1/22/05- Ann Arbor- Spin City, USA

This week the Ann Arbor News blew the lid off of the Michigan Athletic Department's plan to renovate venerable Michigan Stadium.  Rumors have circulated for years about what kind of changes fans could expect but this week we got to see the details. 

Once the story broke the athletic department called out the big guns to clarify for us mere mortals exactly what was going on.  Athletic Director Bill Martin, Associate Athletic Director Mike Stevenson, and Sports Information Director Bruce Madej have been giving interviews on TV, radio, and in the print media about the renovation plans.  Michigan Stadium isn't being expanded it's being renovated.  The plans include covered seating not luxury boxes.  Nothing has been decided, things are just in the planning stages...Spin, spin, spin.

Halo 2?

The first thing that sprung to mind for most fans was the infamous halo.  And I'm not talking about the Xbox game...We all remember the last time the athletic department made major changes- new bathrooms, new scoreboards, and that dreaded maize "halo" that surrounded the stadium.

Wolverine fans hated the halo while University President Lee Bollinger and Athletic Director Tom Goss defended the new look.  Eventually, all of them (Bollinger, Goss, and the Halo) were gone.  But Wolverine fans have never forgotten the poor judgment exhibited by the athletic department and how they arrogantly refused to admit their mistake.  Fans weren't consulted and then when they had the audacity to point out the ugliness of halo they were dismissed.  Eventually good taste carried the day but not before the athletic department generated a lot of ill will.

Lessons Learned and Forgotten

To their credit the athletic department learned from this fiasco. Years later when it came time to institute seat taxes they did a good job of explaining why they were doing it.  It's not that people didn't complain but the groundwork had been put in place for fans to grudgingly accept the changes.  Contrast that with how the SBC deal was handled late last season and how stadium plan is now being handled and you have to wonder if the athletic department is again getting a little arrogant.  Season ticket holders shouldn't have read about stadium expansion plans in the Ann Arbor News. 

The Ann Arbor News shouldn't have to file a freedom of information request to get information about something that stinks of being a done deal.  Bill Martin has said repeatedly in the past they he wouldn't go ahead with any facility renovation without having financing plans in place.  According to the article financing will be provided through the sale of bonds.  HTNB, a firm that has performed in to perform a "study" of what was needed to be done and now the athletic department is waiting for proposals to the do the actual work. 

Do you really think that the HNTB who did the "study" won't be chosen to do the actual renovation?  I'm not saying that HNTB isn't not qualified.  They have renovated other Big Ten Stadiums to rave revues.  But they were given the inside track when they were selected for the the initial study.  And why were they chosen?  Because other Big Ten teams have used them.  Once again the "Leaders and Best" in the athletic department are following the lead of lesser organizations.

A Matter of Trust

The way that the athletic department is secretly going about this renovation makes it clear that not much has changed since the "halo" days.  Michigan arrogance is alive and well in their offices.  I have no doubt that if the Ann Arbor News hadn't broken this story it would have been a done deal before Michigan fans had a chance to weigh in.  The athletic department doesn't seem to trust fans to understand information about the renovation but now that the details are out there they have to. 

Yet another example of a public organization that desperately wants to act like a privately held company.  It torques some people off in the athletic department that they have to justify their actions to the public.  They pine for Canham era when the athletic department was run like a fiefdom with little input from the public or university.  Well, guys I have news for you those days are gone and they're not coming back.  A fan base that has lived through the Ed Martin scandal, the halo, the Tom Goss era of fiscal mismanagement, and the SBC deal are paying attention to what you're doing now.

Size Matters

The athletic department has a serious credibility gap with many fans who feel that some people working there have no appreciation for the tradition of Michigan football.  For fans raised on stories of Fielding Yost having visions of 150,000 fans at Michigan Stadium any plan that cuts seats for the average fan in favor of luxury suites is unworthy of the Michigan tradition.  The athletic department has embraced the concept of the "Big House" and now has to live with it.  Fans will not accept any plan that  results in Michigan Stadium being known as "A really Big House" or "one of the biggest houses" or "the stadium formerly known as the Big House."  In the past Bill Martin has said that he understands this:

"Based on my discussions with so many of Michigan’s fans, they’re all proud we have the biggest stadium in the country, and I certainly would like for that to continue...Bottom line, it’s something that all of Michigan’s family points to with pride, that we have the largest stadium."  Detroit News, 10/24/04 

What we need to do is remind him of how much this matters to people.

Conclusion

What shouldn't be lost in all this is the fact that a renovation of some kind is going happen and that it can positive thing for all fans.  There are many things in the current plan that people will appreciate.  We just have to make sure that any plan insures that Michigan Stadium remains the Biggest House for years to come.

Go Blue!

Phil Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM, Editor-in-Chief
phil@umgoblue.com
 

Phil Callihan is the Editor-in- Chief of UMGoBlue.COM.  Phil graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 and has been a football season ticket holder since 1994.

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