The Big House is a perfect nickname for Michigan Stadium. With a capacity of nearly 110,000, the arena has received a very important renovation. From the upcoming season, its users will be able to enjoy a new scoreboard and an upgraded lighting system.

How did The Big House become the largest stadium in the USA?

The huge venue located in Ann Arbor has been making an electrifying impression for years. The stadium is the third largest sports venue in the world - second only to Bristol Motor Speedway with a capacity of 153,000, and the North Korean giant Rungrado May Day Stadium with nearly 115,000 seats. The Big House owes its position to the fact that it has no seats but benches. No one, however, is flocking to replace them as they give the structure an academic feel. The arena is used on a daily basis by the Michigan Wolverines performing in NCAA football. Fans can follow team information and results using overtimeheroics.net, one of the top sports websites.

The Big House opened on 1st October 1927. It was modeled on Yale Bowl Stadium, but significantly surpassed it in capacity. Such a gigantic scale was achieved by embedding it in an artificial basin below ground level. The impressive stands had as many as 72 rows, but it soon became apparent that this number was insufficient. Over the following decades more rows were added, so that in the 1950s the 100,000-seat barrier was exceeded. The last major modernisation of the stadium took place between 2007 and 2010, when the pavilions on the eastern side of the pitch allowed a capacity of over 107,000. During this renovation, the venue received professional business facilities, including VIP boxes, restaurants and rooms for entertainment events.

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How much will the University of Michigan pay to upgrade The Big House?

Now it is time for more upgrades. According to Michigan Wolverines spokesman Dave Ablauf, the arena used by his team will receive a new scoreboard and lighting system. All thanks to the efforts of the authorities of the local university, which owns The Big House. The necessary funding of $41 million was found for this purpose. The project has already been approved for spring 2022 and is fully funded by the university's money. The timetable is for the work to start in mid-July and be completed later in August. If all goes according to plan, the Wolverines will already benefit from the new facilities during the inauguration of the new NCAA season. On September 2, they will take on the East Carolina Pirates at home.

The new scoreboard will be nearly 19 metres high - the same height as the previous device installed in 2011. However, it will be wider than its predecessor which is almost 33 metres. The replacement of the old scoreboard is dictated not so much by the desire to replace it with a larger one, but by the end of its lifespan. The new device is also expected to be more energy-efficient. The same will be true of the stadium's lighting. LED bulbs are expected to provide lower energy consumption and provide a more powerful light output. Such changes are expected to improve the experience of watching games both in front of TVs and live in the arena. In addition, the University of Michigan will invest $5 million in renovations to the audio systems at The Big House.

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