Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Construction Update III

We spent this past weekend moving into our new Green Bay headquarters, which will serve as our nerve center for the upcoming season, starting with the Shareholders’ Meeting on July 24th. On Sunday, we stopped by Lambeau Field to take some more construction photos. Above, a view of the front of the Atrium as it stands now, with the majority of the exterior work finished. Some of the landscaping and pedestrian areas are yet to be completed, and they’re feverishly working to get the new expanded Pro Shop ready for a July 17th opening.

A view from the Oneida Nation Gate platform. All of this will be cleaned up before we see it again.

A view of the East side of the Atrium/administration building. The tall glass entranceway will be the Pro Shop entrance from this parking lot. 

There were plenty of fans milling about this weekend. We did visit the Pro Shop on Saturday, and there were no less than three different wedding parties getting photos taken inside and outside of Lambeau that afternoon.  

The Lambeau Field tour groups were going regularly as well. If you’ve never been to the stadium before or haven’t done a tour in years, we recommend this.

The new indoor practice wing next to the players’ parking lot. 

The players’ entrance to the facilities from their parking lot. 

The players’ parking lot is getting fencing installed now, and will be all nice and secluded by Training Camp time. We are not sure right now what the procedure will be for the tradition of the players riding the local kids’ bikes from here to the practice field. Stay tuned.

Here is a closer-up side view of the entrance to the new Packers Pro Shop, which is under the Atrium. 

This pulled-back view shows the entrance in context.

Coaches Lombardi and Lambeau are in place at the sides of the stairs which lead from the new plaza up to the Atrium floor level. 

Another angle of the North end of the stadium.

The new Pro Shop entrance features designs of both a Packers’ helmet… 

… and the franchise’s logo. We are guessing that these will be backlit and visible along Lombardi Avenue. 

Front view of the new Pro Shop entrance. 

Coach Lombardi watches over the renovated plaza. 

The roadway and pedestrian walkway curve around to met the existing ground level on the North end. 

A more general view of the Lombardi and Lambeau statues area. 

Big changes on the South end of Lambeau Field. The Packers purchased several plots of land in the neighborhood in recent years, and have torn down quite a few houses in the past month. The view above is kind of jarring when you’re not used to seeing the stadium in this context.  

Looking towards Lambeau with a view down an empty Barberry Lane. From what we read, the homeowners were more than fairly compensated.

Crews were working on Saturday to level this field and spread gravel. Then came a layer of hay.

The homes that are left are either slated for future razing, or were not purchased by the team. 

That’s Ridge Road beyond the field. There are four houses on Ridge (South of Valley View Road) that remain, but for how long is uncertain. The team reportedly has agreements that allow some residents to stay for an undisclosed time period.

The corner of Barberry Lane and Barberry Lane. 

A house on Barberry Lane that remains. A pile of dirt sits where a house used to be.

This map shows the area that we’ve been discussing above. The yellow area is where houses have been leveled and turned to field. The four that remain on Ridge can be seen. All of this will be used for media parking, league use, etc. from what we understand.

On the drive home, we passed the “World’s Largest Symbol of Freedom,” from what the sign says. It is located at the Acuity Insurance corporate headquarters in Sheboygan, Wis. It is one huge flagpole and flag.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!