City Stadium (Green Bay)

City Stadium
Former names	East Stadium
Location	Green Bay, Wisconsin
Opened	1925
Owner	Green Bay East High School
Tenants
Green Bay Packers (NFL) (1925-1956) Green Bay East High School Preble High School (1960-2004)

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.

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 River. 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.

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.

Sources

• Cameron, Steve. The Packers. 1995.

External links

• LambeauField.com page, "Packers Stadium History"

Preceded by Bellevue Park

Home of the Green Bay Packers 1925 – 1956

Succeeded by Lambeau Field

Coordinates: 44°30′27.4″N 87°59′33.3″W / 44.507611°N 87.992583°W / 44.507611; -87.992583