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Lambeau Field Renovations – A Win For Green Bay The Green Bay Packers have dominated the headlines in local newspapers lately and it has little to do with their dismal season that concluded a little more than four months ago. The headlines are now pointing towards renovation plans for their historic Lambeau Field. The Packers have asked Brown County to help with the funding of these renovations. This debate has drawn some negative reactions from the general public. For some time now professional sports franchises have been seen as greedy, fortune seeking businesses. The Packers seem to be the exception. They highly regard themselves as a fan friendly organization. The Packers seem to display some characteristics that few franchises have the ability to match. The fact that the Packers are the only publicly owned franchises in professional sports strengthens that claim. A billionaire owner is non-existent in this organization. However, in this rare case the public must exist. The renovations call for a larger seating bowl, a new pro shop, a new hall of fame, and a new stadium club, among other things that would aid in revenue for the Packers. Since the residents of Brown County will benefit most from the renovations, a small increase on sales tax will be laid upon them. The public is not alone; the Packers will also contribute a large amount of money to make this happen. The Packers have proposed a renovation plan essential not only for their organization, but also the city of Green Bay. It is the duty of the public to make these proposals a reality. For the past year or so Packers President Bob Harlan has been hinting at the possibility that the Packers may need a new stadium or a major renovation to Lambeau Field in order to remain competitive in the National Football League. Many people began to believe that maybe this was the beginning of the end to Lambeau Field, which has been in use for the Packers since it was known as City Stadium until 1965. For several months the topic was isolated within Packer headquarters. Finally, after the frustrating 1999-2000-football campaign in which the Packers finished a dismal 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in seven years, the subject once again arose. Within weeks it was known that the intent of Harlan and the Packer’s organization was not to construct a new stadium, but to renovate their current field. Within a few weeks the plans for the renovations were unveiled. An increase in seating capacity is the main level of concern. According to the Packers’ official website, Lambeau Field currently seats 60,890 fans. After the renovations are complete in 2003, the stadium would have enough seating for roughly 71,000 people. 62,000 seats would be for general admission, an increase of nearly 6,000 from the current amount of 56,112. The other 9,000 would be in the form of club seating and luxury suites. The proposal calls for 3,060 indoor and 3,200 more outdoor club seats. The new luxury suites would total 167. The renovation plans also included expanding and improving the public concourses. During a Monday Night Football game two years ago, the concourse quickly became crowded after a majority of the capacity crowd surged into the area to escape a heavy rainstorm.
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