GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Tradition. It’s what best describes the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field, but of course with the minor upgrades we’ve seen here and there in the past. NBC 26 got to tour the construction site right on Oneida street, to see what’s next for the team.
"Our football coaches staff is on the third level, to get to that team space, they got a lot long travel… So what we ended up doing is we gotta get closer to the team," Mike Moynihan said, the Packers Director of Facility Operations. He's leading the tour, and while it might not look like much right now, it's a huge upgrade for the team.
It includes underground parking for the team with 190 spots, an artificial football field for physical therapy and walkthroughs, and the coaches offices closer to the teams' locker room.
"Just like my team, you know, when you have lunch together, and talk, you know, and have meetings together, and you interact all day long, it's just a better atmosphere, it's a better team," Moynihan said.
It's a long-term investment in the team. Moynihan compares it to how colleges' recruit for football.
"They're showing them all the bells and whistles, 'come to our school, you know, because you're a star, we'll make you a star or we'll get you in the NFL,'" Moynihan said. "It's not gonna be a college atmosphere, we're the NFL, right, but we're gonna do it the NFL way."
One challenge: the loss of parking spots, but while they're not loosing hundreds of spots, it is impacting some ticket holders' season. Moynihan said it also hurts the Packers.
"It does hurt events, it hurts, you know, our partner, PMI... they use this for the Resch," Moynihan said. "We just got to pivot and adjust."
Through all of the changes Lambeau has seen, Moynihan wants to keep its traditional look alive.
"Truthfully, that is the plan," Moynihan said. "When you look at Lambeau, you know, we want it to look like it's always been there when you add on...as a fan, and when you see this is for football, this is just gonna make our team better... The way I look at it, as a fan, you want that."
This is all set to be done by June of 2023, so by next summer, the Packers will come into the new season with fresh facilities.
