Ferry Field is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It opened in 1906 and was home to the Michigan Wolverines football team prior to the opening of

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

in 1927. It had a capacity of 46,000. It is currently used as a tailgating space for football games. After football moved to Michigan Stadium, Ferry Field was converted to an outdoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

facility and was still used for this purpose until 2018. In 1935,

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

sprinter

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

set world records in the 220 yard dash, the 200 meter dash, the 220 yard low hurdles, the 200 meter low hurdles, and the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

, and tied the world record in the

100 yard dash "100 Yard Dash" is a song by American recording artist Raphael Saadiq, released as a single on March 30, 2009, by Columbia Records. It was the second single from Saadiq's 2008 album ''The Way I See It''. "100 Yard Dash" is an upbeat soul song ab ...

, all within a 45-minute timespan. A bronze plaque at Ferry Field commemorates Owens' historic feat.

Development

Michigan's football team became a major attraction after the success of coach Fielding H. Yost, and

Regents Field Ferry Field (known as Regents Field before 1902) was the home field for the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1905. It was located along South State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Schembechler Hall stands today. The B ...

with its 800-seat grandstand could not accommodate the paying crowds that sought to watch the team play. Michigan Athletic Director Charles A. Baird improved the university's athletic fields and "was responsible for the construction of Ferry Field to replace the outdated Regents Field." When Baird resigned as athletic director, one newspaper wrote: "Baird's greatest work for Michigan was planning and building Ferry field, which is the largest college athletic ground in the United States." Ferry Field ornamental gate

In 1902, Detroit businessman Dexter M. Ferry purchased and donated north of Regents Field for use in constructing a new athletic facility. Baird began by constructing new bleacher seating for 6,000 adjacent to the existing grandstand. One thousand circus seats were also installed. In November 1902, a Thanksgiving Day game against the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

was held at Ferry Field with 10,000 spectators in attendance. By 1906, the new Ferry Field with seating for 18,000 spectators was opened. The facility included a brick wall and ornamental gate with ten ticket windows. The gateway was designed by Albert Kahn Architects of Detroit and constructed at a cost of over $10,000. In the 1890s, a $3.00 membership granted students admission to all athletic events. By 1904, a general admission ticket for a big game cost as much as $3.00. With a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 18,000, Baird's athletic department could generate $50,000 in revenue from a single game. When Ferry Field was completed, Baird expressed his pride in the facility:

Speaking of the field, Michigan today has the finest athletic grounds in the United States. With the completion of the operations we are making the total expenditure for permanent improvement of the field will cost $150,000. On it we have a gridiron for practice, another where the old field was, and the splendid new one, drained, leveled, sodded, surrounded by a concrete wall.

The last football game at Ferry Field was played in November 1926. The following year, the Michigan football team moved to

, the largest stadium in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the third largest stadium in the world, with an official capacity of 107,601.

References

External links

The Michigan Stadium Story – Ferry Field, 1906-1926
on Bentley Historical Library
Ferry Field - University of Michigan
{{coord, 42, 16, 7.5, N, 83, 44, 30.4, W, type:landmark, display=title American football venues in Michigan Athletics (track and field) venues in Michigan College track and field venues in the United States Defunct college football venues Defunct athletics (track and field) venues in the United States Michigan Wolverines football venues Michigan Wolverines track and field Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Sports venues in Washtenaw County, Michigan Sports venues completed in 1906 University of Michigan campus 1906 establishments in Michigan

Development

See also

References

External links