I realize there have been several posts in different threads with pics and info about the construction work at the Big House. I figured if anyone wanted to take the time to move those here it would be great. I found a recent picture that looks pretty impressive and wanted to post it. It's taken from the high school.

http://www.mlive.com/cgi-bin/prxy/photogalleries/nph-cache.cgi/cache=3000;/mlive/images/7699/AANEWS2008062301.jpg

It's going to be ready by football season?

No. They are doing it in 3 phases. The total renovation will be complete prior to the 2010 season. I haven't seen drawings that reflect what each completed phase will look like.

This link takes you to a home for several pictures, a video, and details of the project. Still, nothing that I could find tells how far they plan to get prior to each season.

http://www.umaec.umich.edu/projects/Stadium/index.html

When this project is done - and even as they work on it - I think the Big House will be more impressive to potential recruits. I've heard several quotes where kids said they were coming to visit Ann Arbor on a recruiting trip and couldn't wait to see the Big House after everything they had heard, then got on campus and were looking around like "Where is it?" and surprised that they didn't see it right away due to the fact that it's mostly in-ground. It makes that part of the experience a little anti-climatic for them. These changes will obviously make the stadium more visible right away so recruits can identify it more quickly. Then when they see how much more there is below ground level they'll be blown away.

I would love it if at some point, maybe in another 10-15 years, they brought the structure all the way around and closed in the two sides. I think capacity could top 125,000 at that point and the sound could be deafening.

So it's going to be somewhat of an eyesore for the next two seasons...

I like what the final drawings look like, it just seems like they should be able to get that done sooner. The Death Star didn't take that long to build...

The death star lasted 2 days.

Blame that on the Ewoks.

Maybe Lloyd should come in and they'll double their efforts. I heard that Lloyd is not as forgiving as RichRod.

The only thing I don't like about that pic is the scoreboard. It was cool to see the huge scoreboard over the stadium. Will it even be visable from main street at all (driving by the gold course), or only from Stadium drive?

NM, i just realized that is the scoreboard from the opposite end (it just has the big block M on the back side).

http://www.mlive.com/cgi-bin/prxy/photogalleries/nph-cache.cgi/cache=3000;/mlive/images/7699/AANEWS2008062301.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/death-star-2.jpg

Ok, so I found a rendering and little blurb about what to expect for the 2008 season. Here it is -
http://mgoblue.com/uploadedImages/Sports/Football/Articles/2000s/2007-2008/News_Releases/stadium-fall-2008_470.jpg


Construction at Michigan Stadium continues in the first year of the three-year renovation project, and the considerable amount of work planned for the nine months between the end of the 2007 football season and the start of the 2008 campaign is proceeding on target.

"Even though we have been having a rough winter, we are still ready to meet all our scheduled construction deadlines," said Mike Stevenson, senior associate athletic director.

All the activity surrounding the stadium has many fans wondering what the facility will look like this coming fall. And thanks to the architects at HNTB and the remarkable capabilities of computers, the Athletic Department is able to offer a preview of how Michigan Stadium will look when September rolls around.

The most obvious additions are the massive steel superstructures that eventually will support multi-story masonry structures as well as elevated concourses on the east and wide sides of the "Big House." During the season, construction crews will fill in the superstructures with more steel and start boxing in the structures.

Visible in the rendering at the north end of the stadium are two new buildings. The one on the west (right) side will house a medical facility, the department of public safety headquarters and lavatories. The east building includes space for the M-Den (merchandise sales) and game operations as well as additional lavatories for men and women.

A large amount of earth was moved on the east side of the stadium when foundation and caisson work was done (seen in this photo gallery from January), but by the time football season arrives, the east concourse will have been restored.

While the stadium will be ready in September to welcome more than 100,000 fans each game day, construction work will continue Monday through Thursday prior to home games. "We will use Friday as a clean-up day for the game," added Stevenson. "When the team is on the road, we are going to work seven days a week."

All that was found at:
http://mgoblue.com/football/article.aspx?id=111194

For an annual $85,000 this could be your suite
http://www.mgoblue.com/uploadedImages/Sections/Clubs/Articles/suite-interior_400.jpg


SUITE AMENITIES

• Concierge service
• Exclusive elevator access
• Climate-controlled suite with operable windows
• In-suite lounge area with catering and beverage service
• Flat screen televisions
• High-speed Internet connection
• Access to private restrooms on the suite concourse
• Comfortable seats with great sight lines to the field
• Game programs
• Convenient parking

For an annual $85,000 this could be your suite
http://www.mgoblue.com/uploadedImages/Sections/Clubs/Articles/suite-interior_400.jpg

I say we set aside a piggy bank Wizzle. Anybody else down?

So basically this year it will be the same as last year with a bunch of steal up around the edges.

I say we set aside a piggy bank Wizzle. Anybody else down?

With the down economy we might as well move a cot in there. An $85,000 house isn't bad, especially when there's football in your backyard on Saturdays.

I'll pitch in. I can definitely dig that out of my teaching salary.
Is that $85 large for each person or the entire suite? What's the capacity of the suites?

Actually, the great thing is there will be a waiting list for these puppies and we'll never have a shot at them. Why is that a great thing?
1 - more money pumping into the program
2 - the people at the top of the list will be all the old farts who usually take up outdoor seats but never make noise (except the kamikaze uncontrolled bowel movements that they don't even realize they made until they change their diapers later in the day) - meaning the quiet people are moved indoors and the loud ones stay outside, pumping volume into the stadium
3 - because of the private bathrooms, I won't have a wrinkle dick checking me out in the trough

Some new construction photos up.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=C4&Date=20080714&Category=SPORTS06&ArtNo=714005&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=14

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/football/index.ssf/2008/07/michigan_stadium_construction.html
The MLive set you have to click a different link below the photo.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/kstack112270/DSCN0759.jpg?t=1182289679

not really an update pic but oh well

I'm not really sure the excavator is going to look good on the roof but hey, I'm no architect.

http://www.aec.bf.umich.edu/projects/Stadium/photos.html

Check out the upper concourse...should be cool.
http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432882.jpg

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432883.jpg

Lower concourse...
http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432884.jpg

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432887.jpg

Field views
http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432879.jpg

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432893.jpg

Others..

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432894.jpg

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/883/F432896.jpg

It's intimidating from a distance, and there might be a few "what have they dones?" as fans approach Michigan Stadium for game day Aug. 30, U-M's opener against Utah. But inside and out, the ongoing renovations at the corner of Stadium and Main are quite a sight.

On Thursday, a group of reporters and photographers were afforded a tour through what's been accomplished so far. After 240,000 man hours and $63 million in construction costs, the results are fantastic, evidenced by the views from what will be the west side upper concourse. The new steel structure dwarfs the existing press box (the last change to be made, scheduled for replacement in the summer of 2010), while the new restroom and concession facilities are clearly ready for use on the north side.

"There have been some significant challenges, not only to accomplish a complicated project, but also to do it in a fashion that allows us to accommodate football season," Doug Hanna, University of Michigan architect, said. "It's quite a feat."

Construction crews will continue working through the season around the home football schedule toward the 2010 completion date. All told, 82 suites, 3,600 club seats and upgrades in restrooms, concessions and other areas will figure into the $226 million price tag.

For the time being, the hulking steel structures are the most noticeable of the renovations. Over 7,300 tons of steel was used to erect the east and west side structures, some pieces as many as 54,000 pounds each. Over 150 cylindrical excavations took place for the columns supporting the structure. New aluminum decks were added on the east side for wheelchair seating.

Senior associate athletic director Joe Parker reported that the university had raised over $31.5 million toward the project, already well ahead of projections. Of that, $13 million came from California businessman Jack Roth, for whom the stadium club seating area on the east side will be named, while naming rights on three of the four sideline structure towers have been sold for $5 million each to private parties.

"We're very comfortable with where we're at right now," said Parker, noting they'd received commitments for 44 percent of the 3,600 club seats and 62 percent of the 82 available suites. "People have not even experienced a Michigan game day with the new structures around them, so I think awareness is going to be at a much higher level when people come to the game on August 30."

The message for those who do – be prepared not only for drastic change, but for some initial difficulties while people get accustomed to a new routine. Arrive early and often, athletic department officials advised, and be prepared for gawkers.

After all, this will be a Michigan Stadium as it's never been seen before.

But the best is yet to come.

I have my own personal erector set in my pants right now.

Same name though, right? These just don't have that same ring to them... 'The Big House...with luxury boxes' or 'The HUGE House'