The first
Detroit Lions regular season victory during the 2002 season came
in their second home game at Ford Field with a 26-21 victory over
the New Orleans Saints. The Lions’ new home, however, was
a winner from the first exhibition game played there against the
Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 24. The Detroit News described Ford
Field on that opening day as a “Taj Mahal-like facility.”
A group
of Ferris State grads at the JM Olson Corporation has been instrumental
in helping to transform the face of downtown Detroit by their
work on the Lion’s new prowling grounds.
“A
building well done is a positive contribution to a community,
business or society at large,” says John M. Olson (B’64),
who founded the general contractor/construction management firm
that bears his name in 1970. JM Olson worked on converting the
one-million square foot former Hudson’s warehouse into the
portion of the field housing concessions, press boxes and luxury
viewing suites, as well as retail and office space. The Lions’
move from the Pontiac Silverdome to Ford Field returns the team
to their namesake city.
It also
marks a shift in philosophy towards a sports facility being a
year-round asset, rather than simply a place for home games and
the occasional concert (although after Rolling Stones became the
first major band to play there last fall, concertgoers gave the
facility high marks, as well).
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