Building a Winner

Inside the construction of TCF Bank Stadium.

Such a construction achievement as TCF Bank Stadium is both a marvel and a process to be archived for the ages. While the construction process may have seemed long, the patience our U of M community has displayed is definitely paying off, brick by brick.

Infrastructure work at the stadium site began in late June 2006, capped by a ceremonial groundbreaking on September 30, 2006. The beginning of construction on the stadium itself, along with the unveiling of the stadium's logo, took place on July 11, 2007.

Site preparation and foundation work continued through the summer and fall of 2007. The stadium’s impressive skeleton consists of more than 8,800 tons of steel, 97% of it recycled, that took six months to put into place—from January to July 2008. Installation of the brick and cast stone portion of the building began in the summer of 2008 with completion scheduled for February 2009. The first brick was laid by Hilding Mortenson, 100 years old, who was a bricklayer working on Memorial Stadium back in 1924.

The playing field will be installed in spring of 2009. Final commissioning of the building will occur in summer 2009, and the first game will be held on September 12, 2009.

For a complete list of construction archives, as well as alerts and updates, click here.