on March 30, 2014, in a 13-12 double-overtime thriller over UC Davis.
Major renovations began in fall 2022 with the installation of new high-definition video boards on the north and south ends, completed by summer 2023. The Crisler Center control room was also upgraded to support enhanced video production.
In spring and summer 2024, the stadium underwent additional improvements: expanded space in the south concourse, upgrades to Gate 2 (southeast corner), and relocation of the Wolverine statue to Gate 8 (northwest corner) for improved game-day logistics. Exterior crowd control was enhanced with new bollards at all four corner plazas. The introduction of alcohol sales prompted upgrades to all suites in the east and west towers, including new refrigerators, more counter space, and reconfigured layouts to elevate the premium experience. That same summer, the home locker room was updated with new graphics celebrating Michigan Football’s recent historic achievements: back-to-back-to-back Big Ten titles, a Rose Bowl championship, and the 2023 National Championship.
Address and Directions
Michigan Stadium 1201 S. Main St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3722
Google Directions/Map
From Detroit Metro Airport and points east: Take I-94 west to Ann Arbor-Saline Road (exit 175). Turn right and follow Ann Arbor-Saline Road as it turns into Main Street, going north for approximately 1 1/2 miles. Michigan Stadium is on the northeast corner of Main Street and Stadium Boulevard.
From Chicago and points west: Take I-94 east to Ann Arbor-Saline Road (exit 175). Turn left and follow Ann Arbor-Saline Road as it turns into Main Street, going north for approximately 1 1/2 miles. Michigan Stadium is on the northeast corner of Main Street and Stadium Boulevard.
From Toledo and points south: Take U.S. 23 north to I-94 west. Follow directions from Detroit Metro Airport.
From Flint and points north: Take U.S. 23 south to I-94 west. Follow directions from Detroit Metro Airport.
