Michigan Stadium — Attraction in Ann Arbor

Came away disappointed as a visiting team fan for the first time at the big house.

Pros: Beautiful city, stadium, as well as nice people. Large and clear jumborons. Excellent music played during TV timeouts.

Cons:

The lines! I was constantly waiting in line for everything. I have been to over 30 different stadiums between pro football, college football, concerts, and baseball. This was hands down the most poorly designed stadium layout for flow and egress I have ever been to.

By far my biggest gripe is the stadium layout causes extremely long lines. I missed 5 minutes of game time trying to walk up the stairs from row B to use the bathroom. I have never waited in such long lines before and my home stadium holds 101k+, so very similar with a large crowd vibe and large stadium capacity.

A more efficient stadium would have a lot more tunnels for better flow. Getting into section 15 took over 10 mines. I've never waited in a line after security to enter a seating section before. Ushers wouldn't allow me to enter the tunnel to section 14, saying they needed to keep the walkways clear. I said 15 is far from clear and they still refused. So I got in another line.

The bathrooms were disgusting- the womans was half flooded per my wife, and the men's was almost the same with lots of water on the ground. They ran out of paper towels around halftime. Again, long lines and the men's room I used only had 8 urinals. I have season tickets to an FCS school with a stadium that only holds 22k and each men's room has over 20 urinals. Again, poor flow and long lines were the theme of the day.

Another thing I noticed and was disappointed with was the fact the concessions are far away from the field and you end up missing the game. No tvs setup outside to continue to watch the game as you wait in another line. Most stadiums have the concessions near the seats and have monitors to stay informed of the game. Not here. I'm used to being 44 seconds to 2 minutes max from my seat at any given time. Again, not here.

Drink selection was poor. I went to buy a beer (shortest line of the day, shockingly) and a water. This was before halftime and the selection was very limited. Modelo, Founders all day IPA, Coors, and a Finland type of Seltzer. Highnoons were sold out, as was the water! I have never been to a stadium with such limited beer selection in one line. Want something else, get into another line. Lines for days at this place. I wish each concessions spot offered more options as I would have purchased more. I was really surprised to not see a bigger drink selection as each spot considering the size of the crowd. Most stadiums I got to have 9-14ish options, and you can get a mix of beers, cocki, wine, and sodas all in one transaction. The concessions must be a real mess when it's poor weather, since it's all outside. Even my FCS school has almost 20 different drink options.

My last gripe is subjective, but I expected the crowd to be a lot louder. The biggest stadium in the country and I was expecting it to be another 8-12 dB louder. Perhaps the stadium design (out vs up) allows some of the noise to escape, but I have been to way louder venues with 10-40k less people.

Lastly, was surprised to learn that 2nd row (row B) seats did not have seat backs and is rather bleachers.

Would I go back? Yes.

Would I give more consideration to where I sit due to the poor traffic flow. Yes.

Are there opportunities for improvement?...

Simply the worst experience for visiting for the first time. Oregon Ducks 38 vs Michigan 17 SAT 11/02/24. Section 15. Upper rows. Cell Service was terrible due to double the city population for the game. Maybe place some Starlink around the stadium and charge for this service. We were lucky where our seats were located Section 15 close to restrooms 2 ladies and 2 mens. Be aware that there are 2 below the current restrooms with 3 times the stalls. Pre purchase $70 parking at Pioneer High School across the street from the stadium or park at the Michigan Golf Course $60. Easy to get food drink etc. it does come with at price but it is to be expected. If you purchase tickets review where the restooms are located prior to purchase, also there are 96 rows of seats. If you enter from the West side row 72 is where you walk into the stadium, plan accordingly if you do not want to walk a lot. 99% of the stadium is bench seating, the locations are too small if there is 1 person with a wide body (bottom) if not several wide bodies in the row. This compounds the ability to enjoy the game with the people behind constantly kneeing and kicking your back Section 15 Row 79 & Row 81. Those fans had to remind us that they were 'season ticket holders' and this is how it is in the 'Big House'. Maybe remove 50,000 seats and put in stadium seatings , The Colosseum at USC got the clue, Rose Bowl is still wondering how to complete this process. Oregon beat Michigan soundly 38-17, but the fan comments to get a rise out of us Duck fans were unfit to put on this review. Rude obnoxious etc etc mostly the profanity. I can handle a few MF's and F bombs, since their Team was getting beat soundly it had to be constant. The thing that is really sad there were a lot of Michigan kids with these fans (Season Tickets Holders as we were reminded) with their unruly comments. It seemed like this is normal for this section 15 of the stadium. Is this how they pass on their season ticket legacy to their kids? I do have to admit that there were 2 Michigan Season ticket holders that took a stand against the rude behavior. Both rows 79 & 81 were shamed into leaving by the 4th quarter when the Ducks had the game in hand. Win or lose life goes on we should all depart Civilly. Lordy the Staff at the Michigan Golf course gave us some in's/out's to have a better game enjoyment of our first time to the Big House. No ill will if we were Duck fans. Sad Sad Sad if this is how 2023 National Champs Season Ticket Holders conduct themselves. Change the Big House to the Home of...

Best College, Best Stadium and BEST FOOTBALL TEAM to ever rule college football. We've been to a lot of places to watch college ball, but nothing compares to the feeling of watching our Wolverines play at Michigan Stadium! We've seen several games here. It is a well organized stadium with great options for food and a great seating capacity. If you've never seen the Wolverines play here, you're missing out on greatness in your life! Can't wait for another great season to kick off on August 30th! Let's Rock! Oh, and...

Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes Hail! Hail! to michigan the leaders and best!

Hail! To the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes Hail! Hail! to michigan the champions of the west!

Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes Hail! Hail! to michigan the champions of the west

Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes Hail! Hail! to michigan The champions of...